An NIH Genetics Study Targets a Long-Standing Challenge: Diversity
In his 2015 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama announced a precision medicine initiative that would later be known as the All of Us program. The research, now well underway at the National Institutes of Health, aims to analyze the DNA of at least 1 million people across the United States to build a diverse health database. The key word there is 鈥渄iverse.鈥 So […]
Genetics Studies Have a Diversity Problem That Researchers Struggle To Fix
Researchers in Charleston, South Carolina, are trying to build a DNA database of 100,000 people to better understand how genetics affects health risks. But they鈥檙e struggling to recruit enough Black participants.
Hist贸ricamente, las enfermedades vinculadas al abuso del alcohol han afectado m谩s a los hombres. Pero datos actuales de los Centros para el Control y Prevenci贸n de Enfermedades (CDC) muestran que las tasas de muerte por esta causa est谩n aumentando m谩s r谩pido entre las mujeres que entre los hombres.
More Women Are Drinking Themselves Sick. The Biden Administration Is Concerned.
Historically, alcohol use disorder has disproportionately affected men. But targeted advertising and changes in societal norms over the past 50 years have led to an upsurge in alcohol-related diseases and deaths among women. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very taboo topic,鈥 one expert said.
GOP-Led States Expand Crackdowns on Transgender Care
South Carolina鈥檚 legislature is poised to pass a bill prohibiting doctors from offering some health-care services to transgender minors 鈥 part of a new wave of anti-trans legislation from Republican-led states. The South Carolina bill, which passed the state House of Representatives in January and is under consideration in the Senate, would bar health-care providers […]
Lawsuits Claim South Carolina Kids Underwent Unnecessary Genital Exams During Abuse Investigations
Lawsuits allege that several children under 18 in South Carolina have undergone examinations of their private parts during child abuse investigations 鈥 even when there were no allegations of sexual abuse. There鈥檚 a growing consensus in medicine that genital exams can be embarrassing, uncomfortable, and even traumatic.
Biden Cracks Down on Prior Authorization 鈥 But There Are Limits
More than a year after it was initially proposed, the Biden administration announced a final rule yesterday that will change how insurers in federal programs such as Medicare Advantage use prior authorization 鈥 a long-standing system that prevents many patients from accessing doctor-recommended care. 鈥淲hen a doctor says a patient needs a procedure, it is […]
What Would a Nikki Haley Presidency Look Like for Health Care?
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley鈥檚 tenure in the Palmetto State 鈥 which overlapped with several tumultuous years of health care reform 鈥 and her recent comments offer clues to how her presidency might affect national health care policy.
Will CMS Crack Down on Prior Authorization?
There鈥檚 the Idaho doctor whose infant daughter developed a brain tumor. A woman in Southern California who waited months for an MRI before dying in the hospital. And a North Carolina patient who has trigeminal neuralgia 鈥 a condition so painful it鈥檚 commonly called the 鈥渟uicide disease.鈥 They all have something in common, aside from […]
Woman Petitions Health Insurer After Company Approves 鈥 Then Rejects 鈥 Her Infusions
Even people with good insurance aren’t guaranteed affordable care, as this 素人色情片Health News follow-up to one patient鈥檚 saga shows.
Cancer Patients Face Frightening Delays in Treatment Approvals
Delaying cancer treatment can be deadly 鈥 which makes the roadblock-riddled process that health insurers use to approve or deny care particularly daunting for oncology patients.
Being Black and Pregnant in the Deep South Can Be a Dangerous Combination
Being Black has always been dangerous for pregnant women and infants in the South. And researchers say things are continuing to move in the wrong direction.
Doctors and Patients Try to Shame Insurers Online to Reverse Prior Authorization Denials
Prior authorization is a common tool used by health insurers for many tests, procedures, and prescriptions. Frustrated by the process, patients and doctors have turned to social media to publicly shame insurance companies and elevate their denials for further review.
New Charleston Museum Nods to Historical Roots of US Health Disparities
The $120 million International African American Museum that opened this week in Charleston, South Carolina, allows visitors to step back in history at Gadsden鈥檚 Wharf, where tens of thousands of enslaved Africans arrived in America, the genesis of generations of health disparities.
Burnout Threatens Primary Care Workforce and Doctors鈥 Mental Health
Burnout is a widespread problem in the health care industry. Although the pandemic made things worse, burnout among doctors is a long-standing concern that health systems have become more focused on as they try to stop doctors from quitting or retiring early.
A Striking Gap Between Deaths of Black and White Babies Plagues the South
Infant mortality rates across the South are by far the worst in the U.S. A look at South Carolina 鈥 where multimillion-dollar programs aimed at improving rates over the past 10 years have failed to move the needle 鈥 drives home the challenge of finding solutions, especially in rural communities.
How a 2019 Florida Law Catalyzed a Hospital-Building Boom
In Wesley Chapel, Fla., near Tampa, residents will soon have three general hospitals within a five-minute drive. The new construction is part of a hospital-building boom across Florida unleashed almost four years ago, when the state dropped a requirement that companies obtain government approval to open new hospitals.
Feds Move to Rein In Prior Authorization, a System That Harms and Frustrates Patients
The federal government wants to change the way health insurers use prior authorization 鈥 the requirement that patients get permission before undergoing treatment. Designed to prevent doctors from deploying expensive, ineffectual procedures, prior authorization has become a confusing maze that denies or delays care, burdens physicians with paperwork, and perpetuates racial disparities. New rules may not be enough to solve the problems.
Hospitals鈥 Use of Volunteer Staff Runs Risk of Skirting Labor Laws, Experts Say
Hospitals using volunteers is commonplace. But some labor experts argue that deploying unpaid workers to do work that benefits the organization鈥檚 bottom line lets for-profit hospitals skirt federal labor laws, deprives employees of work, and potentially exploits the volunteers.
Public Health Agencies Try to Restore Trust as They Fight Misinformation
As public health departments work on improving their message, the skepticism and mistrust often reserved for covid-19 vaccines now threaten other public health priorities, including flu shots and childhood vaccines.
