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More Judy Foreman stories
- The pros and cons of medical marijuana
- Does stretching before or after exercise prevent injuries and soreness?
- Rub contact lenses clean
- NSAIDs inhibit bone healing
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SPECIAL REPORTS
Handshake that made healthcare history
Partners HealthCare was born in 1993, but its powerhouse potential didn't fully hit home until 2000. That's when the emerging giant cut a quiet deal with Blue Cross to ratchet up insurance costs across the state. Nothing in Massachusetts healthcare has been the same since.
HEALTH NEWS
Tests show 13-year-old died from
swine flu
Laboratory testing confirmed yesterday that a 13-year-old Worcester male with persistent health problems died from swine flu, the first Massachusetts youth to succumb to the novel virus that has killed more than 200 people in the United States. (By Stephen Smith, Boston Globe)
Year-end release likely for flu vaccine
A fully licensed swine flu vaccine might not be available until the end of the year, a top official at the World Health Organization said in a report that could affect many countries’ vaccination plans. (AP)
RELATED
- Study: 1918 flu survivors seem immune to swine flu
- Obesity a risk factor in swine flu?
- US ready to spend billions on flu vaccine
- More swine flu coverage
President hits critics, stresses urgency of healthcare overhaul
Obama also taps Ala. physician Dr. Regina Benjamin as surgeon general. (Washington Post)
Girl’s heart heals with aid of transplant
British doctors designed a radical solution to save a girl with major heart problems in 1995: they implanted a donor heart directly onto her own failing heart.
FDA questions J&J cancer drug data
Food and Drug Administration scientists are questioning whether study results are reliable enough to warrant approval for a new cancer drug from Johnson & Johnson. (AP)
Healing the soul
The Rev. Angelika Zollfrank teaches spiritual caregiving not only to theological students and clergy members but also to healthcare providers. (By Elizabeth Cooney, Boston Globe)
Psychiatric drug sought on streets
Seroquel debuted 12 years ago as a novel drug for adult patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, a powerful pill that would help stabilize their emotional lives. Psychiatrists began prescribing these tablets to others - children with serious mental illnesses and adults with anxiety or depression. (By Patricia Wen, Boston Globe)
BMC’s finances take turn for worse
Boston Medical Center, the state’s largest provider of medical treatment to the poor, is bracing for dramatic financial losses, which some fear will force it to slash programs and jeopardize care for thousands of poverty-stricken families. (By Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe)
State helping to shape US efforts to digitize health records for all
How did people and companies from Massachusetts become so influential in the roll-out of electronic medical records, or EMRs? (By Scott Kirsner, Boston Globe)
LATEST HEALTH NEWS
- Study: Clozapine may have saved schizophrenics (AP, 7/12/09)
- Scrub tech causes major hepatitis scare in Colo. (AP, 7/12/09)
- Study: 1 in 3 breast cancer patients overtreated (AP, 7/10/09)
Past features
Study of fellow primates stirs health hope for humans
Wisconsin researchers reported yesterday that rhesus monkeys on a low-calorie diet live longer and healthier lives, a finding two decades in the making that suggests such diets might slow aging in people, too. (By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Boston Globe)
RELATED
In the race to turn back the biological clock, consumers are reaching for an unproven pill
US posts data on hospital numbers
President Obama and members of Congress have cited high numbers of hospital readmissions as a main driver of soaring healthcare costs, as well as being bad for patients. Now, consumers can find out which hospitals have the highest and lowest readmission rates for three common conditions: heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia. (By Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe)
RELATED
Heart attack survival tied to hospitals
A drug’s unintended use restores the gift of hearing
Today, Edith Garrett’s hearing is near-perfect in one ear, her rare neurological ailment treated by a drug called Avastin. But the wonder here isn’t simply that her hearing has been restored. The real wonder is how. (By Stephen Smith, Boston Globe)
Widened mental benefits pose test
Tens of thousands of Massachusetts patients with some of the most intractable mental health problems - eating disorders, addictions, autism, and post-traumatic stress - should face fewer barriers to treatment under a state law that went into effect July 1. But the cost of the state's latest healthcare expansion remains a question. (By Kay Lazar, Boston Globe)
Summer hazards
Once, summer was our season of carefree abandon. Parents lolled in hammocks, children frolicked in sprinklers on endless sun-dappled Saturday afternoons.
For Tama Lewis, caring is
her calling
The pay is low, and the clients can sometimes be grouchy. Still, Tama Lewis says she’s found her calling. Out of thousands of candidates, the 64-year-old Randolph woman recently was chosen Aide of the Year by the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts.