health care

Burnout and low pay can make it tough to retain counselors in the field of addiction services. "You take on your clients' pain," explains one former counselor.

Shortage Of Addiction Counselors Further Strained By Opioid Epidemic

4:30pm February 24, 2016

by Emily Corwin

Counselors in the field of substance abuse rehabilitation earn roughly $40,000 a year, surveys show, and the work can be emotionally draining. Employee turnover is high, and likely to get worse.

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Is Venezuela's Collapsing Health System Ill-Equipped To Handle Zika?

4:18pm February 24, 2016

by John Otis

The scale of the Zika virus outbreak in Venezuela is unclear. The government is reporting more than 5,000 cases with three related deaths. But independent Venezuelan physicians fear it could be as many as 400,000 infections. The outbreak is occurring in a country with a collapsing medical system, an economy in tatters and no funds to buy mosquito repellant, contraception or medicine.

Most women get prenatal care from the doctor they expect will deliver the baby, which can make it difficult if the doctor and hospital are far away.

More Rural Hospitals Are Closing Their Maternity Units

11:37am February 24, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

Facilities for delivering babies are expensive to run and hard to staff. But when small rural hospitals close their birthing units, pregnant women must travel much farther for care.

Health & Safety

Study Finds HPV Vaccine Has Lowered Number Of Women With Disease

6:31pm February 23, 2016

The HPV vaccine has lowered the number of women with HPV, a sexually transmitted disease that can lead to cancer, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics. NPR's Audie Cornish talks to Dr. Joseph Bocchini from Louisiana State University to get his read on the results.

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Ratings on patient satisfaction and quality of care often don't match.

Conflicting Ratings For Home Health Agencies Can Be Puzzling

5:33pm February 23, 2016

by Jordan Rau

Medicare compiles ratings of agencies' quality and of patients' perceptions. But the stars assigned by the government often don't align.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a Las Vegas high school last Friday.

Hillary Clinton Hitches Her Health Care Wagon To Obamacare

4:33pm February 23, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

Rather than sweeping reform, Clinton's health plan is a collection of tweaks to the Affordable Care Act. The proposed changes are aimed at trimming consumer costs and improving coverage.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, has proposed a health care policy he calls "Medicare for All." But some left-leaning economists say the plan doesn't pencil out.

Sanders' Health Plan Renews Debate On Universal Coverage

1:08pm February 23, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

Left-leaning economists and Democratic analysts are sparring over Sanders' proposal of health care for all, paid for by the government. Some who like his aspiration say the numbers don't add up.

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Troy Hodge was only 41 years old when a vessel in his brain burst. "You don't think of things you can't do until you can't do them," he says.

Strokes On The Rise Among Younger Adults

7:33pm February 22, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Fewer people are having strokes now than decades ago. But that improvement seems to be mostly among the elderly. Young people are actually having more strokes, partly because of the rise in obesity.

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Health & Safety

Zika Spike Overwhelms Colombia Doctors

8:25am February 20, 2016

The spread of Zika is taxing Colombia's already over-burdened health care system.

A health worker in Lima, Peru, fumigates against the mosquito that spreads Zika virus, dengue and chikungunya.

How Scientists Misread The Threat Of Zika Virus

5:21pm February 19, 2016

by NPR Staff

Zika was ignored by infectious disease scientists for years. This happens more often than you might think, especially with diseases discovered in remote regions. A researcher says we can do better.

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