Category: Kaiser Health News

Apple Aims to Push More Patient Data to Doctors. But Who Can Gauge Its Impact on Health?

The Silicon Valley giant has been cryptic about its plan for the growing mound of health data available through its iPhones and watches. Health systems have experimented with the company’s health app, but it hasn’t yet become central to treatment.

National Academies’ Report Took Pharma-Friendly Stance After Millions in Gifts From Drugmakers

Congress tapped a national academies committee to examine a drug cost issue. It got a report that includes “egregious” failures to disclose conflicts of interest.

Public Favors Masks in Classrooms but Balks at Mandating Vaccinations for Students

With schools reopening, poll finds two-thirds of parents support mandating masks for unvaccinated students, but resistance to vaccinating students remains high. “My child is not a test dummy,” one Black parent told pollsters. Some parents deferred the decision to their teens.

DeSantis’ Executive Order Is Misleading About Lack of Scientific Support for Masking in Schools

The Florida governor’s order said schools couldn’t mandate that students wear masks and that the state could deny funding to school districts that didn’t comply.

Why Doesn’t Medicare Cover Services So Many Seniors Need?

When the program began half a century ago, backers believed the benefits would expand over time, but politics and concerns about money have stymied most efforts. Now congressional Democrats are looking to add vision, dental and hearing care.

A Quarter of US Hospitals, and Counting, Demand Workers Get Vaccinated. But Not Here.

Amid a surge in covid-19 cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant, nearly 1,500 health systems across the nation are requiring their employees to get vaccinated. In Montana and Oregon, that’s not an option.

Surgeons Cash In on Stakes in Private Medical Device Companies

Doctors tied to professional sports teams share in investment bonanza.

A California Bill Would Limit Protests at Vaccination Sites. Does It Violate the First Amendment?

A proposal breezing through the state legislature would make it illegal to obstruct someone from getting a covid-19 shot, or any other vaccine, but some free speech experts say it goes too far.

Injuries Mount as Sales Reps for Device Makers Cozy Up to Surgeons, Even in Operating Rooms

Aggressive sales tactics have allegedly led surgeons to use defective or wrong-size implants, screws or other products on patients, including former Olympian Mary Lou Retton.

‘The Vaccination Queen’: Nurse Practitioner Takes Covid Shots House to House in Puerto Rico

Abigail Matos-Pagán, a critical care expert who has galvanized relief efforts after hurricanes and earthquakes, is on a mission to inoculate as many Puerto Rican residents as possible.