Category: Doctors

Did Your Doctor ‘Ghost’ You? An Employment Contract May Be To Blame

How “noncompete” clauses in contracts between doctors and hospitals or clinics prevent patients from seeing their longtime doctors.

Five Things To Know About The Electronic Health Records Mess

The U.S. government claimed that ditching paper medical charts for electronic records would make health care better, safer and cheaper. Ten years and $36 billion later, the digital revolution has gone awry.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.

More States Say Doctors Must Offer Overdose Reversal Drug Along With Opioids

In an emerging new tactic against the rising toll of opioid deaths, California, Ohio, Virginia and Arizona are among the states requiring physicians to offer patients naloxone when they give them prescriptions for the powerful painkillers. The Food and Drug Administration is weighing a national recommendation to do so.

County By County, Researchers Link Opioid Deaths To Drugmakers’ Marketing

A JAMA study looking at county-specific federal data finds that the more opioid-related marketing dollars spent in a county, the higher rates of doctors who prescribed those drugs, and ultimately, more overdose deaths.

Call The Midwife! (If The Doctor Doesn’t Object)

Hospitals and medical practices are battling outdated stereotypes and sometimes their own doctors to hire certified nurse midwives. Research shows that women cared for by certified nurse midwives have fewer cesarean sections, which can produce significant cost savings for hospitals.

Providers Walk ‘Fine Line’ Between Informing And Scaring Immigrant Patients

Some doctors and clinics are proactively informing patients about a proposed policy that could jeopardize the legal status of immigrants who use public benefit programs such as Medicaid. Others argue that because this “public charge” proposal isn’t final — and may never be adopted — disseminating too much information could create unnecessary alarm and cause some patients to drop benefits.

Health Care Industry Spends $30B A Year Pushing Its Wares, From Drugs To Stem Cell Treatment

Critics say patients are often misled by ads that advocate high-priced drugs or genetic tests.