Rethinking Healthcare

The only way we will ever cut health costs is by making hard choices on what we should be covering. Our present system puts politicians in charge of this. Comparative effectiveness gives data a...

25 | November 13, 2009 2:06pm | By Dana Blankenhorn

There is not enough vaccine. Priority must be given to children and pregnant women. Save the antivirals for the pregnant women and give them at the first sign of symptoms. Add antibiotics, because...

7 | November 12, 2009 8:31am | By Dana Blankenhorn

Cholesterol tests are accurate any time of day, whether you have fasted. The research is an example of comparative effectiveness in action.

November 11, 2009 7:30am | By Dana Blankenhorn

There was significantly more depression, confusion, and even anger among the Atkins-style dieters than in those who just cut fat.

4 | November 10, 2009 11:11am | By Dana Blankenhorn

When the results were broken down further it was found that processed beef and pork -- hot dogs, bacon, salami -- carried the highest risk. This was big news as far away as New Zealand.

1 | November 9, 2009 12:40pm | By Dana Blankenhorn

After being used against two very rare diseases, gene therapy now holds the promise of much wider use.

3 | November 6, 2009 12:35pm | By Dana Blankenhorn

Science, regulators, and producers should never get complacent. In 2007 there was enormous pushback from manufacturers claiming (without ample evidence) that BPA was completely safe. Now panic has...

4 | November 5, 2009 11:18am | By Dana Blankenhorn

Keeping total cholesterol low reduces the chance of cancer. So does keeping good cholesterol high. If yours suddenly drops to a very low level see your doctor.

4 | November 4, 2009 9:56am | By Dana Blankenhorn

The problem lies with two antibiotics, sulfonamides and nitrofurantoins, used by only 1 in 100 pregnant women. The former are given for staph infections and pneumonia, the latter for urinary tract...

November 3, 2009 11:22am | By Dana Blankenhorn

If you get a rare reaction called Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) within six weeks of getting the seasonal flu shot, don't get this one because it's made the same way.

6 | November 2, 2009 11:43am | By Dana Blankenhorn

Let the kids collect all the candy they want. Local dentists will buy it back, for $1 per pound. They then ship the candy off to our soldiers overseas.

4 | October 30, 2009 7:21am | By Dana Blankenhorn

At issue is the fact that, with present equipment and rules, football is a terminal condition. The constant head-butting, in both practice and games, in time fills the brain of a retired player...

October 29, 2009 8:57am | By Dana Blankenhorn

Second-generation anti-psychotics are being given to teens with common conditions like ADHD, leading to obesity in just 11 weeks.

6 | October 28, 2009 6:56am | By Dana Blankenhorn

The assumption of dark conspiracies among people whose careers are based on helping people is a very dangerous thing. And it's bipartisan. It has been since the pandemic started.

10 | October 27, 2009 9:02am | By Dana Blankenhorn

One kid in five is courting rickets, heart disease, and various forms of cancer because they're not getting Vitamin D pills with their morning milk.

4 | October 26, 2009 12:28pm | By Dana Blankenhorn

MCA will negotiate any medical bills including those not covered by insurance at all or not fully covered like cosmetic, vision, bariatric and dental

10 | October 23, 2009 9:07am | By Dana Blankenhorn

When Senators met this week they were expecting hosannas, following release of a study saying the Act could save 5,000 lives a year. Instead they got a stern lecture from FDA Commissioner Margaret...

26 | October 22, 2009 12:50pm | By Dana Blankenhorn

Folks are being torn up inside-and-out by cancers that won't kill them and they're not getting help on cancers that will.

4 | October 21, 2009 8:15am | By Dana Blankenhorn

We won't have robotic servants that look like us, to take care of us in old age. But it's clear now that wearable clients, wireless networks, software, and communications-based services can do the...

October 20, 2009 12:45pm | By Dana Blankenhorn

There are costs everyone must bear to stay well. Avoiding them, and evading their message, is what leads to chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. The rich also expect a different...

17 | October 19, 2009 8:46am | By Dana Blankenhorn