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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.

Tuesday

Database Flaws Cloud Sunshine On Industry Payments To Doctors

A federal database, though imperfect, will make it easier for patients to find out about the ties between doctors and industry. John Bolesky/Corbis hide caption

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John Bolesky/Corbis

Health Inc.

Database Flaws Cloud Sunshine On Industry Payments To Doctors

ProPublica

A federal website set to go live Tuesday will disclose drug and device companies' ties to doctors. The release marks a milestone, but could be misleading for patients checking up on their doctors.

Monday

Health Inc.

4 Years Of Lessons Learned About Drugmakers' Payments To Doctors

ProPublica

American doctors received at least $1.4 billion in payments from drug companies last year. What did the companies get for their money?

4 Years Of Lessons Learned About Drugmakers' Payments To Doctors

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Friday

Thursday

To Prevent Repeat Hospitalizations, Talk To Patients

Kevin Wierhs and Susan Johnson confer about what works and what doesn't in managing diabetes. Sarah McCammon/Georgia Public Broadcasting hide caption

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Sarah McCammon/Georgia Public Broadcasting

Health Inc.

To Prevent Repeat Hospitalizations, Talk To Patients

Georgia Public Broadcasting

Part of each hospital's income now hinges on keeping patients with chronic conditions healthier outside the hospital. One medical center has hired nurses and social workers to act as health coaches.

To Prevent Repeat Hospitalizations, Talk To Patients

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Tuesday

Insurance Brokers Key To Kentucky's Obamacare Success

David Combs, an insurance broker in Kentucky, wound up benefiting from the Affordable Care Act, even though early on he had figured the law would put brokers out of business. Jenny Gold/Kaiser Health News hide caption

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Jenny Gold/Kaiser Health News

Health Inc.

Insurance Brokers Key To Kentucky's Obamacare Success

KFF Health News

Many brokers feared the new federal health law would make them obsolete. But more than 40 percent of people who signed up for insurance via Kentucky's state exchange used a broker.

Insurance Brokers Key To Kentucky's Obamacare Success

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Avoid The Rush! Some ERs Are Taking Appointments

Michael Granillo and his wife Sonia await treatment at an emergency room in Northridge, Calif. Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News hide caption

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Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News

Health Inc.

Avoid The Rush! Some ERs Are Taking Appointments

KFF Health News

Nobody looks forward to sitting in the waiting room. So some hospitals are trying to improve customer satisfaction by offering online appointments. The pitch: "Wait for the ER from home."

Avoid The Rush! Some ERs Are Taking Appointments

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Friday

Tuesday

Too Few University Jobs For America's Young Scientists

Victoria Ruiz (left), a postdoctoral fellow in immunology, works with Brianna Delgado, a high school student that she mentors, at the Blaser Lab, inside NYU's Langone Medical Center in New York, NY. Ramsay de Give for NPR hide caption

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Ramsay de Give for NPR

Health Inc.

Too Few University Jobs For America's Young Scientists

So, you want to be a science professor? Good luck. Highly educated, relatively low-paid postdoctoral fellows may drive U.S. biomedical research, but they're training for jobs that don't exist.

Too Few University Jobs For America's Young Scientists

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Tuesday

When Scientists Give Up

Randen Patterson left a research career in physiology at U.C. Davis when funding got too tight. He now owns a grocery store in Guinda, Calif. Max Whittaker/Prime for NPR hide caption

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Max Whittaker/Prime for NPR

Health Inc.

When Scientists Give Up

They were talented, idealistic risk-takers on the road to what they thought would be important medical discoveries. But when the funding for risk-takers dried up, these two academics called it quits.

When Scientists Give Up

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U.S. Science Suffering From Booms And Busts In Funding
Leif Parsons for NPR

Health Inc.

U.S. Science Suffering From Booms And Busts In Funding

The federal budget for bioscience has undergone big swings since 2000. Some scientists are now out of work and others are abandoning the ambitious, creative ideas that fuel discovery.

U.S. Science Suffering From Booms And Busts In Funding

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Wednesday

Wednesday

Life After Ice Buckets: ALS Group Faces $94 Million Challenge

Bill Gates, Martha Stewart, LeBron James, Lindsay Lohan, Kermit the Frog and Conan O'Brien all got icily drenched for charity. via YouTube hide caption

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via YouTube

Health Inc.

Life After Ice Buckets: ALS Group Faces $94 Million Challenge

The ALS Association has raised more than $94 million in recent weeks via its online ice bucket challenge — compared with $2.7 million this time last year. Now what?

Life After Ice Buckets: ALS Group Faces $94 Million Challenge

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Hello, May I Help You Plan Your Final Months?

From her cubicle at Vital Decisions in Cherry Hill, N.J., Kate Schleicher counsels people who are seriously ill. Emma Lee/WHYY hide caption

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Emma Lee/WHYY

Health Inc.

Hello, May I Help You Plan Your Final Months?

WHYY

The company Vital Decisions hires social workers to help people make end-of-life plans in advance, over the phone. But the counselors are paid by insurers. Critics see a conflict of interest.

Hello, May I Help You Plan Your Final Months?

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Build A Toothbrush, Change The World. Or Not

The MD Brush has an unusual grip that automatically angles the brush head at 45 degrees. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption

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Meredith Rizzo/NPR

Health Inc.

Build A Toothbrush, Change The World. Or Not

You think bringing a new toothbrush to market is easy? The seven-year saga of two dental entrepreneurs struggling to bring their patented brush to consumers suggests otherwise.

Build A Toothbrush, Change The World. Or Not

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