Health
Extra Extra Monday: terrorism fears and chemical plants, mental health gaps, factory farm pollution
Terrorism fears have led government to cloak the danger of hazardous chemical plants | The Houston Chronicle“Around the country, hundreds of buildings like the one in West store some type of ammonium nitrate. They sit in quiet fields and by riverside docks, in business districts and around the corner from schools, hospitals and day care…
Read MoreTerrorism fears have led government to cloak the danger of hazardous chemical plants
The Houston Chronicle published the results of an Associated Press investigation that used public records to find hazardous chemicals stored in the U.S. “Around the country, hundreds of buildings like the one in West store some type of ammonium nitrate. They sit in quiet fields and by riverside docks, in business districts and around the…
Read MoreAfter More Than a Decade and Thousands of Disfiguring Injuries, Power Tool Industry Still Resisting Safety Fix
“But as court records and testimony have shown, the companies rejected the safety advance for another reason, too: They worried that if a way to prevent severe injuries got traction in the market, they would face liability for accidents with conventional saws.”
Read MoreChronic Lyme disease: Is it real?
“An exclusive Journal review of government emails suggests battles have been won, and minds swayed, through a combination of behind-the-scenes maneuvers and long-standing connections between the scientists’ group and government officials. These ties, some say, have served to keep competing ideas at bay.”
Read MoreTexas family planning department had millions left in budget as clinics closed for lack of funds
The Texas Observer reports that the s tate health department left approximately $2.3 million of its family planning funds unspent while clinics across the state closed because of lack of money. As a result, tens of thousands of women lost access to reproductive care. The unspent funds happened at a time when, according to previous Observer reporting,…
Read MoreMedicare Drug Program Fails to Monitor Prescribers, Putting Seniors and Disabled at Risk
“In lawsuits and disciplinary records, state and federal authorities cite a number of reasons that doctors prescribe improperly. Some run mills where patients get prescriptions if they pay cash for a visit. Others have relationships with drug companies that influence what they prescribe. Regulators say some doctors choose inappropriate medications under pressure from families or…
Read MoreNew program to curb hospital return visits may burden smaller ones in poorer areas
“Eight California hospitals — including four in the Los Angeles area — are among the institutions paying the maximum fine under a new Medicare program designed to reduce high patient readmission rates. Under the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act, the federal government has started fining hospitals with high readmissions rates as much as 1 percent of the…
Read MoreHigh-risk health providers stay in business thanks to state insurance
“Maple Grove surgeon Joseph Pietrafitta has been sued at least six times for malpractice, leading to $1.2 million in settlements for former patients. The Minnesota Board of Medical Practice also has cited some of the lawsuits in ordering Pietrafitta to take corrective action for “inappropriate” conduct. In 2010, no conventional insurance carrier would give him…
Read MoreTroubling questions loom over new FDA-approved drug for women
In June, the new FDA-approved drug Osphena will hit the shelves. Supposedly the newest answer for painful sex, it will be targeted by the drug maker Shionogi, Inc, the more than 64 million US women who have hit menopause. But Newsweek reports that numerous troubling questions loom over Osphena: is this a real disorder affecting…
Read MoreQuestionable investigations, little oversight in state hospital deaths
A Statesman analysis of deaths at state mental health hospitals reveals the deaths are rarely investigated outside the hospital, doctors are regularly cleared of improper care and deaths in state prisons get more scrutiny than those in state hospitals. Read the full investigation here.
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