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Health Inc. : Shots - Health News As spending on care rises, the business of health keeps getting more important. We feature news on and analysis of drugmakers, health insurers, hospitals, doctors and others in the business of providing health care.
Shots - Health News

Shots

Health News From NPR

Health Inc.

Thursday

Tuesday

Monday

Glaxo To Plead Guilty To 3 Charges In Sweeping Health Settlement

GlaxoSmithKline's mishandling of information on safety problems with diabetes drug Avandia is just one of the violations cited in a settlement with the government. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Health Inc.

Glaxo To Plead Guilty To 3 Charges In Sweeping Health Settlement

The British drugmaker has agreed to pay $3 billion and is pleading guilty to criminal charges related to its marketing of two antidepressants and failure to provide the Food and Drug Administration with data about safety problems with the diabetes pill Avandia.

Wednesday

Feds Move To Curb Abusive Debt Collection By Nonprofit Hospitals

Deb Waldin testifies about her experience with a debt collector at a Minnesota hospital during a hearing led by Sen. Al Franken in St. Paul, Minn., in late May. Minnesota Public Radio/Jeffrey Thompson hide caption

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Minnesota Public Radio/Jeffrey Thompson

Health Inc.

Feds Move To Curb Abusive Debt Collection By Nonprofit Hospitals

KFF Health News

The Treasury Department has proposed restrictions on debt collectors, required under the 2010 federal health law, to protect patients at nonprofit hospitals. A Supreme Court ruling that strikes down the entire law would scotch the new rules.

Tuesday

Convenience And Efficiency Fuel Boom In Retail Clinics

Shanda Johnson, right, a nurse practitioner, interviews patient Bill Gilligan at a MinuteClinic at the CVS drug store in North Brunswick, N.J. Mike Derer/AP hide caption

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Mike Derer/AP

Health Inc.

Convenience And Efficiency Fuel Boom In Retail Clinics

KFF Health News

Walk-in clinics are getting traction with consumers, hospitals and retailers. A visit to a clinic costs less than one to the doctor or hospital emergency room. And the clinics present less of a hassle.

Monday

Health Inc.

Could Kaiser Permanente's Low-Cost Health Care Be Even Cheaper?

KQED

Kaiser Permanente is often cited as an example of a health maintenance organization that keeps costs reined in. In fact, portions of the Affordable Care Act were crafted with the Kaiser model in mind. But critics say the price gap between Kaiser and other insurance companies has narrowed, and the reasons are unclear.

Could Kaiser Permanente's Low-Cost Health Care Be Even Cheaper?

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Wednesday

Thursday

U.S. Olympic Team Sprints Ahead With Electronic Health Records

Transporting reams of athletes' medical information has become a major burden for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and is one reason it's switching to electronic medical records. Andrew Villegas/KHN/iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Andrew Villegas/KHN/iStockphoto.com

Health Inc.

U.S. Olympic Team Sprints Ahead With Electronic Health Records

KFF Health News

Transporting reams of athletes' medical information has become a major burden for the U.S. Olympic Committee. So the committee has decided to transition from paper to electronic records to track the complex medical care of Olympians.

Monday

Friday

Planned Parenthood Controversy Hangs Over Komen's Fundraising Races

An estimated 45,000 people took part in the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure in Little Rock, Ark., in Oct. 2010. But after a controversy involving potential cuts to funding of Planned Parenthood earlier this year, participation in fundraising races has dropped. Brian Chilson/AP hide caption

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Brian Chilson/AP

Health Inc.

Planned Parenthood Controversy Hangs Over Komen's Fundraising Races

Participation is down in races to raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity. Some Komen supporters remain skeptical about the group, even though a decision to cut funding for Planned Parenthood was reversed quickly.

Wednesday

Friday

Need A Nurse? You May Have To Wait

Some fear that with rising medical costs and an aging population, the country's nursing staff will be stretched too thin. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

Health Inc.

Need A Nurse? You May Have To Wait

A new poll finds 34 percent of patients hospitalized for at least one night in the past year said "nurses weren't available when needed or didn't respond quickly to requests for help." We asked nurses why that might be. Stories poured in about being overworked, comparing the job to "spinning plates."

Need A Nurse? You May Have To Wait

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Thursday

What's Up, Doc? When Your Doctor Rushes Like The Road Runner

Patients continue to complain that physicians don't spend enough time examining and talking with them. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Health Inc.

What's Up, Doc? When Your Doctor Rushes Like The Road Runner

KQED

When it comes to time, there is a stubborn feeling among patients that doctors are in too big of a hurry. That is troubling — and frustrating — to physicians who feel that they are already packing more into every workday and are stretched thin by paperwork.

What's Up, Doc? When Your Doctor Rushes Like The Road Runner

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Wednesday

By Putting Patients First, Hospital Tries To Make Care More Personal

Patient Bob Berquist with Gregory Wagner, a doctor in the emergency department. Berquist, who volunteers at Fauquier Hospital, was admitted for low blood sugar when another nurse noticed he seemed dizzy. John Rose/NPR hide caption

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John Rose/NPR

Health Inc.

By Putting Patients First, Hospital Tries To Make Care More Personal

Fauquier Hospital in Warrenton, Va., offers services not usually found in your average hospital. Not only is every one of its patient rooms a private one, it offers food cooked and delivered to order, and hand massages. But experts say it's the actual involvement of patients and families in their own care that sets it apart.

By Putting Patients First, Hospital Tries To Make Care More Personal

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