NPR Health Blog

Medical Marijuana 101: You Can't Smoke That On Campus

Even in states where medical marijuana is illegal, it's still not OK on college campuses. That's because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and colleges don't want to jeopardize their federal funding by letting students use their...

Published Wed, May 23 2012 11:52 PM by Shots - Health Blog

By Putting Patients First, Hospital Tries To Make Care More Personal

Fauquier Hospital offers services not usually found in your average hospital. Not only is every one of its patient rooms a private one, it offers food cooked and delivered to order and hand massages. But experts say it's the actual involvement of...

Published Wed, May 23 2012 2:20 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Will Men And Their Doctors Change Course On PSA Tests?

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said the harms, such as false alarms and unnecessary surgeries that leave some men impotent and incontinent, outweigh the benefits of routine PSA blood testing for prostate cancer. But it's far from clear that...

Published Wed, May 23 2012 12:33 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Compensating Organ Donors Becomes 'Talk Of The Nation'

There's a persistent shortage of organs for transplantation in this country, and it's getting worse. Federal law bans financial incentives for organ donations. Is it time to reconsider? Some calls and emails from listeners illuminate the range...

Published Wed, May 23 2012 10:21 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Dangerous Gut Bacteria Move Outside Hospitals, Infect Kids

Clostridium difficile is a nasty bacterial infection that used to strike mainly older hospitalized patients taking antibiotics. In findings presented at a conference this week, Mayo Clinic researchers say it's now cropping up in communities, and infecting...

Published Wed, May 23 2012 6:54 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Health Insurance Cutbacks Squeeze The Insured

More than 1 in 5 Americans had a problem getting insurance to pay for a hospital, doctor or other health care in the past year, according to a new poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. Read More...

Published Wed, May 23 2012 12:22 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Easier Colon Cancer Test Works Well, But Colonoscopy's Still King

Over the past decade or so, sigmoidoscopy has been largely abandoned by doctors in the U.S. in favor of colonoscopy to detect and prevent colon cancer. But sigmoidoscopy is easier on patients and is also effective in finding precancerous polyps. Read...

Published Tue, May 22 2012 3:01 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Woman Charged In Death Of Fetus Is Out Of Jail

Shuai, a Chinese immigrant who lives in Indiana, is still facing charges of murder and feticide following a failed suicide attempt in Dec. 2010, when she was 33 weeks pregnant. Read More...

Published Tue, May 22 2012 2:19 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Shoddy Drugs Threaten Malaria Treatment

From 20 to 42 percent of the malaria medicines examined in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa were crummy or counterfeit. The poor quality of the medicines threatens people's health and raises the odds for drug-resistant disease. Read More...

Published Tue, May 22 2012 11:29 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Trained Interpreters Can Help Prevent Medical Errors

Though they may be well-meaning, not to mention more affordable than trained interpreters, relying on accidental interpreters, such as family members, during medical treatment isn't the best idea, research has found. Read More...

Published Tue, May 22 2012 7:52 AM by Shots - Health Blog

All Routine PSA Tests For Prostate Cancer Should End, Task Force Says

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says the testing doesn't save enough lives to justify the risk of unnecessary surgery and radiation. But one testing supporter says, "If all PSA screening were to stop, there would be thousands of men who...

Published Mon, May 21 2012 5:20 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Catholic Groups Sue Obama Administration Over Birth Control Rule

More than 40 Catholic educational, charitable and other entities filed a dozen lawsuits in federal court around the nation Monday, charging that the Obama Administration's rule requiring coverage of birth control in most health insurance plans violates...

Published Mon, May 21 2012 1:20 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Katie Beckett Defied The Odds, Helped Other Disabled Kids Live Longer

Katie Beckett, 34, died Friday morning in the same hospital where she'd once made history. Beckett spent most of the first three years of her life in an Iowa hospital because she needed to breathe on a ventilator much of the day. Medicaid would only...

Published Mon, May 21 2012 1:13 PM by Shots - Health Blog

Health Think Tank Crunches Health Prices For The Masses

In 2010, health spending rose fastest people 18 and under, according to an analysis of data from private insurers. It's just one finding made possible by a new database drawn from the Read More...

Published Mon, May 21 2012 10:20 AM by Shots - Health Blog

Your Stories Of Being Sick Inside The U.S. Health Care System

Our call-out on Facebook for people to share their experiences of the health care system yielded close to 1,000 responses. From Oregon to Florida, respondents told wrenching tales of bankruptcies, medical errors, and treatment delayed or foregone because...

Published Mon, May 21 2012 2:00 AM by Shots - Health Blog

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