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May 24, 2012 KQEDWhen 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.

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May 9, 2012 British guidelines for collaboration between the drug industry and doctors suggests that conflicts are problems of the past. But a frequent critic refutes that notion and calls on recent examples to raise a warning.

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May 8, 2012 A survey of more than 1,000 OB-GYNs who work in religious hospitals finds that more than one-third report they've had a conflict regarding religious-based policy for patient care. At Catholic hospitals, the figure was 52 percent.

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May 2, 2012 KHNIn Michigan, areas with more cardiac catheterization labs — places where patients are diagnosed for heart problems — tended to have more interventions than those with fewer labs.

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April 27, 2012 KHNIn rural Mississippi, the number of doctors per person is among the lowest in the country. Now, a new scholarship program is trying to attract medical students to begin their practice there. The success — or failure — of the program depends largely on the recruiter's ability to pick the right students.

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April 25, 2012 Who makes the most? Specialists who do things to you. Orthopedic surgeons and radiologists top the earnings chart at an average income of $315,000 a year, according to data compiled by Medscape.

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April 24, 2012 KHNLos Angeles has some 2 million uninsured residents. It has long had one of the most disorganized public health systems, too. Now, Dr. Mitch Katz is looking to reshape the system and match patients with their own doctors.

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April 16, 2012 A big group of plastic surgeons say that chin enhancement was the fastest growing surgical procedure they performed for cosmetic purposes in the U.S. last year. More than 20,000 chin operations were performed in 2011, a 71 percent increase compared with 2010.

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April 12, 2012 An evacuation of the Kennedy Center first thing Thursday couldn't stop TEDMED. The big thinkers at the meeting heard about research to make better proteins in a hurry. And later there was an argument ini favor of allowing patients with terminal illnesses to take more risks with experimental treatments.

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April 11, 2012 TEDMED has rolled into the nation's capital, and the conference is drawing hip health care geeks from around the world. Cookie Monster came, too.

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April 4, 2012 Nine national medical groups have identified 45 diagnostic tests, procedures and treatments that they say often are unnecessary and expensive. The head of one of the specialty groups says unneeded tests probably account for $250 billion in health care spending.

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March 27, 2012 The biggest comparison yet of surgery and stents for stable heart disease gives the nod to bypass operations. Fewer patients who had surgery died four years afterward.

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March 27, 2012 KHNSome insurers and employers are trying cash to reward employees who choose less expensive health care services. Under one program, nearly 40 services are covered, including mammograms and colonoscopies, knee replacements and cataract surgery.

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