Category: Audio

Listen: Opioid Trial In Oklahoma Wraps Up

Oklahoma is seeking $17 billion in damages from Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical giant. After a seven-week trial, a judge will decide if the opioid drugmaker is liable and if so, for how much.

Mini-Biographies Help Clinicians Connect With Patients

Some Veterans Affairs hospitals around the country use writers to record patients’ life stories, then place a short biography in each vet’s medical record. The My Life, My Story program gives clinicians another way to get to know their patients.

Effects Of Surgery On A Warming Planet: Can Anesthesia Go Green?

Two of the most commonly used anesthesia gases are similar medically but worlds apart when it comes to their impact on the planet.

Amid Opioid Prescriber Crackdown, Health Officials Reach Out To Pain Patients

After dozens of health care workers were charged with illegally prescribing opioids in Appalachia, local health agencies are trying to make sure chronic pain patients don’t fall through the cracks.

Watchdogs Cite Lax Medical And Mental Health Treatment Of ICE Detainees

It’s Saturday morning and the women of the Contreras family are busy in Montclair, Calif., making pupusas, tamales and tacos. They’re working to replace the income of José Contreras, who has been held since last June at Southern California’s Adelanto ICE Processing Center, a privately run immigration detention center. José’s daughter, Giselle, drives around in […]

Economic Ripples: Hospital Closure Hurts A Town’s Ability To Attract Retirees

Celina, Tenn., has long lured retirees, with its scenic hills and affordability. These newcomers help fuel the local economy. But a recent hospital closure makes the town a harder sell.

Utah Voters Approved Medicaid Expansion, But State Lawmakers Are Balking

Political fights over health care continue to flare. In Utah, angry voters say lawmakers are disregarding their wishes by trying to limit the scope of a ballot referendum that expanded Medicaid.

Postpartum Psychosis Is Real, Rare And Dangerous

Postpartum psychosis is rare but very real, doctors say. And, unlike in some countries, U.S. moms who need inpatient psychiatric care can’t bring along their babies, adding to the trauma.

Patients Turn To GoFundMe When Money And Hope Run Out

Medical fundraisers account for 1 in 3 of the website’s campaigns and bring in more money than any other GoFundMe category. Americans’ confidence they can afford health care is slipping, some say.

Emergency Medical Responders Confront Racial Bias

In a recent study of patients treated by emergency medical responders in Oregon, black patients were 40 percent less likely to get pain medicine than their white peers. Why?