The recent deal announced by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to in effect leave the United States for the purpose of evading corporate taxes calls into question why Congress continues to protect this industry.
Many in Congress, particularly Republicans, have resisted efforts to permit Medicare and Medicaid to negotiate for bulk pricing for drugs Americans need. The system is broken and we’re all paying for it.
Can we really uses hated viruses to cure cancer? Watch this stunning documentary from Vice and see how doctors are using HIV, measles and genetically-engineered cold viruses to mark cancer cells for destruction by out immune system.
These breakthroughs have the potential to completely change how we fight cancer, in perhaps may lead to actual cures.
Ebola is a very serious disease and obviously a very serious public health issue. It’s something that should be taken very seriously, and as we’ve seen even the CDC makes mistakes.
But there are way too many people out there trying to gin up fear and hysteria over this issue. That includes media members trying to generate clicks or eyeballs, and politicians trying to capitalize on the fear.
The reaction to this photo is just one example. Read this article, and hopefully you’ll be able to keep calm while taking this seriously.
In a stunning announcement today, the largest soda companies in the United States have agreed to find ways to have consumers drink less soda loaded with sugar. Coke, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper/Snapple have entered into a voluntary agreement with the Clinton Global Initiative to cut beverage calories consumed per person in the US by 20% by 2025. This is a stunning development and it’s an acknowledgement that these beverages contribute to the obesity crisis in this country and around the world.
The approach will be through a variety of tactics, involving marketing, packaging and distribution. Of course, the companies will do this in large part by marketing low-calorie or zero-calorie beverages that they own. The trends away from sugary soft drinks have become more pronounced, though in poorer areas not much has changed. Still, by changing the sizes of soft drinks and encouraging consumption of water and low-calorie drinks, this move can have a huge impact on public health over the years.
So if you have your own bad habit of consuming sugary soft drinks every day, now is the time to stop!
Here’s one of the new health care influencers to keep an eye on – Elizabeth Holmes. Her company, Theranos, is on the cutting edge of an exciting new trend in medicine involving instant diagnosis. The key is the ability to analysis tiny blood samples in real time and use sensors to communicate that information to health care professionals.
Elizabeth is already a billionaire at the age of 30 as her company has the potential to revolutionize the diagnostic lab industry.
Learn more about her and this trend in the video above, and check out some of the articles written about her and her company here, here and here.
Be careful before taking out huge loans to get a degree from a for-profit college. Make sure you're not getting suckered into for-profit college scams that leave you with no job and huge debt.
This blog is for consumers of health care and medical services. Basically, it’s for everyone. For health issues you should always see a doctor or qualified medical professional - we are not dispensing medical advice. You should, however, be an educated consumer, so we offer information to help you start the process to become educated and to ask important questions. There are many excellent resources on the web, along with all sorts of conflicting opinions and advice. The key is to use a wide variety of resources to learn and access information, so you can ask the important questions when you are with your doctor or health professional.
