Is it time for a glimmer of optimism about reducing at least one unacceptably high health care cost? Say hear, hear then, to the federal Food and Drug Administration’s removing the last regulatory block to consumers with mild to moderate hearing loss buying cheaper, easier to access, over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids — potentially as soon….
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Ask the doctors and they’ll fess up: MD misbehavior occurs too often
Patients may be reluctant to think ill of their doctors or to imagine that highly educated, rigorously trained professionals could mistreat or cause them harm. Doctors themselves know this picture is way too rosy for some of their colleagues. In a survey of 1,500 practicing MDs, all of whom voluntarily responded to an online questionnaire,….
Continue Reading3 giant drug store chains hit with $650-million judgment for opioid harms
CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart are getting expensive lessons about corporate responsibility in filling prescriptions, as federal courts in San Francisco and Cleveland separately have faulted the companies for inundating communities with staggering quantities of addictive painkillers. Those drugs caused such great harm that the three major drug chains must pay two Ohio Counties $650.5 million,….
Continue ReadingChief launches CDC shakeup, citing ponderous agency’s pandemic flubs
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of the world’s premier public health agencies, will try to revamp itself after taking months of a political, scientific, and reputational battering for too often performing in shambolic fashion in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Rochelle Walensky (shown, right) appointed the agency’s chief in December 2020,….
Continue ReadingBeware of heat and head trauma as young athletes prepare for fall sports
Even before the school bells ring to bring kids back to classes, young athletes have taken to steamy fields and other facilities for fall training — making this an ideal time to remind coaches, trainers, players, and parents to ensure important steps are taken for safety’s sake. While injury prevention of all kinds must be….
Continue ReadingRollout will take time for Democrats’ big act on health, climate and taxes
President Biden and congressional Democrats have embarked on a major political experiment, testing the public’s willingness to delay gratification on seeing big benefits of a landmark measure with important elements to improve their health and wellbeing. Is it more persuasive to regular folks that one political party is trying to tackle huge problems, or will relentless….
Continue ReadingWhen claims of harms rise, more corporations are diving into bankruptcy
They were a tortured part of the opioid abuse and drug overdose crisis. They have become a painful aspect of the push to hold nursing home owners and operators accountable for the shambolic response to the coronavirus pandemic. And they soon may be an obstacle to military veterans’ attempts to get justice for defective devices….
Continue ReadingCoronavirus guidelines ease, as concerns persist about polio, monkey pox and flu
Federal health officials have eased guidelines for most regular folks on how best to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, even as monkeypox cases and vaccination efforts for that viral illness keep increasing and the detection of once-controlled polio raises concern. Indicators about the severity of the next influenza season also worry experts. With the coronavirus,….
Continue ReadingD.C. drivers need to learn a key safety lesson: Slow down near schools
With students returning to classes in a few weeks, motorists need to make an important safety pledge to youngsters and their communities in Washington, D.C.: Please, for goodness’ sake, slow down. This is not happening as it should, putting kids at heightened risk, a new study has found. As the Washington Post reported: “D.C. drivers….
Continue ReadingDiabetes drugs that cause weight loss find plus-size online demand
They’re expensive and often uncovered by health insurance. They’re unfamiliar for now to many doctors, especially those in primary care. But — as expected — patients are hearing a lot about the effectiveness of new prescription medications aimed at treating diabetes and how these drugs have another positive outcome: They help users lose weight, potentially….
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