NPR Health Blog

Docs Not Dropping Medicare Patients Just Yet

In a surprise, a survey from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission finds doctors aren't following through on threats to stop seeing Medicare patients because of possible pay cuts. Read More...

Published Fri, Dec 03 2010 2:06 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health News Blog

After Surgery, Anesthetic Gases Add To Global Warming

Some gases used to anesthetize patients for surgery are hundreds of times more potent at warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. The volume of anesthesia gases used worldwide for surgery is about as bad for the climate as one million cars. Read More...

Published Mon, Dec 06 2010 2:39 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health News Blog

A Rubber Twist On Treating Tennis Elbow Pain

Some people are finding relief from tennis elbow, a condition caused by many activities besides tennis, by trading traditional hand weights for a rubber bar to strengthen their injured muscles. Read More...

Published Mon, Jul 25 2011 1:48 AM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

Bad Economy May Be Leading To Less Surgery

HCA Holdings, the biggest for-profit hospital chain in the U.S., reported lower earnings than expected in the latest quarter due mainly to a decline in surgical cases. Read More...

Published Tue, Jul 26 2011 6:55 AM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

Papayas Recalled Over Salmonella Risks

There's a recall of papayas from Mexico after testing by the Food and Drug Administration found samples from Agromod Produce had the same strain of bacteria seen in outbreaks of salmonella affecting 97 people in 23 states. Read More...

Published Tue, Jul 26 2011 1:26 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

Treatment Boosts Survival Rates For Some Kidney Transplant Patients

Approximately one in three kidney failure patients have antibodies that make it hard to receive a kidney transplant. But a new treatment can clean their blood of the antibodies prior to transplant. The patients who received it had a much higher survival...

Published Thu, Jul 28 2011 2:00 AM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

Abortion-Rights Group Faults Republican Presidential Field

The abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America says that none of the declared Republican candidates for president — nor any of those thought to be waiting in the wings — would pass muster with voters who support a woman's right to choose. Read...

Published Thu, Jul 28 2011 2:37 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

How A Debt Stalemate Could Squeeze Health System

If an impasse were to drag on for more than a few weeks, health care providers could be unable to pay their staffs or even face insolvency, say health care experts and former government officials. Read More...

Published Fri, Jul 29 2011 11:58 AM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

Soy Pills Fail To Counter Menopause Effects Like Bone Loss

The discovery will be a big disappointment to millions of women who started taking soy after the Women's Health Initiative showed in 2002 that estrogen supplements increase the menopausal women's risk of blood clots, stroke and cognitive problems...

Published Tue, Aug 09 2011 6:31 AM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

Music's Soothing Notes Can Help Cancer Patients Chill Out

There's new evidence that music therapy can help patients and their families manage the anxiety and pain that comes with cancer treatment. Music therapists can even help get insurers to pay for the therapy. Read More...

Published Wed, Aug 10 2011 8:37 AM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

Can CT Scans Be Made Smarter To Use Safer Amounts Of Radiation?

Making CT scans safer should start with simple step of figuring out how much radiation you actually need to get the job done, researchers say. Read More...

Published Thu, Aug 11 2011 8:03 AM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

'I Will No Longer Be Disfigured': First Photos of Transplant Patient Released

Charla Nash's face was mauled by a chimpanzee in 2009. Before the transplant, she wore a veil to conceal her grotesquely misshapen visage. Her transplanted face is smooth and normally proportioned, with little or no sign it came from another person...

Published Thu, Aug 11 2011 3:28 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

Don't Get In A Pickle: Learn To Can Food Safely

The first annual Can-It-Forward Day takes place in Seattle on Saturday. The recent surge in interest in home food preservation inspired us to chat with an expert on how to do it safely. Read More...

Published Sat, Aug 13 2011 4:38 AM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

Sleep Apnea Makes Quick Comeback If Breathing Treatment Stops

When patients stopped using a continuous positive airway pressure machine to treat sleep apnea even for one night, not only were they really sleepy the next day, but a flood of related health problems returned, a study found. Read More...

Published Mon, Aug 15 2011 2:07 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

Think You're An Auditory Or Visual Learner? Scientists Say It's Unlikely

Researchers say there's no evidence to support the widely held belief that there are distinct visual, auditory and kinetic learning styles. Though an industry has sprung up around the idea, psychologists recommend other approaches to help kids retain...

Published Sun, Aug 28 2011 9:01 PM by NPR Blogs: Shots - Health Blog

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