Some clinicians say universal screening is an important tool to help identify children who are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol and to pinpoint others who could benefit from treatment. Others express concerns that screening may do more harm than good.
Hospitals using their patients’ health and financial records to help pitch their most lucrative services, such as cancer, heart and orthopedic care and buying detailed information about local residents compiled by marketing firms — everything from age, income and marital status to shopping habits and whether they have children or pets at home.
Facing a storm of criticism form women’s groups and abortion-rights supporters, the Susan G. Komen for a Cure foundation announced it would reverse its decision to cut its funding to Planned Parenthood.
The breast-cancer charity Susan G. Komen For the Cure is pulling about $700,000 in breast cancer screening and service grants from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.Komen’s reason: a new policy forbidding grants to organizations under official investigation. Planned Parenthood is the subject of an inquiry launched by a GOP congressman.
Men who underwent annual prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen testing and digital rectal examination had a 12 percent higher incidence of prostate cancer than men in the control group but the same rate of death from the disease.
Doctors offer or suggest only about half of the screening tests and other preventive services that guidelines recommend doctors offer to patients during their routine medical checkups, a new study finds. That’s not so bad, say some experts, given how little financial support there is to promote prevention.
Did conservatives invent the idea of a individual mandate that they now claim to abhor? Will Mississippi ban IVF? Do mammograms really save many lives?
The influential U.S. Preventive Services Task Force finds that routine PSA testing does men more harm than good.
Are older patients being over tested? There is little evidence the elderly benefit from colon, breast and prostate cancer screening — and considerable risk.
Hospitals are promoting the scans without warning patients of the potential downsides of the test, critics say.
Heart Check America has come under fire from patients, regulators and medical experts. In scores of consumer complaints, Heart Check America clients have accused the company of using pressure sales tactics inappropriate for a health-care company.
Colon cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death, but death rates have been falling since the mid-80s, in large part due to increased screening. What’s involved?
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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Seattle Times Health News
Experts divided over recommendation to screen children for cholesterol
Some clinicians say universal screening is an important tool to help identify children who are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol and to pinpoint others who could benefit from treatment. Others express concerns that screening may do more harm than good.
People in state high-risk insurance plans often feel left behind
The federal health law set up new plans that are cheaper and more comprehensive than the older ones run by states but consumers need to go without insurance for six months to qualify.
Peeking in on your doctor’s notes
Although federal law guarantees patients the right to examine and get copies of their medical records, providers haven’t always made it easy to do so. But the movement to give patients direct access to their health information has picked up steam, and policymakers have encouraged it as a way to empower patients to help manage their health and their medical care.
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