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It is entirely reasonable for women to decide to get mammograms beginning in their forties. It is also reasonable for them to decide against it, and neither guidelines nor their physician's personal opinion
Ten years ago this month, IOM's 'To Err Is Human' cast a spotlight on the role of the nurse in keeping patients safe, a role that will become even more important under the ongoing effort to reform the health care system.
A new study says almost one out of three adults in the U.S. currently serves as a caregiver. The time and energy they put into caregiving becomes like an unpaid job.
Consumer advocates and others say it will only become harder for low-income Kansans to get medical services now that the state is cutting Medicaid payments by 10 percent.
Perhaps the political and media elite shouldn't wait for an impending presidential election to pay attention to what Iowa has to say.
When it comes to making medical care not only cheaper but also better, reducing hospital infections is among the easiest changes to make--something reform really should be able to do, even in this political universe of such limited possibility.
About 11 percent of people ages 60 and older suffer from some kind of abuse every year. But as a part of health care overhaul legislation, lawmakers are taking steps that would for the first time establish a federal beachhead in fighting such abuse.
Patients often find it difficult to base medical decisions on study results. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
Nearly all adults who die in La Crosse, Wisconsin, have filled out "advance directives" - explicit instructions on what treatments they do and don't want at the end of life. The medical ethicist who started the program says "We believe it's part of good patient care."
Devices that measure blood pressure and other health information may help the elderly and people with chronic conditions stay in touch with doctors while remaining at home. The technology could cut health spending by catching problems before they escalate into crises.
The people in Southeastern Kentucky have the poorest health in the country. Yet the area is rich with medical facilities. Health reform bills are unlikely to change much: One doctor says: "We have to transform the way we take care of people."
Health care has to be looked at in context, according to Annie Fox and Teana Burns of "Harlan Countians for a Healthy Community" in Kentucky.
Family nurse practitioner Beverly May, of the Kentucky Mountain Health Alliance, treats many patients with chronic diseases.
Gerry Roll says people don't understand the health problems in southeastern Kentucky: "You can get whatever you need as far as traditional medical care goes. Yet we have the highest levels of chronic disease in the nation. So when I hear people talking about access to health care being a problem, I am livid."
Six years ago, Cathy Nance had to have open heart surgery. Later, she had kidney cancer. Because of poor health and inability to work, she became homeless, until she was helped by Harlan Countians for a Healthy Community.
At Hillcrest Medical Center, which is testing a "bundled" Medicare payment system, some seniors get paid up to $1,157 for having surgery. The pilot program aims to save money and improve care by paying doctors and hospitals a lump sum and rewards the patients with part of the savings.
This brief explainer examines the number of uninsured illegal immigrants, where they go for health services and how they would fare if current health reform proposals pass.
Trying to discredit the Dartmouth data is a distraction from the real work that's needed to understand and remedy the extraordinary amount of money spent on care that does not appear to make a difference in health.
The finances of Hillsboro Medical Center in North Dakota improved after it got a "critical access" designation. Sens. Conrad, D-N.D., Wyden, D-Ore., Pryor, D-Ark., and Brownback, R-Kan., want to make it easier for other rural hospitals to get the designation as part of health reform.
All of the Democratic health proposals would expand children's dental care - a serious need. Currently about twice as many children are without dental coverage as those without medical coverage. At the same time, some insurance experts worry that the legislation may have unintended consequences, disrupting adult coverage.
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