HealthCommentaryA serious, and sometimes ignored, risk for young athletes Fall is here and with fall in the United States young people all across the country are playing football. It’s a rough game, which brings cuts and bruises at the very least. But a more serious injury – concussion – lurks just below the surface of […]
Young athletes are particularly vulnerable Young men participating in sports in the United States are sometimes under extreme pressure to be competitive — and the extra boost provided by steroids is tempting. But the recent case of Olympic sprinter Marion Jones and her use of performance enhancing substances shows this problem affects both men and women. It is estimated […]
And so have Doctors Fert and Grunberg! This past week, we featured an archived Health Politics piece on Global Warming. That was appropriate as we await word whether former Vice President Gore will be awarded a Nobel Prize for his work on global warming. He certainly deserves it when you considered what he has endured […]
Is our technology up to the task? As we enter into the presidential election season, the nation’s attention will be focused more tightly on our health care future — we hope. If the candidates are up to the challenge, 2008 presents an opportunity to address long-simmering issues. High on their radar screen should be this question: […]
Author Jerome Groopman, MD, discusses how mistakes in diagnosis can occur A strong patient-physician relationship is critical to the functioning of our health care system. But the relationship between patients and physicians is far from perfect. Physician Jerome Groopman recently explored ways that problems can occur as physicians seek to provide quality care for their […]
A service that can vastly improve the quality of your final days In a society that puts a heavy emphasis on curative health care — and tends to avoid dealing with death altogether — it’s not surprising that most people have little familiarity with hospice care. This is unfortunate, as hospice can make all the […]
How GM’s decision to turn over its benefits program affects the health insurance safety net Today’s news about GM’s settlement with the United Auto Workers raises huge questions about the future of American health care and American families. GM has essentially pulled out of the business of providing long-term health benefits to its employees, creating […]
