Patients' complaints about doctors are finally being taken seriously, as poor communication is increasingly understood to be at the root of many of health care’s failures—and a leading culprit in rising costs. Research shows that when doctors don’t listen to patients, they miss important health cues and misdiagnose illness. Meanwhile, patients who don’t […]
For healthy people, is there a compelling reason to know if your genes make you susceptible to a specific disease or condition? Or are there some things you’re better off not knowing? […]
Changing recommendations for when women should get mammograms have created conflict and confusion. Not only do recommendations from different sources vary, but some have moved in opposite directions. […]
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Prostate cancer hits one in six American men in their lifetimes, though in most cases it progresses so slowly that it would never cause problems. PSA tests can give an early warning of prostate cancer. But PSA tests also give many false alarms, prompting more than one million unnecessary biopsies every year. […]
The number of children being treated with prescription medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has soared in recent years. Some doctors, parents and child advocates have become concerned that many children are taking medication unnecessarily. What do you think? […]
Chiara Goia for The Wall StreetRahima Sheikh's yearslong effort to beat tuberculosis left her, in the end, all but untreatable. She displays scans in the Mumbai slum she shared with her husband and daughter. By Geeta Anand This weekend's Wall Street Journal has the story of Rahima Sheikh, one of India's first documented cases of tuberculosis t […]
With tens of millions of baby boomers heading into retirement, Medicare’s long-term financial prognosis is grim. One proposed solution is to raise the eligibility age gradually to 67 from 65. What do you think? […]
Also: Bristol-Myers recalls more than 31,000 vials of the brain-tumor drug carmustine; a study links rosacea to a form of bacteria that lives in a type of skin mite; and researchers find the balance between the benefits of omega-3 oils and mercury in fish isn't clear. […]