To Get Mental Health Help For A Child, Desperate Parents Relinquish Custody

To get care for their 12-year-old son’s severe mental illness, Toni and Jim Hoy had to give up custody of him and allow the state of Illinois to care for him. It happens to hundreds, perhaps thousands of children each year. The exact number is unknown because two-thirds of states do not keep track.

When Medicine Makes Patients Sicker

The Food and Drug Administration is supposed to inspect all factories, foreign and domestic, that produce drugs for the U.S. market. But a KHN review of thousands of FDA documents — inspection records, recalls, warning letters and lawsuits — reveals how drugs that are poorly manufactured or contaminated can reach consumers.

No-Go On Drunken Driving: States Deploy Breathalyzers In Cars To Limit Road Deaths

On New Year’s Day, California joined the majority of U.S. states that require people convicted of drunken driving to install ignition-linked breathalyzers in their vehicles. If the devices detect alcohol above a predetermined level, the cars don’t start.

How The Government Shutdown Affects Health Programs

Medicare and Medicaid are fine, but the food safety component of the Food and Drug Administration and bio-threat surveillance done by the Department of Homeland Security are among the public health functions feeling the pinch.

Up To A Third Of Knee Replacements Pack Pain And Regret

Many patients face lingering pain and disappointment after undergoing knee replacement surgery, which costs an average $31,000. And doctors are increasingly concerned that the procedure is overused and that its benefits have been oversold.