STAT news

Doctors want to give their cancer patients every chance. But are they pushing off hard talks too long?

By Bob Tedeschi, STAT

Experts say doctors who counsel immunotherapy and hold onto hopes for remission are postponing conversations about palliative care and end-of-life wishes.

After Harvey, telemedicine connects doctors to displaced patients

By Leah Samuel, STAT

Getting thousands of Houston-area families to shelters has been a massive humanitarian effort. But the aid doesn’t end there: Many of the displaced have chronic medical conditions like asthma or injuries from recent days that need medical attention. Providers of…

Huge new study casts doubt on conventional wisdom about fat and carbs

By Patrick Skerrett, STAT

New results from a huge international study help continue to reshape fat's image while at the same time casting doubt on the wisdom of eating lots of carbs.

An Obamacare win: No ‘bare counties’ for health insurance next year

By Casey Ross, STAT

An insurer has stepped up to sell individual health insurance policies to the last county in the U.S. without Obamacare coverage in 2018.

Aetna potentially exposed the HIV statuses of thousands of customers

By Erin Mershon, STAT

Thousands of people with HIV received mailed letters from Aetna last month that may have disclosed their HIV status on the envelope.

In the shadow of a nuclear plant, the U.S. government lays out an unusual mission: teach the locals to trust science

By Max Blau, STAT

Fear 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.

These states declared an emergency over the opioid crisis. Here’s what happened

By Erin Mershon, Andrew Joseph, STAT

Most national emergency declarations, which grant the government temporary new powers with little in the way of oversight, have come in response to natural disasters or the spread of infectious diseases like the H1N1 virus. They allow the federal government…

Meet the plastic surgeon who moonlights as an animal doctor

By Jonathan Wosen, STAT

Plastic surgeon Dr. Coleen Stice mostly operates on humans – that is, until the zoo calls for assistance. She has operated on a bald eagle, fixed cleft palates on dogs, and done minor reconstructive surgery on pigs and cats. Her…

Acid attacks lead London emergency doctors to call for public awareness

By Catherine Caruso, STAT

According to the Metropolitan Police in London, there were 261 acid attacks in 2015 and 454 in 2016, and the number is on pace to be even higher in 2017.