health care

How Active Duty Military Are Navigating Changing Attitudes Toward Marijuana

5:30pm January 16, 2018

by Steve Walsh

California is the latest state to begin legal recreational sale of marijuana. That presents a challenge to the thousands of active duty military — and their families — who must navigate changing attitudes toward marijuana use, which is still prohibited under federal law.

As Flu Season Strains Hospitals, Doctor Offers Advice For How To Stay Healthy

5:12pm January 16, 2018

An unusually severe flu season has strained hospitals around the country with overflowing emergency rooms. In California alone, at least 42 people have died from the flu. NPR's Kelly McEvers speaks with Dr. Adrian Cotton, chief of medical operations at Loma Linda University Health System, about the influx of patients and what people can do to protect themselves.

Queue Listen Now

A 3-D mammogram reveals a normal breast.

Health & Safety

When You Need A Mammogram, Should You Get One In '3-D'?

10:52am January 16, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

A newer type of breast imaging costs more. It's not yet clear if the three-dimensional approach is more effective at catching cancers that will kill.

Ben and Tara Stern relax at home in Essex, Md. Ben was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2016. After conventional treatment failed to stop the tumor, Ben tried an experimental drug.

For Now, Sequencing Cancer Tumors Holds More Promise Than Proof

3:17pm January 15, 2018

by Richard Harris

Sequencing the DNA of cancer tumors to help pinpoint treatment is an emerging element of precision medicine. While patients and doctors alike want these tests, they often don't benefit patients.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

The Call-In: The Nursing Industry

8:02am January 14, 2018

Depending on where you live, nurses can be in short supply. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Peter Buerhaus, a nursing professor at Montana State University, about the changing nursing industry.

A needle exchange program at the Austin Community Outreach Center in Austin, Ind., is aimed at stopping spread of HIV.

Mapping How The Opioid Epidemic Sparked An HIV Outbreak

6:00am January 14, 2018

by Heather Boerner

Researchers knew the HIV outbreak in the small town of Austin, Ind., was related to IV drug use. Mapping how the virus mutated over time revealed its path — and how it might have been stopped.

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin On Requiring Medicaid Recipients To Work

7:51am January 13, 2018

Kentucky is the first state to require Medicaid recipients to work or get job training in order to qualify for aid. NPR's Scott Simon talks to Gov. Matt Bevin about the new requirements.

The Forgotten Needs Of Refugees From Hurricane Irma

7:00am January 13, 2018

by Abraar Karan

Finding a place to live is just the start. A doctor shares his experiences with two hurricane refugees.

Activity levels are based on the percent of outpatient visits in a state due to influenza-like illness (ILI) and are compared with the average percent of ILI visits that occur during weeks with little or no influenza virus circulation.

Flu Season Is Shaping Up To Be A Nasty One, CDC Says

6:02pm January 12, 2018

by Rob Stein

The flu season started early this year and is already widespread throughout the country and intense in dozens of states. But it's not too late to get that flu shot, officials say.

Queue Listen Now

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, R-Ky., has said he thinks that Medicaid recipients should have "skin in the game."

Kentucky Gets OK To Require Work From Medicaid Recipients

5:40pm January 12, 2018

by Alison Kodjak

The move comes one day after the Trump administration said it would let states add work requirements to their Medicaid programs, which provide health coverage for people with low incomes.