An important story, well told by the Tribune and veteran writer Judith Graham. Excerpts: “Families have reason to be alert to risks associated with diagnostic tests such as CT scans. Kids’ changing bodies and brains are especially sensitive to ionizing radiation from X-rays used in the exams. And because children have longer to live than [...]
This is NOT just a Minnesota issue. What’s happening in Lake Wobegon country may have ramifications nationwide. A nurse and a nurses’ union governmental affairs specialist co-authored an opinion piece in the Star Tribune this week, showing how raw some nurses’ nerves still are over this summer’s labor dispute. The one-day strike was held and [...]
Another excellent piece by John Fauber of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, “Drug that could stop stroke isn’t always used.” This story also includes good graphics and reminders for readers on warning signs of a stroke, how to be prepared for a stroke emergency and what to do in such an emergency. And, in that newspaper’s partnership [...]
Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, blogs about the question, “Can You Really Measure The Quality Of Cancer Care?“ Dr. Len concludes: “…emphasizing that just because someone says one place is better than another, or one doctor is better than another it is important to keep in mind what [...]
Former US Senator David Durenberger (R-MN), in his monthly commentary from the National Institute of Health Policy at the University of St. Thomas, writes about an example of a patient and a provider balking at evidence and outcomes data. The commentary is built on the back of a story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press [...]
From today’s latest addition to this excellent series: “Americans increasingly are treated to death, spending more time in hospitals in their final days, trying last-ditch treatments that often buy only weeks of time, and racking up bills that have made medical care a leading cause of bankruptcies. More than 80 percent of people who die [...]
Another in the excellent Associated Press “overtreatment” series. Excerpt: “Americans get the most medical radiation in the world, even more than folks in other rich countries. The U.S. accounts for half of the most advanced procedures that use radiation, and the average American’s dose has grown sixfold over the last couple of decades. Too much [...]
This AP story raises many important questions about the quality of information consumers receive (or not) about the quality of care. Excerpt: “Millions of seniors signed up for popular Medicare Advantage insurance plans don’t get the best quality, an independent study found.…The analysis found that 47 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are in plans that rate [...]
Walt Bogdanich and a team of reporters produced a powerful package entitled, “Radiation Offers New Cures, and Ways to Do Harm.” He profiled two people who died – one who received seven times his prescribed dose and one who absorbed “27 days of radiation overdoses, each three times the prescribed amount.” But the story also [...]
The Chicago Tribune, in the middle of a good story with a catchy headline – “The United States of Anxiety: Worried Sick Over Our Health Care” – includes some vital messages: “Polls show voters worry a lot about health care and how much they spend on it. Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have [...]
It’s difficult to do an overview of melanoma drug research in a relatively brief story. But this story did a solid job.
Better than a competing piece by Reuters but still a little short on some details about this asthma drug study.
An adequate summary of this asthma drug trial’s design doesn’t make up for the overly optimistic tone about the drug’s future. A New York Times story was better.
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