It’s a common scenario: Someone checks into a hospital for surgery or an illness and leaves with a prescription for an opioid painkiller, opening the door to long-term use and dependence. A recent study examined this pattern and found the prescriptions are used and renewed more often than you might imagine. Researchers analyzed the pharmacy claims of […]

In Los Angeles County the question is not whether a major disaster will happen, but when. Experts expect an earthquake measuring 7.0 or greater in the next 30 years. The area is prone to wildfires, floods, and other natural disasters. Infectious disease outbreaks and terrorist attacks are also possible. Though aware of the risks, less […]

En el condado de Los Angeles, la pregunta no es si ocurrirá un desastre mayor, sino cuándo ocurrirá. Expertos esperan un terremoto de magnitud 7.0 o más en los próximos 30 años. El área es propensa a incendios forestales, inundaciones, y otros desastres naturales. Brotes de enfermedades infecciosas y ataques terroristas también están en la […]

Most of the front door of Rachel Taylor’s little yellow house in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, is pasted with paw prints where her dog struggled to get inside during the flood last month. He was too big to carry through the rising waters. Across the street, nestled between two battered houses, an empty lot […]

A sip of soda will become more expensive next year in Philadelphia, which recently became the second city in the United States to pass a tax on sugary beverages — after Berkeley voters passed one in 2014. The Philadelphia measure, approved by the City Council in June, could lend momentum to efforts by public health […]

Since it was uploaded to YouTube, the video of Kimberly Turbin’s 2013 episiotomy has been viewed more than 430,000 times. In the video, Turbin lies on her back in a hospital bed. Her knees are bent, her legs and feet are elevated above her in stirrups. She is trying to push the baby out. “Push, […]

Delegates at the Republican convention in Cleveland have approved the strongest anti-abortion platform in the party’s history. But groups that oppose abortion — and that lobbied for the strong language — are far from unified. In fact, in the wake of last month’s Supreme Court decision reaffirming a woman’s right to abortion, leaders of a […]

Shane Peebles has a ticking time bomb in his mouth. He has multiple cavities, including one that has been infected and formed a pocket of painful pus. He also has a disease that causes swollen, bleeding gums, making it painful to chew. He finally visited a health clinic two months ago when the pain became […]

When most people think of the victims of the nation’s opioid abuse epidemic, they seldom picture members of the Medicare set. But a research letter published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry found Medicare beneficiaries had the highest and most rapidly growing rate of “opioid use disorder.” Six of every 1,000 recipients struggle with the condition, compared […]

California is overhauling the way it collects information for its massive cancer database in the hope of improving how patients are treated for the disease. Pathologists at a dozen hospitals in the state are part of a pilot project — the first of its kind in the United States — in which they are reporting cancer diagnoses […]