The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
After a wave of sometimes-deadly superbug infections, the agency last year ordered a recall of Custom Ultrasonics machines used to disinfect medical scopes. Now, with little explanation, it is backing off.
In 2013 and 2014, people ages 45 to 64 accounted for about half of all deaths from drug overdose, according to the CDC.
A May Health Affairs study examines how Medicare’s eligibility age affects spending and prices, as well as the volume of services used by patients.
The FDA expands its purview over all tobacco products — including e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco — but the new regulatory process could permit many products sold in the U.S. to remain so for up to three years.
The FDA issued a big recall of frozen foods this week. Here’s what you need to know about the nasty bug that’s causing all the problems.
A nonprofit patient safety group devised nationally standardized measures to help pregnant women gauge hospitals on quality of maternity care.
In June, California will become the fifth state to allow terminally ill patients to end their lives with prescriptions from their doctors, but getting those prescriptions will require serious effort.
Federal data suggest that many smokers aren’t confessing to their tobacco habit to avoid paying higher health care premiums, thwarting insurers.
Maryland proposes an innovative program to temporarily enroll former inmates in Medicaid with few questions asked.
Many Americans believe the U.S. isn’t doing enough to fight prescription painkiller and heroin abuse, reports a Kaiser Family Foundation poll out Tuesday.
The problem won’t be fixed until September, though the state’s congressional delegation calls for quick action.
The problems persist even after Congress in 2012 gave the FDA enhanced powers to respond when drug levels are low.
New research highlights the paradox in the federal program to improve hospital quality.
A new study explores why the most profitable U.S. hospitals are who they are.
New research sheds light on the growing costs to the health care system associated with painkiller and heroin abuse.
Bad coordination and communication can put patients at risk as they’re discharged from a hospital.
The effort, which will replace a controversial reimbursement schedule that began in 1997, is designed to move away from paying for quantity of services and focus instead on quality.
Obama administration broadens eligibility for those in halfway houses, but advocates for former prisoners say HHS and states must do far more.
A report by the Guttmacher Institute finds that the proportion of teenagers who are getting instructions in birth control methods is declining.
The U.S. Gulf Coast has the right weather conditions and mosquitoes for the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects. But the level of risk is unknown in this country so doctors are advising caution to their patients who are pregnant or trying to have a baby.
