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Story Archives of 'health care'
Tamworth Has Its Own Version of Universal Healthcare
By Elaine Grant on Monday, November 16, 2009.The town of Tamworth has something no other town in New Hampshire enjoys - besides, of course, the southern view of Mt Chocorua. Tamworth is practicing it's own version of universal healthcare.
For more than 80 years, the nurses of Tamworth have provided free medical care to every resident in town. They even make house calls.
NHPR's Elaine Grant joined one of the nurses on her rounds.
Health Care Reform Hits Home
By Laura Knoy on Thursday, November 12, 2009.There’s been plenty of debate over whether to overhaul America’s health care system. But if a bill passes, New Hampshire will have to figure out how to make all the federal changes work with all of the state health care policies and programs already in place. We’ll get to the bottom of how this transition would work, and where there might be bumps in the road.
Guests
- Ned Helms, director of the New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice at the University of New Hampshire
- Charlie Arlinghaus, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy
Containing the Cost of Corporate Care
By Elaine Grant on Monday, November 9, 2009.As health care premiums continue to skyrocket, Granite State businesses large and small are considering outside-the-box strategies to keep a lid on expenses, from lowering obesity and smoking rates to treating depression and teaching employees how to shop for the most affordable medical care. We’ll talk to a roundtable of benefit managers and analysts on what ideas are being tossed around and which are sticking.
Guests
- David Whelan, health care staff writer for Forbes Magazine
- David Larrivee, principal consultant at Workplace Benefit Solutions in Manchester
- Peter Hayes, longtime health care consultant with Hannaford Supermarket and now owner of the consulting company Health Care Solutions
Guests
- Jeremy Hitchcock, CEO and CFO of Dynamic Network Services in Manchester
The Robot Will See You Now
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, November 4, 2009.In 1985, the world witnessed the first robot-assisted surgery. The PUMA 560 angled its white plastic arm towards the brain of a patient and carefully inserted a biopsy needle. The procedure was a success and the field of medical robotics was born.
Now researchers are creating robots capable of much more than mechanical tasks. A new crop of social robots cheer on stroke victims struggling through physical therapy, help Alzheimer’s patients remember events from the past, and give Autistic children encouragement as they connect with the outside world.
Some patients actually prefer the mechanical voice of these robots over the prompting of therapists and family members. Programming robots to display more and more human-like characteristics raises the question of whether we are coming dangerously close to singularity -- the point at which machines achieve human-level intelligence.
Dr. Jerome Groopman wrote about the rise of medical robots for The New Yorker, where he’s staff writer. He’s also the author of several books including How Doctors Think.
The New Yorker: Robots That Care
(Photo by Roberto Rizzato via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Grading Media Coverage of Health Care
By Virginia Prescott on Monday, November 2, 2009.
In September, former senate majority leader Tom Daschle spoke at The New School in New York City. He described a health care town hall meeting that was nothing like the shrill, hostile meetings then leading the news. “The next morning,” Daschle says, “I read the newspaper and I’d say 95% of the coverage in the paper was about the demonstrators and quotes that they had, either about me, or about health care that were completely off base. Nothing about the thoughtful, substantive discussion that occurred for an hour and a half in that hall.”
The headlines generated by gun-toting protesters, people decrying “socialized medicine” and “death panels” have faded, but the health care debate continues. This week, Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives are expected to vote on their versions of the health care reform bill, bills that are quite different from the Senate’s version.
If you find yourself getting lost in the process, you are not alone. Trudy Lieberman has been following health care and the media’s coverage of the issue for the Columbia Journalism Review. She also teaches health and medicine reporting at the City University of New York and joins us to grade the media coverage of the health care debate.
Columbia Journalism Review: Truth Emerges about the Public Option
L.A. Times: Media needs to deepen coverage of healthcare reform
Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism: Health News Coverage in the U.S. Media
(Photo by Truthout.org via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Dartmouth Doctors say Drug Labels Leave Out Essential Information
By Elaine Grant on Friday, October 30, 2009.Two Dartmouth doctors argue that drug labels don’t tell you how well your medications work or how safe they really are.
Worse yet, they don’t tell your doctors everything they need to know.
A little-known piece of legislation based on their work is included in a Senate health care overhaul bill.
And as health reporter Elaine Grant has learned, that could eventually change the way the pharmaceutical industry labels drugs.
The Marketing of Desire
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, October 28, 2009.
Female Sexual Dysfunction is a term of some debate, and not one frequently discussed on public radio. But its origins and the race to treat it are examined by filmmaker Liz Canner in a documentary called Orgasm, Inc.
Liz Canner was originally hired by a pharmaceutical company focused on creating a Viagra equivalent for women. That gig turned into a nine-year exploration of how female sexuality has been treated by the medical profession, and the origins –and profitability -- of disease. Liz Canner joins us with more, in advance of tonight’s screening at The Music Hall in Portsmouth.
New Hampshire’s Rising Health Care Costs
By Laura Knoy on Tuesday, October 20, 2009.New Hampshire is one of the healthiest states, with one of the highest quality health care systems and one of the best health care infrastructures in the nation. But it also ranks among the top in healthcare costs, and they're climbing - especially compared to wages. We’ll look at why New Hampshire ranks so high in its healthcare costs and what it may be doing to get prices down.
Guests
- Elaine Grant, NHPR Health Reporter
- Steve Norton, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies
We'll also hear from
- Cathy Schoen, senior vice president at The Commonwealth Fund
For Small Customers, Health Care Dollars Don't Buy as Much Medical Care
By Elaine Grant on Monday, September 21, 2009.Everyone knows that health insurance premiums are particularly expensive for small businesses and individuals.
One reason: considerably more of their premium dollars pay for insurance companies’ administration.
NHPR’s health reporter Elaine Grant has the story.
Howard Dean’s Take on Health Care
By Laura Knoy on Wednesday, September 16, 2009.Before he was a governor, Democratic presidential candidate and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean was a physician. So with his understanding of both the political and medical sides of the health care debate, Dean has come up with a prescription of his own for health care reform. We'll hear Howard Dean’s take on the health care debate.
Guests
- Howard Dean, former Vermont governor, Democratic presidential candidate in 2004 and former chair of the Democratic National Committee; his new book is Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform: How We Can Achieve Affordable Medical Care for Every American and Make Our Jobs Safer
