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"We really do have a lot of responsibility and culpability," says one hospital official who is part of a working group trying to address the opioid epidemic. Patients have to expect more pain after surgery and understand the risk of addiction, says another doctor.
Infant mortality in some of the poorest ZIP codes in the United States rivals that of countries like war-torn Syria. Cuba, meanwhile, does a good job of keeping babies healthy on a tight budget. A team of Cuban health professionals recently spent time in Chicago helping peers there tackle the daunting problem.
The Haight Ashbury Free Clinic still serves people living on the fringes in San Francisco. This radio story recounts its 51-year history.
Studies show promising results for a treatment approach that tackles chronic pain and addiction together, but obstacles stand in the way of this integrated care.
This doctor came out of retirement with the goal of treating every patient at high risk for hepatitis C he encounters. The problem is finding them.
Vietnam veterans’ wartime experiences — and their lasting psychological toll — can make it harder to treat their physical and emotional pain as they approach death.
Arizona is one of a few states that have declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency. There's no uniformity in what that means from state to state, though, and even within Arizona, there's a wide divergence of opinion on how best to tackle the problem.
In Tennessee, an Obamacare consumer saw her rate go from $750 to just $5 a month. But a man in Maryland had to buy a less comprehensive plan to keep his costs under $1,000 a month. Income and geography determine prices for health insurance in the fifth year of Affordable Care Act coverage.
One Indiana addiction specialist doesn't shy away from telemedicine, but he still requires in-person visits to begin and maintain his patients' Suboxone prescriptions.
Doctors prescribed powerful opioids for a patient after back surgery but gave her little guidance on how to take them safely. Then, she says, they misdiagnosed her withdrawal symptoms. Some experts say this situation is akin to a hospital-acquired condition.
Harvesting U.S. crops has been left to an aging population of farmworkers whose health has suffered from decades of hard labor. Older workers have a greater chance of getting injured and of developing chronic illnesses.
Medical debt is down across the country. In states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the reduction is sharper.
A battle brews as Republican Gov. Paul LePage says he won't implement the Medicaid expansion unless the Legislature funds Maine's share. Other states, such as Idaho and Utah, are keenly watching.
People with the genetic blood disorder that mainly afflicts African-Americans can live into their 60s with competent care. So why is life expectancy slipping down to around age 40?
Open enrollment for health insurance on the Affordable Care Act exchanges started last week. Across the country, municipalities, insurers and grass-roots groups are working hard to help folks navigate the hoops.
States aren't getting nearly as much federal money this year to explain and campaign for Affordable Care Act policies. Some are trying to make up the shortfall; others lack the cash or political will.
Two states, North and South Carolina, have very different outlooks since the Trump administration cut funding for the people who help others sign up for health insurance.
Advertising for hospitals, unlike pharmaceutical companies, doesn't have to be backed up by data or facts. Cheerful messages of hope can feel like a slap in the face to a dying patient.
ICU nurse Julayne Smithson had only a few minutes to grab some things from her recently purchased home a block from the Santa Rosa hospital. Then she rushed back to help evacuate patients and has scarcely stopped working since.
Moms-to-be in labor had to be evacuated from Santa Rosa hospitals in the midst of the California wildfires.
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