health information

Health & Safety

Americans are tuning out as omicron rages. Experts call for health messaging to adapt

4:02pm January 12, 2022

by Yuki Noguchi

Amid a surge in omicron cases and hospitalizations, public health leaders are grappling with how to get a tuned-out public to pay attention. Experts urge communicators to cut through the noise.

A photo provided by the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania shows an Aetna mailer in which a reference to HIV medication is partly visible though the envelope window.

Aetna Mailer Accidentally Reveals HIV Status Of Up To 12,000 Customers

1:12pm August 25, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

"Aetna's privacy violation devastated people whose neighbors and family learned their intimate health information," a legal group representing customers says. Aetna calls its mistake "unacceptable."

A man walks past a building on the Google campus in Mountain View, Calif. Google search results about health can be influential, but sometimes they can be unreliable or wrong.

Seeking Online Medical Advice? Google's Top Results Aren't Always On Target

6:18pm July 17, 2017

by Jacob Margolis

Google's search results on health issues can be influential, but they can also be unreliable or wrong. The highlighted answer may come from a dubious source while a more credible one is buried below.

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Millions of people use Wikipedia for medical advice, but what they find there isn't always accurate.

Should I Trust Wikipedia With My Health?

11:16am November 08, 2016

Some doctors lambaste Wikipedia for errors in its medical pages. But there are many physicians, science teachers and researchers working overtime to make the crowdsourced health content better.

Hassle Of Being A Patient Can Turn Into A Crisis Without Sick Leave

10:39am July 11, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

A new NPR poll shows about a third of working adults have no sick leave, even as more people are living with chronic health problems that require regular care.

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Carol and John Iovine say the health coach their insurer assigned John after he had a torrent of grave health problems in 2014 has helped them get the medical care he still needs. And it's helped keep him out of the hospital.

Insurer Uses Personal Data To Predict Who Will Get Sick

5:31pm June 09, 2015

by Todd Bookman

A Philadelphia health insurance company analyzes its clients' health data and other factors to find the frailest and assign them health coaches. That may improve health, but is it a breach of privacy?

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