posted 08/11/2016
Diabetes rates are soaring across the nation. But in Rhode Island, the Hispanic population has seen the most dramatic increase of any other group over the past few years.
posted 10/23/2014
Addiction usually leaves a wake of chaos, and all kinds of casualties - marriages, jobs, health. Today's opioid addiction crisis is not only claiming lives, but sparking a new epidemic of hepatitis C among new injection drug users.
posted 09/16/2014
Like a growing number of Medicaid programs around the country, Rhode Island’s Medicaid program has quietly posted its first guidelines for coverage of an expensive new drug for hepatitis C. The new drug, called Sovaldi, is a big deal, whether you have hepatitis C or not.
posted 07/28/2014
Baby boomers are five times as likely to have chronic hepatitis C as any other age group. That's why the CDC launched a public health campaign to encourage boomers to get screened for the disease. And so, in honor of World Hepatitis Day, I invite — no, I encourage — boomers to get tested.
posted 07/22/2014
For babies, healthy brain development is like a tennis game. A caregiver "serves" up an interaction, like a facial expression, a coo, or a word, and the infant "returns" that serve, imitating the expression or sound. That "serve and return" dynamic is key.
posted 07/04/2014
New drugs are about to revolutionize the way we treat- and cure - Hepatitis C. But are we ready to pay for these expensive treatments for the wave of baby boomers who are going to need them?