Amid a stark shortage of psychiatric beds that only worsened for millions suffering from mental illnesses during the pandemic, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is rolling out a new model that can help communities determine exactly how many beds they need. Having enough in-patient beds would cut down on overcrowding in emergency departments and early… read on > read on >
Pro athletes appear to be regularly turning to intravenous (IV) nutritional drips to alleviate fatigue and speed recovery, despite the potential risks and without solid proof of any real benefit. Normally, such needle-inserted drips are supposed to be reserved for treating a serious illness like anemia, or in an emergency situation such as severe dehydration.… read on > read on >
People might want to think twice before relying on federal quality ratings to help choose a nursing home for an elderly or frail relative, a new study warns. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) established the Nursing Home Compare website in the 1990s to publicly report patient safety indicators for every nursing… read on > read on >
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 17, 2022 (American Heart Association News) — Maintaining excellent cardiovascular health may lower the risk for abnormalities in the small vessels of the brain, a new study suggests. Scientists aren’t sure what causes the condition, known as cerebral small vessel disease, or CSVD. Previous research shows CSVD contributes to about half of dementia… read on > read on >
President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, making it the most significant health care legislation enacted in more than a decade. How will it affect health care? Millions of Americans covered by Medicare will see big reductions in costs for both health care and prescription drugs. And those covered by… read on > read on >
A smartphone video could detect a blocked blood vessel in your neck that could cause a stroke, a new study suggests. The American Heart Association says videos may provide a non-invasive way to screen people who are at risk of stroke. Nearly 87% of strokes are the ischemic type, which happens when fatty deposits build… read on > read on >
If you need to take a pill, you might want to take it lying down — on your right side, that is. Researchers studying how body positioning affects the absorption of pills found that one taken when a person was lying on the right side speeded pills to the deepest part of the stomach. That… read on > read on >
Millions of infant swings and rockers are being recalled because crawling babies can get entangled in straps that dangle beneath them. The recall applies to MamaRoo and RockaRoo swings and rockers manufactured by Thorley Industries of Pittsburgh. The company, which does business under the name 4moms, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced… read on > read on >
It’s well known that exposure to lead can harm young children’s brain development. Now a new study suggests that racial segregation may be compounding the detrimental effects of lead on Black children. The study, of close to 26,000 schoolchildren, found that Black children with elevated blood lead levels had worse scores on standardized reading tests.… read on > read on >
Methamphetamine is driving an epidemic of drug overdoses in rural America, a new study concludes. Researchers attribute the surge to meth laced with fentanyl or combined with an opioid that contains fentanyl. “Methamphetamine is increasingly contaminated or adulterated with fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin,” said lead researcher Dr. Todd… read on > read on >
