Health

Nurse practitioner Debra Brown guides patient Merdis Wells through a diabetic retinopathy exam at University Medical Center in New Orleans.

Health & Safety

How Can We Be Sure Artificial Intelligence Is Safe For Medical Use?

8:03am April 14, 2019

by Richard Harris

Software that can replace doctors for certain tasks has a big responsibility. The Food and Drug Administration is now figuring out how to determine when computer algorithms are safe and effective.

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Health & Safety

How Philadelphia Mandated Vaccinations In 1991

8:03am April 14, 2019

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, about the last time the U.S. mandated measles vaccinations.

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Quidditch is a fast-paced, co-ed, full-contact combination of dodgeball, rugby and basketball. Above, John Sheridan tries to score points by throwing a quaffle ball through the other team's hoop.

For Some Quidditch Players, The Magic Wears Off As Injury Risks Grow Clearer

12:30pm April 13, 2019

by Amanda Morris

Concussions, broken bones, and torn ligaments are a few serious injury concerns in Quidditch — a new sport where the rules are still evolving, and players are testing the safety of them.

Health & Safety

Examining Sanders' Medicare-For-All Proposal

12:08pm April 13, 2019

Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for Kaiser Health News, describes the latest Medicare-for-all bill by Sen. Bernie Sanders and the options for single-payer coverage proposed by lawmakers.

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Safehouse is considering locating in this block of Hilton Street in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. The proposed facility would allow drug users to inject under medical supervision. The neighborhood is known for its drug use.

Health & Safety

Supporters Sue To Open Safe Injection Site In Philadelphia, Citing Religious Freedom

10:46am April 13, 2019

by Bobby Allyn

A Philadelphia group hopes to open a site for people to use drugs under medical supervision. Faced with legal challenges, the group is making a moral and religious case for its proposed facility.

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Siddharth Dube, a longtime public health advocate, has written a memoir: An Indefinite Sentence: A Personal History of Outlawed Love and Sex.

Taunted As A 'Sissy Boy,' Siddharth Dube Shares His Life Story In New Memoir

7:00am April 13, 2019

by Kamala Thiagarajan

The public health advocate came of age in India when homosexuality was outlawed. He reflects on his experiences in An Indefinite Sentence: A Personal History of Outlawed Love and Sex.

In the Tennessee capitol, state Rep. Matthew Hill took heat from abortion-rights proponents last month who had gathered to protest a bill he favored that would ban abortions after about six weeks' pregnancy. That legislation was eventually thwarted in the

Republican State Lawmakers Split Over Anti-Abortion Strategy

3:18am April 13, 2019

Ohio is the latest Republican-led state to pass a ban on abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. But Tennessee this week backed off on a similar bill, fearing costly legal battles. What now?

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A guard escorts a detained immigrant from his "segregation cell" back into the general population at the Adelanto Detention Facility in November 2013. Today the privately run ICE facility in Adelanto, Calif., houses nearly 2,000 men and women and has come

Watchdogs Cite Lax Medical And Mental Health Treatment Of ICE Detainees

9:05pm April 12, 2019

by Sarah Varney

The Adelanto ICE Processing Center houses nearly 2,000 people in California. Federal, state and watchdog reviews say the Florida-based firm that runs Adelanto fails to provide adequate health care.

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Immunizations are one of the most cost-effective health interventions. Yet some vaccines are too expensive to be distributed in low- and middle-income countries.

Why Astronomical Drug Prices Are Bad For Health — And Profits

8:23pm April 12, 2019

by Jason Beaubien

Fatima Suleman, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences, hopes that WHO's Fair Pricing Forum can help lower drug costs — and benefit drug manufacturers.

Health & Safety

Does Empathy Have A Dark Side?

2:46pm April 12, 2019

by Jonathan Lambert

It's good to feel empathy, right? Not always, according to a forthcoming book. Humans are empathetic beings, and we sometimes harm others, not out of a failure of empathy, but because of it.