“Statins”, the commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs, can cause impaired memory, diabetes, muscle and liver damage and other problems, but the benefits of the drugs still outweigh the risks, FDA says.
Washington State Department of Health takes disciplinary actions against health care providers, including suspensions and revocations of licenses, certifications, or registrations of providers in the state.
If passed, the Reproductive Parity Act would make the Evergreen State the first in the country to require public and private insurers to cover abortion if the plan covers maternity services.
Washington State Department of Health is urging Washingtonians to use the extra day this year to reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke.
A Washington state survey of 53 hospitals found that during an 18-month period in 2008-09, residents made more than 23,000 visits to ERs for toothaches or other dental problems. Among the uninsured, patients with dental disorders were the most frequent ER visitors.
How teens can stay healthy and injury-free during the spring sports season — tips from the experts at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
One in seven of U.S. surgeons reported drinking habits consistent with alcohol abuse or dependence, according to a new survey by UW researchers. Drinking problems were even higher among women surgeons of whom one in four, 25.6 percent, reported drinking habits consistent with abuse or dependence.
Will all types of contraceptives be covered? How about vasectomies? Tubal ligations? If a procedure requires hospitalization, will that be covered, too?
You can be healthy well beyond 60, but you’ll be different than you were when you were 20. You’ll have different posture, wrinkles and a lot of other changes that are less obvious but age appropriate. We have to be very, very careful about calling any difference from when we were younger an illness or a disease. And we have to be even more careful about telling people that we have things we can do to “fix” these differences, but this happens all the time. That’s the medicalization of aging.
Changes in the brains of children at high-risk for developing autism who later go on to develop the condition can be detected as early as six months of age, long before any signs of autistic behavior appear.
The recognition is part of Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) initiative, which seeks to join community organizations, local cities, schools districts and public health agencies in efforts to reduce the leading causes of preventable death, such as obesity and tobacco use.
Long-acting methods such as the IUD and the hormonal implant are nearly 100 percent effective, require no effort after insertion and protect against pregnancy for up to 10 years. (In contrast, birth control pills are about 92 percent effective, and many other common methods are even less reliable in everyday use.)
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
View Calendar
✔ Subscribe
Add to Google
Seattle Times Health News
Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
Recent Comments