Radio Health Journal
The latest in health, science, technology, and the intersection of medicine & public policy.
Major surgery such as a heart bypass may increase the risk of dementia. Then, a study finds that gun violence is up by 30% since the start of the pandemic. Also, could the anxiety of being heard by someone else play a role in stuttering? And finally, research says about half of pregnancies in the United States are unintended.
Many experts believe we have missed our chance to eliminate Covid-19, and that now it is very likely to become an endemic disease--one that persists, though at lower levels, and never goes away. Two noted infectious disease experts discuss what that means for precautions and lifestyles in perpetuity.
Headaches affect far more lives far more severely than most people realize. A sufferer and an expert physician discuss headaches and their treatment.
Emergency room physicians have to make sense of and care for complete strangers every day. A recently retired ER doctor looks back at lessons he’s learned that are applicable to everyone’s life.
Could a poor sense of smell be a sign of a downturn in health? Then, hospital guidelines regarding eating food and drinking liquids before surgery, and finally, teamwork is great, but studies show that's only the case when team members take time to step away to solve problems on their own.
With monitors surveying every part of patients’ bodies, hospital intensive care units appear to be a model of high tech. But systems engineers say ICU’s are actually models of inefficiency because few of those high tech devices talk to each other. Experts discuss how ICU’s could be improved to save lives.
The Dr. Larry Nassar case has publicized doctors who sexually abuse patients, but few doctors are ever punished. A reporter who investigated the official response to the problem and a physician who has worked on a sexual assault crisis line discuss the issue.
Hospital intensive care units appear to be a model of high tech, but systems engineers say ICUs are actually models of inefficiency.
Studies estimate that about five percent of diagnoses are wrong, leading treatment down the wrong road. Experts discuss why misdiagnoses occur, and a new Institute of Medicine report on how they might be prevented.
Doctors too often use language that's indeceipherable to normal people. Efforts are underway at medical schools to teach doctors to speak in plain language. An expert at one such school and a participant in these classes discuss.
As "Obamacare" health insurance exchanges enter their second year, some insured people are finding that getting access to care is extremely difficult due to meager provider networks and low doctors' payments. Many insured are also being surprised by high deductibles and co-payments.
