Breast Cancer: How Politics Is Driving Up Costs
In spite of clear evidence that the high-priced drug Avastin does not benefit breast cancer patients, politicians want the FDA to maintain approval.
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In spite of clear evidence that the high-priced drug Avastin does not benefit breast cancer patients, politicians want the FDA to maintain approval.
Most men with low-risk prostate cancer get aggressive treatment, even though the therapies carry big risks, a new study finds.
After a knee injury, patients often have immediate reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. A Swedish researcher found that exercise was just as good as surgery at helping patients recover.
The health overhaul prohibits new insurance plans from charging higher copayments or coinsurance amounts for out-of-network emergency services or from imposing other coverage limitations that wouldn't apply to in-network care.
This week, news outlets covered the Obama administration as it began implementing parts of the new health law and also unveiled a national HIV/AIDS strategy. And, Capitol Hill is still reacting to the president's recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid.
Panel's recommendations on preventive care will determine which services are covered fully by insurance. That could make it a political lightning rod for lobbyists and disease advocates and conflict with its tradition of scholarly dedication to the science of randomized medical trials.
Patients typically wait 20 minutes or more to see the doctor, the AMA says. But a new scheduling system that allows patients to see the doctor on the day they call for an appointment has surprising success in cutting that delay.
Dr. Dennis M. Dimitri, a family physician, runs an unusual office. Few appointments are accepted in advance - patients call in the morning and are assigned a time slot later that day and they don't have to spend hours in a waiting room.
The federal government is providing $27 billion over the next decade to reward doctors and hospitals for installing electronic health systems. But some hospital officials say the regulations are still too onerous.
Deals in Detroit and Boston may be the leading edge of a trend, hospital analysts say.
Rural health advocates asked state lawmakers Wednesday to help pay for improvements to rural hospitals in up to 42 Texas counties. Without state help, they said, the rural hospitals have no hope of doing necessary renovations to catch up to federal and state hospital codes.
The federal government recently handed consumers a new trove of data about how hospitals use their fancy medical scanners. The implicit message: Avoid hospitals that lean too heavily on devices that can expose you to radiation and other risks.
President Obama's appointment - during a congressional recess - of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services is focusing new attention on Berwick's record and beliefs, in particular a 2008 speech about Britain's National Health Service. This is an edited transcript.
The new health care law does not address costs for medical supplies
Forget sending workers overseas for lower cost medical care: A growing number of employers are encouraging workers to travel within the states to medical facilities they say have better quality and lower costs.
More than 30 states and Congress have passed laws requiring hospitals to publish their prices, but the information often is of little use to consumers.
A pair of papers in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine add to a growing chorus urging doctors to be more judicious in their use of CT scans.
The White House today released a "Fact Sheet: The Affordable Care Act's New Patient's Bill of Rights," the Obama administration's summary of new regulations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services.
The number of people hospitalized or killed by serious heart attacks each year is down sharply, new studies show. The overall rate of hospitalization for heart disease is down, too. Experts attribute improving heart health to the decline in smoking, more people getting treated for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and the greater attention many people now give to eating healthier foods and getting exercise. Prevention clearly pays off for those who pay attention.
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