health care

When Time Behind Bars Cuts Addiction Treatment Short

9:16am May 11, 2016

by Emily Corwin

Most inmates lose access to medication-assisted treatment for addiction once they're incarcerated. Among prisons and jails that do offer such treatment, it's often restricted to pregnant women.

Dartmouth College researcher Timothy Pierson holds a prototype of Wanda, which is designed to establish secure wireless connections between devices that generate data.

Health & Safety

Researchers Hope This Invention Could Wave Away Medical Data Hacks

7:48pm May 10, 2016

by Jordan Gass-Pooré

As health care increasingly moves from hospitals and doctors' offices to the home, patient medical data become more vulnerable to hackers. Dartmouth College researchers hope their product will help.

Peggy Girshman diving in Hawaii in the summer of 2015.

Peggy Girshman Gets The Last Word On Health Journalism

4:45pm May 10, 2016

Veteran NPR editor Peggy Girshman, who died in March, wrote her own eulogy, which included personal health advice and tips for better journalism. The eulogy was read at a memorial service Saturday.

Women only got top billing in 37 percent of medical studies published in leading journals over the past two decades.

Top Medical Journals Give Women Researchers Short Shrift

8:25pm May 09, 2016

by Lauren Silverman

Women scientists get first-author credit on medical studies much less often than their male coauthors. That has career implications and could even be skewing the study of women's health.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has spent about $117 million on Medicare Advantage audits that have recouped just $14 million related to overcharging.

GAO Audit: Feds Failed To Rein In Medicare Advantage Overbilling

5:19pm May 09, 2016

by Fred Schulte

Privately run Medicare Advantage plans have overcharged the federal government by billions of dollars, yet Medicare hasn't been effective in recouping the excessive payments, an audit found.

Health & Safety

What Feds' Push To Share Health Data Means For Patients

8:10am May 09, 2016

by Charles Ornstein

ProPublica's Charles Ornstein spoke with Niall Brennan about making health data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services more widely available outside the government.

Syrian Regime Targets Health Workers, Hospitals In Aleppo

7:59am May 07, 2016

"In Aleppo, We Are Running Out of Coffins" was the title of an op-ed from Syrian doctor Osama Abo El Ezz. NPR's Lynn Neary speaks with him about attacks on hospitals in Syria.

Diane Horvath-Cosper says part of her job is advocating for patients' access to health care, including abortions.

Can A Hospital Tell A Doctor To Stop Talking About Abortion?

7:59pm May 05, 2016

by Jennifer Ludden

A doctor filed a complaint against a Washington, D.C., hospital, saying that by telling her not to say that she does abortions, the hospital is stigmatizing the procedure. The hospital cites safety.

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Food and Drug Administration regulations would crack down on e-cigarettes.

FDA Acts To Regulate E-Cigarettes And Cigars For The First Time

3:56pm May 05, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

The Food and Drug Administration has issued sweeping new rules that tighten its control over e-cigarettes, banning their sale to minors. The agency is also expanding its regulation of tobacco.

Indiana Town Struggles To Contain HIV Outbreak Fueled By Drug Abuse

4:34pm May 04, 2016

by Kelly McEvers

A year after Indiana declared a state of emergency because of an HIV outbreak fueled by drug abuse, the availability of drug treatment continues to lag.