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Churning, confusion and disruption — The dark side of marketplace coverage

Cyndee Weston can barely remember the last time she didn't have to switch health plans during an Affordable Care Act sign-up season. By her count, she has been on five plans in five years.

7 Dec 2017

Brokers tout mix-and-match coverage to avoid high-cost ACA plans

Health insurance a la carte? As the Affordable Care Act open-enrollment season moves into its final weeks, some consumers looking for lower-cost alternatives are considering a patchwork approach to health insurance. The products may secure some basic protection but leave patients on the hook for high medical bills.

7 Dec 2017

People who go to sleep late have wider social networks than morning persons

Using anonymous mobile phone data, Aalto University doctoral researcher Talayeh Aledavood has tapped into patterns in people's behavior. She has found out that our 'chronotypes' - our inherent periods of sleep during a 24-hour-period - correlate with the size of our social networks and how much we are in contact with others and also the kind of chronotypes with whom we interact.

7 Dec 2017

Treating the new hep C generation on their turf

Once a week, Dr. Diana Sylvestre puts her medical expertise to use in a rickety old house frequented by drug users in this small Northern California city.

7 Dec 2017

Health risks to farmworkers increase as workforce ages

That bag of frozen cauliflower sitting inside your freezer likely sprang to life in a vast field north of Salinas, Calif. A crew of men and women here use a machine to drop seedlings into the black soil. Another group follows behind, stooped over, tapping each new plant.

7 Dec 2017

UA researcher awarded $2.3 million NIH grant to develop new treatments for depression

A University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix researcher has received a $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop new treatments for depression.

7 Dec 2017

New method for tracking nurses in real time could help improve health care delivery process

Previous studies about nurse workflow have used time-motion study methods, which involve manually observing nurses in person or on video and then clocking how much time they spend on each task.

6 Dec 2017

Stopping opioid addiction at one key source: The hospital

It may not be rocket science, but a group of surgeons at the University of Michigan's Michigan Medicine have devised a strategy to curb the nation's opioid epidemic — starting at their own hospital.

6 Dec 2017

Your plumber offers a money-back guarantee. Should your doctor?

Linda Radach has had six hip replacement operations since 2006, three on each side. Osteoarthritis was the reason she needed surgery in the first place, but replacing her hips in some ways only worsened her troubles.

6 Dec 2017

Hospitals find asthma hot spots more profitable to neglect than fix

Keyonta Parnell has had asthma most of his young life, but it wasn't until his family moved to the 140-year-old house here on Lemmon Street two years ago that he became one of the health care system's frequent customers.

6 Dec 2017

Attack on asthma: Scrubbing homes of allergens may tame disease and its costs

After years of studying the causes of asthma, a pediatrician-turned-public health sleuth thinks there's a way to substantially reduce its impact.

6 Dec 2017

Intensive weight management program can help people with type 2 diabetes achieve remission

Type 2 diabetes can be reversed following an intensive weight management program, according a randomized trial in adults who have had the condition for up to 6 years, published in The Lancet.

6 Dec 2017

Shorter course of radiation may be preferred treatment for men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among males in the United States. Approximately, 180,000 men are diagnosed each year, and approximately 95 percent of these men have localized disease that is potentially curable.

5 Dec 2017

Transgender youth feel uncomfortable to discuss health-care needs with their doctors

Close to half of transgender young Canadians aren't accessing health care when they need it, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.

5 Dec 2017

Dangling a carrot for patients to take healthy steps: Does it work?

Patricia Alexander knew she needed a mammogram but just couldn't find the time. "Every time I made an appointment, something would come up," said Alexander, 53, who lives in Moreno Valley, Calif.

5 Dec 2017

1 in 10 medical products found to be substandard or falsified in low- and middle-income countries

An estimated 1 in 10 medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified, according to new research from the World Health Organization.

5 Dec 2017

Nearly 6% of cancers worldwide caused by diabetes and high BMI, study finds

Diabetes and high BMI (a BMI over 25 kg/m2) were the cause of 5.6% of new cancer cases worldwide in 2012 – equivalent to 792600 cases, according to the first study to quantify the proportion of cancers attributable to diabetes and high BMI published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.

5 Dec 2017