Medical Treatments

Patients Are Turning To GoFundMe To Fill Health Insurance Gaps

11:41pm December 27, 2018

by Mark Zdechlik

Medical fundraisers account for 1 in 3 of the website's campaigns and bring in more money than any other GoFundMe category. Americans' confidence they can afford health care is slipping, some say.

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'Reluctant Psychonaut' Michael Pollan Embraces 'New Science' Of Psychedelics

1:47pm December 26, 2018

by Terry Gross

Author Michael Pollan experimented with mushrooms, LSD and other psychedelics while researching his latest book, How to Change Your Mind. Originally broadcast May 15, 2018.

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Illustration of a young doctor trapped in a snowglobe by Katherine Streeter for NPR.

Health & Safety

How Working On Christmas Became A Privilege For 2 Young Doctors

8:02am December 25, 2018

by John Henning Schumann

In late December, medical interns are halfway through their first year of hands-on work with patients. The holiday season marks a special challenge as these doctors take on more responsibility.

Chris holds a plastic syringe he and his wife use to administer homemade medical marijuana oil to their 13-year-old son, Dylan, who has autism.

Health & Safety

After Other Options Fail, A Family Tries Medical Marijuana For Son With Autism

7:29am December 25, 2018

by Lynn Arditi

Rhode Island is among a growing number of states allowing children with autism to be treated with medical marijuana. The benefits are unproved and the full extent of the risks are unknown.

Terry Mote (right) visits the home of Stanley and Lorit Jamor in Enid, Okla. Stanley was born on Bikini atoll, and is a descendant of Chief Juda, who was told in 1946 by Commodore Ben H. Wyatt, of the U.S. Navy, to give up the island homeland "for the goo

A Policy Knot Leaves Oklahomans From Marshall Islands Struggling To Get Health Care

4:58am December 25, 2018

Their former homeland was a U.S. testing site for nuclear bombs, but they can't get Medicare or Medicaid in Oklahoma. A resident of Enid, Okla., who was born in the islands is trying to change that.

Many Food and Drug Administration activities will continue despite the partial federal shutdown.

Health & Safety

As Partial Shutdown Continues, FDA Prepares To Furlough Employees

4:28pm December 24, 2018

by Rhitu Chatterjee

About 40 percent of the Food and Drug Administration employees will go on unpaid leave starting Wednesday. The remaining staffers will respond to emergencies and continue work funded by user fees.

Sarah Witter had two operations to repair bones in her lower left leg after a skiing accident last February. The second surgery was needed to replace a stabilizing plate that broke.

Health & Safety

Bill Of The Month Update: Skier To Get $6,358 Refund After Surgery For Broken Leg

1:56pm December 24, 2018

by Jordan Rau

Ski buff Sarah Witter will get $6,358 back from her hospital and insurer after a review of her bill following the NPR-Kaiser Health News story about her case.

Research inspired by soccer headers has led to fresh insights into how the brain weathers hits to the head.

Bad Vibes: How Hits To The Head Are Transferred To The Brain

10:47am December 24, 2018

by Jon Hamilton

A question about heading soccer balls inspired a series of experiments to understand how the brain changes shape when someone's head takes a hit.

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Charlotte Potts, who has a history of heart problems, lives within sight of Livingston Regional Hospital. After a recent stint there, she was discharged into the care of a home health agency, and now gets treatment in her apartment for some ailments.

How Helping Patients Get Good Care At Home Helps Rural Hospitals Survive

7:00am December 23, 2018

by Blake Farmer

Hospitals are now financially rewarded by insurers for safety and efficacy — which often results in patients spending less time as inpatients.

A study found that parachutes were no more effective than empty backpacks at protecting jumpers from aircraft. There was just one catch.

Researchers Show Parachutes Don't Work, But There's A Catch

8:01am December 22, 2018

by Richard Harris

A study found parachutes were no more effective than backpacks in preventing harm to people jumping from aircraft. The researchers' tongue-in-cheek experiment makes a deeper point about science.