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Nearly all women who deliver babies through cesarean section at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City receive injections of the blood thinner heparin for weeks after the procedure, to prevent potentially life-threatening blood clots.

This story also ran on U.S. News & World Report. It can be republished for free.

Obstetric leaders there say that’s good medical practice because the formation of those clots, called venous thromboembolism or VTE, though uncommon, is a leading cause of maternal death after delivery, particularly C-section delivery. Broad use of heparin has been shown to be effective and safe in the United Kingdom in reducing that risk and should be adopted in the U.S., they argue.

But there’s sharp debate among physicians about whether wide use of heparin is effective, worth the cost and safe, since it carries the risk of bleeding. Last year, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists … Read the rest

En la batalla de la nación contra la epidemia de diabetes, el arma preferida que se promueve agresivamente entre los pacientes es tan pequeña como una moneda de 25 centavos, y se usa en el abdomen o en el brazo.

Es un monitor continuo de glucosa (MCG), un sensor diminuto que se inserta justo debajo de la piel, lo que alivia la necesidad de que los pacientes se pinchen los dedos todos los días para controlar el nivel de azúcar en sangre.

El monitor rastrea los niveles de glucosa en todo momento, envía lecturas al celular de los pacientes y al médico, y alerta cuando éstas son demasiado altas o demasiado bajas.

Hoy en día, casi 2 millones de personas con diabetes usan estos monitores, el doble que en 2019, según la firma de inversión Baird.

Sin embargo, hay poca evidencia de que logren mejores resultados para la mayoría de … Read the rest

HELENA, Mont. — When the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation began offering telehealth services in Montana in early February, the nation’s largest nonprofit addiction treatment provider promised quality care for far-flung residents without their even having to leave home.

This story also ran on Fortune. It can be republished for free.

That promise was what Montana and more than 40 other states had in mind when they temporarily relaxed rules restricting telehealth services and allowed out-of-state providers to hold remote patient visits for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic.

A year into the pandemic, telehealth has become widely accepted. Some states are now looking to make permanent the measures that have fueled its growth. But with it have come some unintended consequences, such as a rise in fraud, potential access problems for vulnerable groups and conflicts between out-of-state and in-state health providers.

In Montana, for example, not everybody cheered the virtual … Read the rest

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri has settled a collection of personal injury and false advertising claims over knee surgeries for $16.2 million, in what appears to be one of its largest public payouts in recent years.

This story also ran on St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It can be republished for free.

The 22 plaintiffs, a handful of whom were minors, filed suits from 2018 through 2020 over “BioJoint” surgeries pioneered by two university employees, orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Stannard and veterinarian Dr. James Cook. The procedure involves a complex operation that the Mizzou BioJoint Center’s website calls a “biological joint restoration,” replacing parts of the knee with cadaver bones or cartilage to treat arthritis or joint damage. Some plaintiffs alleged in court documents that the procedure was sold to them as a way to avoid a traditional artificial knee replacement.

Plaintiffs alleged in court documents that Stannard did not … Read the rest

Chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed how the $1.9 trillion covid relief bill will help bolster the Affordable Care Act with “PBS NewsHour” on Wednesday.

• Click here to hear Rovner on PBS

Colorado correspondent Rae Ellen Bichell spoke with KUNC’s “Colorado Edition” on Wednesday about what childhood vaccine rates can tell us about public acceptance of the covid vaccines.

• Click here to hear Bichell on KUNC
• Read Bichell’s “What Childhood Vaccine Rates Can, and Can’t, Teach Us About Covid Vaccines“

Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber joined Big If True’s “Hard Reset” podcast Wednesday to discuss how covid vaccine websites often violate disability laws and create accessibility problems for the blind.

• Click here to hear Weber on “Hard Reset”
• Read Weber’s “Covid Vaccine Websites Violate Disability Laws, Create Inequity for the Blind“

California Healthline senior correspondent Anna Maria Barry-Jester talked about prioritizing vaccines for vulnerable communities with KALW’s … Read the rest