health care

FDA Moves To Speed Access To Compassionate-Use Drugs

5:00am June 08, 2016

by Rachel Bluth

A simplified form should make it easier for doctors to treat seriously ill patients with experimental drugs after other options run out. But that's not the only obstacle to compassionate use.

Zunika Crenshaw helps her 3-year-old daughter Jhase Crenshaw Bass with an asthma inhaler.

Scientists Seek Genetic Clues To Asthma's Toll On Black Children

10:18pm June 07, 2016

by Lesley McClurg

Most genetic studies look only at people of European descent. But black and Hispanic children are far more likely to die of asthma, and genetic differences may help explain why.

Access to mental health care can be especially tough for new immigrants.

Students Fill A Gap In Mental Health Care For Immigrants

5:57pm June 07, 2016

by Michael Tomsic

Latinos who have recently arrived in the U.S. often have a hard time getting access to health care, including mental health care. Several universities are enlisting graduate students to help.

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Doctors Must Overcome New Red Tape In Struggle To Treat Veterans

4:41pm June 07, 2016

by Patricia Murphy

The Veterans Choice program hasn't cut wait times for vets seeking medical care because the program has added one more layer of bureaucracy. That complicates life for doctors trying to provide care to vets and for vets looking to see a doctor. This story is part of a collaboration among NPR and member stations looking at Veterans Choice.

Did revised federal standards make transplant centers more averse to risk and encourage them to drop sicker patients who might affect the hospitals' patient survival rates?

Federal Standard May Be Thwarting Some Liver Transplant Patients

11:38am June 07, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

Researchers report that performance standards set by federal health officials may have led to many patients being dropped from transplant lists without an improvement in survival rates.

Psychologist Diane Adams devotes a portion of her private practice in Renton, Wash., to veterans. But she said the bureaucracy involved in the Veterans Choice program has proved frustrating and veterans have had a hard time getting approval to see her.

For Doctors And Patients, 'Veterans Choice' Often Means Long Waits

7:11pm June 06, 2016

The $10 billion Veterans Choice has not cut backlogs, critics say. This problem can be particularly urgent when it comes to mental health cases.

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Children who get more sleep while in the hospital need less sedation and anesthesia, researchers have found.

Bright Lights, Big Hassles For Children In The Hospital

12:41pm June 02, 2016

by Shefali Luthra

The pokes and prods inflicted on children in the hospital at all hours can make it hard for them to get a decent night's sleep. Children's hospitals are now rethinking how they work at night.

Giselle is pursuing a career in family medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. For her, hiding her problems with anxiety and depression was not an option.

A Med Student Decides To Be Upfront About Her Mental Issues

6:52pm June 01, 2016

by Amanda Aronczyk

When Giselle decided to apply to medical school, people told her to hide the fact that she has struggled with anxiety, depression and a suicide attempt. She thinks it will help her be a better doctor.

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Doctor Outlines Plan To Battle Antibiotic Resistance In 'The Washington Post'

3:00pm June 01, 2016

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Ezekiel Emanuel, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, about his opinion piece in the Washington Post that argues the cheap price of antibiotics has led to their overuse and has also discouraged drug companies from developing new antibiotics.

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A death certificate needs to say more than something vague like "opioid intoxication" to help law enforcement and public health officials curb the distribution of opioids, epidemiologists say. How many drugs did the person take, and which ones? Such detai

Details On Death Certificates Offer Layers Of Clues To Opioid Epidemic

11:50am June 01, 2016

by Jeff Cohen

Deaths from opioid overdoses are on the rise, and we know that because of data on death certificates. States determine who fills them out and what information they record. And that can vary widely.

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