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ArchivesRemote-Control MedicineBy Virginia Prescott on Thursday, May 29, 2008.
Both doctors and patients are finding ways to take advantage of the Internet and wireless communication to stay connected to healthcare providers and family members. Telemedicine -- or telehealth -- is a broad term, and it takes many shapes. Kerry Grens, senior health and science reporter for WHYY in Philadelphia, recently reported on the way some hospitals are using these new tools, and she joins us on Word of Mouth to talk about them. Click here to listen to Kerry's original report. Click here to visit WHYY's health and science page. Click here to read a Scripps-Howard article about telemedicine that ran in the Nashua Telegraph. The New York Times recently ran an article that explains other ways patients and their families use telemedicine. Click here to read it. (Photo by brykmantra) listen:
  Chancellor Stephen Reno Plans to ResignBy Mark Bevis on Thursday, May 29, 2008.Stephen Reno, the Chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire has announced he is going to resign at the end of the next school year. He spoke with NHPR's Mark Bevis about his plans for the future and the challenges facing the state's universities. listen:
Classic Arcade Tournament Draws Video Game FansBy Avishay Artsy on Thursday, May 29, 2008.Video game enthusiasts are going head-to-head in the summer resort town of Weirs Beach this weekend. They’ve gathered for the 10th annual International Classic Videogame and Pinball Tournament. The organizer, Gary Vincent, has dedicated his life to preserving the games. New Hampshire Public Radio’s Avishay Artsy brings us his story. listen:
Thursday, May 29, 2008Today on Word of Mouth, we devote our entire show to new views of health care. Award-winning journalist Julia Salamon spent a year at one of the nation’s largest hospitals, and gives us an inside view of modern medicine. We hear about the emerging field of tele-medicine, and explore why cancer patients are demanding that the FDA fast-track approval for cancer drugs. We also hear the story of doctors on the path to recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. (Photo by Darren Hester) listen: No audio currently available. Order on CD (pdf).
Fighting For Cancer DrugsBy Virginia Prescott on Thursday, May 29, 2008.Cancer patients and their advocates are criticizing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over the approval of new cancer drugs. They accuse the FDA of blocking experimental drugs that could save thousands of lives.
The advocacy group Care To Live is holding a nationwide protest Friday against the FDA for delaying the approval of a prostate cancer vaccine called Provenge. An FDA advisory committee voted 17-0 that it was safe, and 13-4 that it showed substantial evidence of being effective. Business Week senior writer Catherine Arnst wrote about the battle over new cancer drugs, and joins Word of Mouth to discuss why cancer drugs are being held up. (Photo by Derek K. Miller) listen:
A Peek Behind the Swinging Hospital DoorsBy Virginia Prescott on Thursday, May 29, 2008.
Hospitals are big businesses, where bureaucracy, budgets, politics and personalities shape patient care. Award-winning journalist Julia Salamon spent a year getting an insider’s view of one of the nation’s largest hospitals. She came away with a revealing portrait of modern medicine from those who make the system run. Her new book is called Hospital: Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity, Plus Red Tape, Bad Behavior, Money , God and Diversity on Steroids. She joins us on Word of Mouth to talk about her work. listen:
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Primary care doctors and specialists are in great demand. Many are spread too thin, and in some places, there just aren’t enough of them to go around. The medical community is bracing for the huge wave of aging baby boomers, who will need more care and attention as they get older. Some physicians are looking to technology to stretch their services to more patients, and that’s where “telemedicine” comes in. 
Cancer strikes one in three Americans, kills one in four, and is only second to heart disease as the nation’s biggest killer. New experimental medications offer some hope. But the FDA’s stringent regulations mean only 8 percent of such drugs get final approval. The regulation process slowed down even more when the FDA came under Congressional scrutiny after it approved Merck's painkiller Vioxx, later pulled off the market in 2004 because of safety concerns.
When you visit a hospital in real life, you probably won’t see the quick diagnoses and swarthy doctors that populate the medical field on TV shows like E.R. and Grey’s Anatomy. 