About Max
Max Blau is the Southern correspondent for STAT news. He can be reached at maxcblau@gmail.com
Max’s Recent Stories
Health Nov 19
Long-awaited study finds monthly Vivitrol as effective as daily pill for opioid addictionThe finding from the largest head-to-head study to date between two leading drugs to treat opioid addiction could dramatically change prescribing habits.
Health Nov 18
FDA clears electronic earpiece to block opioid withdrawal symptomsA wearable device claiming to block the pain of opioid withdrawal has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration under a new expedited review process.
Health Oct 28
Why having surgery later in the day might be better for your healthThe time of day of your surgery could have long-term impacts on your health.
Science Aug 12
In the shadow of a nuclear plant, the U.S. government lays out an unusual mission: teach the locals to trust scienceFear haunts a community near a nuclear plant. So the U.S. is sending scientists there — to explain to dubious locals why they should trust in science.
Health Jul 15
‘Are you saying I’m dying?’ Training doctors to speak frankly about deathDoctors have a tough time being frank with patients who are dying. So they're stepping into simulators to practice telling patients the unvarnished truth.
Health Jun 04
A taxpayer gamble on medical tourism: Louisiana subsidizes proton therapy to boost its economyProton therapy only works for specific types of cancer, but Louisiana officials are hopeful their centers will make the state a medical tourism destination.
Health May 20
In rural Tennessee, a hospital turns to crowdfunding to stay afloatThe Copper Basin Medical Center has launched a GoFundMe campaign to try to raise enough money to serve its rural community. It's not going well.
Health Mar 25
In the state with the highest medical debt, it’s the middle class who carries the burdenNearly 40 percent of adults under 65 carry medical debt, and many of them are middle class. When they don't pay their bills, hospitals must eat the cost.
Science Feb 18
At a resurrected climate conference, concerns loom that CDC scientists may be silencedOrganizers of a conference on public health and climate change urged policy experts and policymakers to mobilize in the wake of a new administration they say has denied the impact, and even the existence, of global warming.
Health Jan 24
Opioids as a first response to pain? Hospitals are rethinking that policyWith heroin deaths now surpassing gun homicides, hospitals have been retraining staff to minimize prescriptions of narcotic painkillers.
