When extremely expensive new hepatitis C medications arrived on the market more than two years ago, private health insurers limited access to the very sickest. Now, two new analyses say that approach is shortsighted and counterproductive.
The Portland Tribune's Peter Korn, a 2009 National Fellow, recently took a look at Oregon residents who've turned to unconventional treatments, and their difficulties in finding doctors who will work them. Korn says this is a story that could be easily localized by reporters elsewhere.
An ocean view and a smoothie bar do not have any bearing on the quality of health care being delivered by doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a simple way to compare hospitals?
Everybody knows that smoking causes cancer, and that obesity causes heart disease, but even most doctors and scientists I speak to have no idea about the very large effect obesity has on cancer.
Underwhelming results demonstrate that after all the money and effort invested in bureaucracy, Patient Centered Medical Homes do not contribute to actual patient care.
When I tackled the topic of loneliness as a 2013 National Health Journalism Fellowship project, I honestly didn't think it would be hard to find people who were lonely so that I could write about the issue. I was right and wrong.
Sifting through the scientific literature on immigration and health makes one thing clear above all else: the health of immigrants is very much shaped by the particulars of their background.
Sifting through the scientific literature on immigration and health makes one thing clear above all else: the health of immigrants is very much shaped by the particulars of their background.
At a time when there are so many vital questions to ask, and research budgets everywhere are under attack, I wonder why well-meaning researchers pick obvious questions to ask. Is it easier to get funding? Are they cheaper to execute? Is the bar lower?
Two California gun buyback programs try crowdsourcing to fund their operations. Does getting firearms off the street in this manner really reduce gun violence?
