health care

Health & Safety

Bedside Manner: Conversations With Patients About Death

2:29pm May 06, 2013

Doctors often struggle with conversations about death — navigating the murky waters of when and how to convey the risks of procedures and prospects for life expectancy. When doctors are less than forthcoming, out of sensitivity or haste, difficult situations become even more complex.

Queue Listen Now

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, center, exits the Fort Lyon Correctional Facility in Las Animas, Colo., on Wednesday after touring the facility. Hickenlooper has proposed closing the facility due to budget concerns.

Colorado Weighs Reopening Psychiatric Hospital For Homeless

4:22pm May 03, 2013

by Eric Whitney

Colorado's Democratic governor wants to move mentally ill homeless people to Fort Lyon, a former psychiatric hospital and prison in the southeast corner of the state. Critics say it would make more sense to rent apartments for the people in the neighborhoods where they are now.

Queue Listen Now

Soon after President Obama spoke at Planned Parenthood's national conference in Washington, D.C., last Friday, the administration alienated some women's health groups.

Health & Safety

Women's Health Groups Angered By Morning-After Pill Moves

5:27pm May 02, 2013

by Julie Rovner

Days after President Obama became the first sitting president to speak before Planned Parenthood's national conference, the administration alienated some women's health groups with a controversial decision about access to emergency contraception.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

Lessons In Emergency Preparedness After Boston Bombings

2:23pm May 02, 2013

The bombings in Boston killed three and injured over 250 people. Remarkably, all of the wounded are expected to live. Scores of emergency workers mobilized to triage, tourniquet and treat injured runners and bystanders, and hospitals quickly organized surgeries, saving lives.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

Second Thoughts On Medicaid From Oregon's Unique Experiment

7:48pm May 01, 2013

by Julie Rovner

An influential study of Medicaid in Oregon found that recipients used more health care, spent less money and reported improved health. But the results of a follow-up study are less positive about whether people with coverage were healthier.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

Looking Ahead: The Future Of Health Care Policy

2:04pm April 29, 2013

The country is about to undergo the largest transition of national health policy ever. In the first in a series of look-ahead conversations, NPR's health policy correspondent Julie Rovner discusses the changes already in effect and the complications and controversy to come.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

Philadelphia Case Exposes Deep Rift In Abortion Debate

12:15pm April 26, 2013

by Julie Rovner

Abortion opponents say the case of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who is charged with five counts of murder, shows the need for more and stricter regulation of abortion clinics. But abortion rights backers say more restrictions give women few choices besides substandard facilities.

Queue Listen Now

Confusion over the details of the new health care law is leaving many people vulnerable to con artists. Evelyne Lois Such, 86, was recently the target of an attempted scam.

Scammers Find Fertile Ground In Health Law

10:18am April 22, 2013

by Jenny Gold

Law enforcement agencies are reporting an increase in health insurance scams across the country. Many of the scammers seem to be preying on the public's confusion over the massive changes taking place in the nation's health care system.

Queue Listen Now

In a new book, Charles Graeber tells the story of Charlie Cullen, a registered nurse who was was dubbed "The Angel of Death" by the media after he was implicated in the deaths of as many as 300 patients.

Pretending To Be A 'Good Nurse,' Serial Killer Targeted Patients

3:55pm April 15, 2013

In 2003, a hospital nurse named Charlie Cullen was arrested under suspicion of injecting patients with lethal doses of a variety of medications. He is now considered one of the nation's most prolific serial killers. Journalist Charles Graeber explains how the hospital system failed to stop Cullen.

Queue Listen Now

A technique for imaging the brain allowed researchers to distinguish between physical and emotional pain.

How Much Does It Hurt? Let's Scan Your Brain

3:16pm April 11, 2013

by Rob Stein

Researchers say they can measure how much pain someone is experiencing and even watch as prescription painkillers relieve it. The scanning technique could help doctors treat pain better, but the work is also fraught with questions about how the technology could interfere with the relationship between doctors and patients.

Queue Listen Now