Medical Treatments

The Natural Cycles smartphone app figures out the days of the month when a woman is likely to be fertile.

Health & Safety

FDA Stirs Contraception Debate With OK For 'Natural' Birth Control App

5:35pm August 21, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

Critics worry a new contraception app, which allows women to track body temperature and menstrual cycle to avoid pregnancy, isn't as effective as other methods. But some women welcome another option.

Guidelines for cervical cancer screening have changed to allow HPV testing alone for women over 30.

For Cervical Cancer Screening, Women Over 30 Can Now Choose The HPV Test Only

5:17pm August 21, 2018

by Richard Harris

HPV testing is now seen as equally effective as Pap tests for cervical cancer screening. An influential federal advisory group has changed guidelines for how women over 30 should get tested.

Queue Listen Now

Dispatches From A 'Dopesick' America

4:08pm August 21, 2018

by Dave Davies

Author Beth Macy details opioids' odyssey from medicine to scourge, in her book about young heroin users, their long-suffering parents, doctors, drug company executives, cops, judges and drug dealers.

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A man holds a sample of the opioid antidote Narcan during a training session at a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene office in March.

Health & Safety

Poll: Most Americans Know About Opioid Antidote And Are Willing To Use It

3:29pm August 21, 2018

by Scott Hensley

While a majority of Americans know about naloxone, there is confusion about the fact that in most places a prescription isn't required to obtain the emergency overdose treatment.

Researchers are trying to understand why black and Latino children are more likely to die of certain cancers.

Why Are Black And Latino Kids More Likely To Die Of Certain Cancers?

7:02pm August 20, 2018

by Erin Blakemore

There's a big survival gap between white and minority children when it comes to some childhood cancers. It turns out growing up in poverty explains a lot of the difference.

Screening for lung cancer can catch tumors but it can also produce false positives. Patients need to decide whether it's right for them, but doctors often don't know how to advise them.

Should You Get That Scan? Your Doctor Might Not Be Great At Helping You Decide

5:55pm August 18, 2018

In a new study, researchers found that doctors are better at explaining the benefits of a common cancer screening that its potential downsides. But overtesting comes with risks and costs of its own.

Texas officials are requiring that people who comment at Medicaid meetings on pharmaceuticals disclose more details about their ties to industry.

Health & Safety

Texas Tightens Disclosure Rules Following Medicaid Investigation

3:16pm August 17, 2018

by Liz Essley Whyte

Officials in Texas are responding to the findings of an investigation by NPR and the Center for Public Integrity into drugmakers' influence over medication choices for Medicaid patients.

Michael Vigil, an oil contractor from Douglas, Wyo., traveled 250 miles to Denver to have his aortic valve replaced in May. He said he would have preferred his local hospital do the procedure.

Health & Safety

Hospitals Battle For Control Over Fast-Growing Heart-Valve Procedure

8:29am August 17, 2018

by Phil Galewitz

Medicare limits payments for minimally invasive replacement of aortic valves to hospitals with large numbers of heart procedures. But smaller facilities are crying foul.

Victoria gave birth to her daughter Lili while in treatment for opioid dependency.

Babies Born Dependent On Opioids Need Touch, Not Tech

6:03pm August 16, 2018

by Alex Smith

A pediatrician is working to make sure every hospital in Kansas can give babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome the soft start they need, ideally right next to their mothers.

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A new generic that pharmacists can automatically substitute for Mylan's EpiPen will soon be on the market.

Health & Safety

FDA Approves New Generic Version Of The EpiPen For Allergic Reactions

4:58pm August 16, 2018

by Rob Stein

Consumers will have a new generic alternative to the widely used — and pricey — device to counter life-threatening allergic reactions.