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A Matter of Life-or-Death: The Type of Nurses Your Hospital Employs
ByadminGood medical outcomes often depends on good nursing care. When hospitals cut back on nursing care, patient mortality rates climb. If you want a good hospital, pick one that doesn’t skimp on the nurse-to-patient ratio. You should also look at the education level of nurses a hospital employs. Because not all nurses are equally skilled….
Has Mammography Created an Epidemic of Pseudo-Survivorship?
ByadminKaren Vogt’s breast cancer journey began like many others, with her breasts painfully squeezed into a mammography machine. At age 52, it was far from her first mammogram, but this scan would be the most consequential by far. It revealed microcalcifications, little areas of breast tissue speckled with deposits of calcium that her radiologist worried…
The Most Potent Prescription Ever: Take Time for Yourself, As Directed by Your Doctor
ByadminDr. Norah Neylon was caring for a 50-year-old woman who was overwhelmed with care-giving responsibilities of her own. The woman’s mother was experiencing early signs of dementia. Five of her relatives had died in the past three years. She frequently had to fly back and forth from California to the Caribbean to take care of…
Rare Diseases Are Becoming Too Common. Sound Impossible? Here's Why It's Not
ByadminIt is hard to make money treating rare diseases. There simply aren’t enough customers to generate many profits. That’s why the U.S. government passed the Orphan Drug Act in 1983, a law which created a series of incentives to encourage drug companies to develop treatments for rare or “orphan” diseases – conditions affecting less than…
Who Receives More Wasteful Care: Medicaid Enrollees or People with Private Insurance?
ByadminSome medical services are unnecessary. Is it your first day of uncomplicated lower back pain? You don’t need an x-ray. But many patients continue to receive such services anyway, perhaps because they demand them or, perhaps, because their providers keep recommending them. But does the likelihood of unnecessary services depend on your insurance? Specifically, do Medicaid…
A Patient Complained about the Cost of Her Medical Care. Here's How Her Doctor Responded.
ByadminThe oncologist had prescribed Xgeva hoping it would strengthen her bones while also delaying the progression of Angela Kahn’s breast cancer. But Kahn (a pseudonym) couldn’t get over the price of the drug. Before the oncologist had a chance to ask how she was feeling, she blurted out that the medication cost “$15,000 a shot.”…

