Accessibility links

Health Care The state of health care, health insurance, new medical research, disease prevention, and drug treatments. Interviews, news, and commentary from NPR's correspondents. Subscribe to podcasts.

Health Care

A Year Full of Confusion for Prescription Drug Users

As medicines were pulled off pharmacy shelves in 2004 and the FDA issued new warnings about others, patients and doctors wonder about the reliability of pharmaceutical screening. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports.

A Year Full of Confusion for Prescription Drug Users

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4252159/4252160" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

2004 Year in Review: Medicine

NPR's Tony Cox continues a look back at 2004 with Dr. Ivan Walks for a year in review of medicine and health. Dr. Walks is the former chief health officer of the District of Columbia and currently chief executive officer and president of Ivan Walks and Associates.

2004 Year in Review: Medicine

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4251586/4251587" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

U.S. Governors Unite to Demand Fed Medicaid Funds

U.S. governors unite in a bipartisan effort to hold onto their Medicaid money, even as President Bush considers cuts to help balance the federal budget. NPR's Tony Cox speaks with Michael Cannon, director of health care studies at the Cato Institute, and Victoria Wachino, health policy director at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

U.S. Governors Unite to Demand Fed Medicaid Funds

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4249414/4249415" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Study: Doctors Listen to White Patients More

Doctors are listening less and talking more to black patients than to white patients, according to a Johns Hopkins School of Public Health study. The study aims to learn why minorities tend to receive lower quality health care than whites, even when both groups have similar health insurance and incomes. Hear NPR's Tony Cox and Dr. Rachel Johnson.

Study: Doctors Listen to White Patients More

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4247593/4247594" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Flu Shots for the Elderly, at Home

A group of local doctors in Washington, D.C., have come up with a different way to distribute flu shots to those who are often the most difficult to find, the homebound elderly. NPR's Joseph Shapiro reports.

Flu Shots for the Elderly, at Home

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4245155/4245156" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Diagnosing and Treating Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is far more prevalent than once thought. If left untreated, it can be debilitating. Dr. Peter Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, joins us to discuss the diagnosis and treatment of this disorder.

Diagnosing and Treating Celiac Disease

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4244181/4244182" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

FDA Issues Painkiller Advisory

Amid new and often confusing revelations about painkillers currently on the market, the Food and Drug Administration issues an interim advisory while it compares data on pain relievers. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports.

FDA Offers Advisory for Painkillers

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4243043/4243044" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Experts Point to Cheap, Legal Drug Options in U.S.

A Bush administration task force has raised serious doubts about whether drugs imported from abroad can be made safe. Even if Congress doesn't loosen restrictions on prescription drug imports, analysts point to many other ways consumers can reduce their spending on medicines. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

Experts Point to Cheap, Legal Drug Options in U.S.

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4242223/4242224" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Health

Key Painkiller Trials Optional

Americans have recently learned that four popular painkillers -- Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra and naproxen -- have been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. In 2001, scientists called for heart safety tests for these painkillers, but the FDA lacked the authority to require such trials. Hear NPR's Snigdha Prakash.

Lack of Heart Trials Obscured Painkiller Risks

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4242209/4242210" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Report Opposes Drug Imports

A Bush Administration task force releases a report that finds importing drugs from countries with price-controls offers little savings and introduces safety concerns. But the task force report is likely to have little effect on Capitol Hill, where support for the practice remains strong. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

Bush Task Force Calls Drug Importation Unsafe

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4240247/4240248" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Government Task Force Discourages Personal Drug Importation

A government task force is recommending against allowing people to import prescription drugs from other nations. The task force says it would be exceedingly difficult to guarantee that drugs imported from Canada or other nations are equivalent to those bought in the U.S. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports.

Government Task Force Discourages Personal Drug Importation

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4239373/4239374" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Safety Concerns Hang over Popular Painkillers

Another Painkiller Linked to Heart Risk

Federal officials report that the painkiller Naproxen may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, just after similar news about Pfizer's Celebrex. The drug is best known as the main ingredient in Aleve, an over-the-counter pain reliever. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

Another Painkiller Linked to Heart Risk

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4239351/4239352" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Opinion

Analysis

More Popular Painkillers Linked to Health Risks

NPR's Alex Chadwick talks about concerns over popular painkillers naproxen and Celebrex with Elizabeth Tindall, president of the American College of Rheumatology.

More Popular Painkillers Linked to Health Risks

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4238920/4238921" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">