Category: Drugs & Medicines
Flu vaccines only protect you for the current season, so it’s important to get vaccinated every year, health officials warn.
Dire predictions that health reform would cause private Medicare health plans to raise prices and lower benefits have turned out to be a false alarm — for now. Medicare Advantage premiums now expected to drop 4% next year.
Pre-filled pill boxes, foil-backed blister packaging and other reminder packaging can help patients take their medications according to doctors’ instructions.
What’s screening tests should a woman have? And what are the benefits and risks of different treatments? New guidebooks provide research-based advice.
Extra Help: Some Medicare beneficiaries could qualify for assistance with their prescription drug costs, and be eligible this year to pay no more than $2.50 for generic drugs and $6.30 for each brand name drug,
Acetaminophen is generally safe if you follow the directions, but if you give to much it can cause nausea and vomiting — and even liver failure and death.
Women who have private insurance plans can now get any contraceptive, including sterilization procedures, with the insurance plan picking up the entire cost.
Washington’s Tobacco Quit Line will no longer provide services to the general population, but King County residents and some other groups can get help other sources.
Getting an exemption is still possible but under a new law will require a visit to a health provider.
Anti-abortion groups oppose the decision, arguing that contraception is against the religious beliefs of some Americans, and that some forms of emergency contraception, including Plan B, are akin to early abortion.
UW researchers Dr. Lupe Salazar and Dr. John Liao among the grant recipients.
The new center’s mission is to replace cancer therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy that can harm the body, with ”smart” therapies that will hit their cancer targets with precision and leave the rest of the body unharmed.
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
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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.
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