Medical Treatments

Dr. Carlos Gutierrez examines a young girl at a shelter in El Paso that was set up for recent migrants. The girl's mother said her daughter's deep cough arose while the family was in immigration custody.

Makeshift Volunteer Clinics Struggle To Meet Medical Needs At The Border

2:10pm April 05, 2019

by Anna Maria Barry-Jester

As recent arrivals to the U.S. are released from detention with health problems ranging from diarrhea to gaping wounds, doctors who are trying to help, with little federal support, feel the strain.

If a doctor's office is like Blockbuster, Hims feels more like Netflix. It's a way to skip the long waits and crowds and get generic Viagra, hair growth treatment and other medicine and vitamins with minimal interaction with a health care provider — for

Health & Safety

Opinion: Direct-To-Consumer Medicine Can Be Quick And Discreet, But What's Lost?

4:13pm April 04, 2019

by Vishal Khetpal

If you happily order your contact lenses online, why not get drugs for migraines or erectile dysfunction that way, too? Be careful, a medical student warns. Your "simple" self-diagnosis may be wrong.

The presence of the hepatitis C virus in donated hearts and organs for transplantation wasn't an impediment for a successful result for recipients.

Health & Safety

Hepatitis C Not A Barrier For Organ Transplantation, Study Finds

8:52pm April 03, 2019

by Richard Harris

Researchers found that antiviral drugs are effective in preventing transmission of the hepatitis C virus from donated hearts and lungs to recipients. The result could help reduce organ wait times.

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A medical assistant administers insulin to an adolescent patient who has Type 1 diabetes. Cigna's pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts, says it covers 1.4 million people who take insulin.

Express Scripts Takes Steps To Cut Insulin's Price To Patients

2:46pm April 03, 2019

by Alison Kodjak

As congressional lawmakers continue to turn up the heat on drugmakers, insurers and middlemen over the price of many medicines, one player says it will limit patients' share of the cost of insulin.

A certified nursing assistant wipes Neva Shinkle's face with chlorhexidine, an antimicrobial wash. Shinkle is a patient at Coventry Court Health Center, a nursing home in Anaheim, Calif., that is part of a multicenter research project aimed at stopping th

Hospitals Look To Nursing Homes To Help Stop Drug-Resistant Infections

9:36am April 02, 2019

by Anna Gorman

Hospitals and nursing homes in California and Illinois think that regional cooperation — and a particular soap — could help them all gain the upper hand against deadly superbugs.

Amir Kiani (from left), Chloe O'Connell and Nishit Asnani troubleshoot an algorithm to diagnose tuberculosis in computer lab at Stanford University.

Health & Safety

How Can Doctors Be Sure A Self-Taught Computer Is Making The Right Diagnosis?

7:29pm April 01, 2019

by Richard Harris

It's hard for humans to check algorithms that computers devise on their own. But these artificial intelligence systems are already moving from the lab toward doctors' offices.

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"The optimist in me says in three years we can train this tool to read mammograms as well as an average radiologist," says Connie Lehman, chief of breast imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Health & Safety

Training A Computer To Read Mammograms As Well As A Doctor

8:11am April 01, 2019

by Richard Harris

Artificial intelligence is now being brought to bear on mammograms and could improve the accuracy of diagnoses. But previous computerized technology to do that didn't live up to the hype.

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People lined up Wednesday to be vaccinated amid a mumps outbreak on the Temple University campus in Philadelphia.

Health & Safety

Vaccination Push Underway To Contain Mumps Outbreak In Philadelphia

4:19pm March 28, 2019

by Rebecca Ellis

Temple University officials say the vast majority of students who are part of a mumps outbreak had been immunized previously with a vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella.

Both Democrats and Republicans have introduced proposals that would impose a cap on out-of-pocket costs of prescription drugs for Medicare patients. But it's still unclear whether those moves will gain a foothold.

Medicare's Uncapped Drug Costs Take A Big Bite From Already Tight Budgets

9:10am March 27, 2019

by Michelle Andrews

Unlike many private health plans, Medicare has no cap on out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs in Part D. As the cost of specialty drugs rises, some Medicare patients owe thousands of dollars.

After a sports injury, Esteban Serrano owed $829.41 for a knee brace purchased with insurance through his doctor's office. He says he found the same kind of brace selling for less than $250 online.

Soccer-Playing Engineer Calls Foul On Pricey Knee Brace

5:32pm March 26, 2019

by Paula Andalo

After a sports injury, Esteban Serrano owed $829.41 for a knee brace purchased with insurance through his doctor's office. The same kind of brace costs less than $250 online.

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