Post-Pandemic, What’s a Phone Call From Your Physician Worth?
Maybe this has happened to you recently: Your doctor telephoned to check in with you, chatting for 11 to 20 minutes, perhaps answering a question you contacted her office with, or asking how you’re responding to a medication change. For that, your doctor got paid about $27 if you are on Medicare — maybe a […]
From ‘Physician Assistant’ to Medicare, Readers and Tweeters Mince No Words
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. On ‘Physician Assistant’: Watch Your Language I think this story left out a few critical pieces of information (“A Title Fight Pits Physician Assistants Against Doctors,” Dec. 3). The term “physician […]
When the Surges Just Keep Coming: A View From the Covid Vortex
Dr. Rais Vohra has impeccable timing. He stepped into his role as interim health officer of Fresno County just months before the start of the covid-19 pandemic. Almost immediately, he found himself navigating the treacherous tensions between public health messaging and a skeptical population in a hub of industrial agriculture that is also one of […]
Data Science Proved What Pittsburgh’s Black Leaders Knew: Racial Disparities Compound Covid Risk
The ferocity of the covid-19 pandemic did what Black Pittsburgh — communities that make up a quarter of the city’s population — thought impossible. It shook the norms. Black researchers, medical professionals and allies knew that people of color, even before covid, experienced bias in public health policy. As the deadly virus emerged, data analysts […]
¿Ha llegado el momento de cambiar la definición de “totalmente vacunado”?
A medida que aumenta el número de lugares que exigen una prueba de vacunación para entrar, y ante la llegada del invierno y de omicron, la nueva variante del coronavirus, científicos y funcionarios de salud pública debaten cuándo será el momento de cambiar la definición de “totalmente vacunado” para que incluya una vacuna de refuerzo. […]
Journalists Explore Health Care Disparities and Policy Pitfalls
KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony discussed how Black entrepreneurs in the medical-technology industry are looking to fill health care gaps on Newsy on Wednesday. Click here to watch Anthony on Newsy Read Anthony’s “Black Tech Founders Want to Change the Culture of Health Care, One Click at a Time” KHN Colorado correspondent Rae Ellen Bichell […]
New California Law Eases Aid-in-Dying Process
During her three-year battle with breast cancer, my wife, Leslie, graciously endured multiple rounds of horrifically toxic treatment to eke out more time with our two young children. But after 18 cancer-free months, the disease returned with a vengeance in June 2003. It fractured her bones and invaded her spinal canal, bathing her brain in […]
Nueva ley de California facilita el proceso de ayuda para morir
Durante su batalla de tres años contra el cáncer de mama, mi esposa Leslie soportó con dignidad múltiples rondas de un tratamiento terriblemente tóxico para poder pasar más tiempo con nuestros dos hijos pequeños. Pero después de 18 meses sin cáncer, la enfermedad volvió con fuerza en junio de 2003. Le fracturó los huesos e […]
Is It Time to Change the Definition of ‘Fully Vaccinated’?
[UPDATED on Dec. 6] As more indoor venues require proof of vaccination for entrance and with winter — as well as omicron, a new covid variant — looming, scientists and public health officials are debating when it will be time to change the definition of “fully vaccinated” to include a booster shot. It’s been more […]
Hospitals Refused to Give Patients Ivermectin. Lockdowns and Political Pressure Followed.
HELENA, Mont. — One Montana hospital went into lockdown and called police after a woman threatened violence because her relative was denied her request to be treated with ivermectin. Officials of another Montana hospital accused public officials of threatening and harassing their health care workers for refusing to treat a politically connected covid-19 patient with […]