Category: Columns
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.
Many people with asthma avoid exercise because they’re afraid it could trigger symptoms or even a full-blown asthma attack. But a new study finds that not only is it safe for people with asthma to exercise, but doing so could reduce their risk of asthma symptoms and attacks.
Investing in attractive and functional park features could pay off significantly in terms of increasing exercise, leading to positive health consequences for low-income communities, researchers say.
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.
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
A new database lets you find out the prevailing rates for medical procedures in your area, and the 2010 health-care reform law provides better protection when people receive out-of-network emergency care.
Older people have lower rates of depression than younger groups. But depression often goes undiagnosed in the elderly, who feel the stigma of mental illness more acutely than younger people and are often less likely to seek help. Medicare began to cover annual depression screening in primary-care settings.
Errors involving drugs are the most common type of medical errors, harming about 1.5 million people each year. A recent example shows how easily these errors can happen . . .
Insurers have tried to cajole us into using less-expensive health providers by promising lower co-pays and other cost-sharing breaks. Now, they’re trying an even more direct approach: cash rewards.
As anyone who has been a patient or a visitor at a hospital knows, they’re often confusing, chaotic places.
By the time you learn the routines and the rules, with any luck you’re recovered and on your way out the door.
Elizabeth Bailey’s father wasn’t that fortunate . . .
“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.
The 5-year Million Hearts Campaign hopes to help millions of Americans improve their heart health by preventing and treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and tobacco 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