Jun 08 How the back pain industry is taking patients for an unhealthy ride By Danielle Venton and Jon Brooks, KQED Future of You Searching for solutions to back pain can lead sufferers into an expensive and sometimes dangerous maze of ineffectual treatments, procedures and pills, journalist and investigative reporter Cathryn Jakobson Ramin found. Continue reading
Jan 18 Planning to cheer or jeer at inauguration? Here’s how to care for your voice By Nsikan Akpan When the dust settles this weekend, after inauguration celebrations and protests alike, many may complain of hoarse voices, but why?… Continue reading
Jan 04 She took her amputated leg home, and you can too By Kristin Hugo While doctors may cite concerns with returning removed body parts, legal experts say the practice is acceptable. Here's how one Oklahoman managed the hurdles. Continue reading
Sep 17 Bedless hospitals treat patients and send them home the same day By Casey Ross, STAT As treatments get less invasive and recovery times shrink, a new kind of hospital is cropping up — the “bedless hospital.”… Continue reading
May 05 Robot surgeon sews up pig intestines By Larry Greenemeier, Scientific American Most automated surgical systems still need hand-holding, but one new robot holds its own against humans. Continue reading
Apr 27 These hospitals are trying to reduce surgeries by inexperienced doctors By Sandra G. Boodman, Kaiser Health News A contentious, long-running battle focuses on the largely unfettered ability of surgeons with minimal expertise to perform high-risk procedures. Continue reading
Jan 03 Watch 3:14 Financial incentives prompt rural hospitals to perform more surgeries—but at a greater risk By PBS News Hour An investigation by The Wall Street Journal found that surgeries performed at so-called critical access hospitals in mostly rural areas carry a greater risk of complications than those at general hospitals. And financial incentives lead the small facilities to perform… Continue watching
Aug 27 Surgeons’ late-night work doesn’t cause patients harm, study says By Lisa Gillespie, Kaiser Health News Patients receiving common operations in the daytime fared no worse in the short-term if their attending physician worked a hospital graveyard shift the night before than patients whose doctor did not, according to a new study examining the effects of… Continue reading
Jul 19 Watch 6:16 Here’s what you should know about choosing the right surgeon By PBS News Hour A new report by ProPublica sheds light on the importance of choosing the right surgeon, especially when it comes to elective surgery. The non-profit news organization analyzed the complication rates of 17,000 surgeons nationwide and released its findings to the… Continue watching
Jul 15 Do cell phones belong in the operating room? By Shefali Luthra, Kaiser Health News Next time you’re on the operating table and you have one last look around as the anesthesiologist approaches, don’t be too sure that that person in scrubs looking at a smartphone is pulling up vital health data. He or she… Continue reading