Medicine

Seated from left are Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Maine Gov. Paul LePage, Hassan, and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. The governors met Tuesday in Boston to discuss strategies to deal with the opioid addiction problem in all their states. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

New England Governors Converge To Address Opioid Epidemic

The governors spoke to an international conference of physicians who prescribe or study opioids and urged them to reduce prescribing on their own.

Birth Control's Next Frontier? Health Center Aims For Quick And Easy IUDs And Implants

If they're so effective, why aren't more women using IUDs and implants? A health clinic in Worcester is getting help to put better birth control front and center -- particularly...

Diagnosing CTE In The Living: Massive Study Of Degenerative Brain Disease To Begin

Researchers are recruiting 180 former NFL and college football players hoping their study will help develop ways to diagnose CTE in people while they're still alive. The only way to...

At 'Pain School,' Veterans Learn To Manage With Fewer Pills

Bedford's is one of 67 VA Pain Schools across the country. Through the schools, the VA is trying to shift the way patients think about pain.

New Addiction Treatment Implant Will Hit The Market Next Month At $4,950

The FDA has approved the implant, but the debate over how effective it will be and whether insurers will cover its $4,950 price tag continues.

Popping A Daily Baby Aspirin? Caution: New Guidelines, Amid Controversy

The bottom line is aspirin "has benefits, but it also has harms, and the harms are important to understand,” says Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, an author of the new guidelines that...

The Promise And Price Of New Addiction Treatment Implant

A drug company is touting the benefits of a new implant designed to deliver a continuous dose of an existing and popular opioid treatment drug.

Boston Medical Center Launches First Comprehensive Transgender Medical Center In Northeast

The center brings together services including primary care, hormone therapy and mental health support as well as chest and facial reconstruction procedures. Its creation reflects a shift within mainstream medicine...

Local Coverage

05:17May 18, 2016

A new Dartmouth study looked at whether or not doctors' actions are influenced by an interest in controlling health care costs. (Alex Proimos/Flickr)

Dartmouth Study Looks At When Doctors And Patients Clash Over 'Unnecessary' Care

What happens when you want a test that your doctor thinks won't help? What drives doctors to provide care that they don't think a patient needs? That's what Dartmouth researchers...

Local Coverage

May 17, 2016

Surgical team members Dr. Dicken Ko, left, and Dr. Curtis Cetrulo address the media during a news conference at Massachusetts General Hospital, Monday. (Elise Amendola/AP)

7 Things To Know About The Nation's First Penis Transplant

It's a big headline -- the first penis transplant in the United States -- but what may it mean for patients? A look at the basics.

Local Coverage

May 16, 2016

In this photo provided by Massachusetts General Hospital, Thomas Manning gives a thumbs up after being asked how he was feeling following the first penis transplant in the United States. (Sam Riley/Mass General Hospital via AP)

Cancer Patient Receives Nation's First Penis Transplant At MGH

The patient is 64-year-old Thomas Manning from the South Shore town of Halifax.

Local Coverage

02:56May 16, 2016

Students and postdocs at MIT who were part of the pharmacy on demand (a small scale pharmaceutical manufacturing unit) team. (Courtesy of MIT)

MIT Researchers Aim To Create An On-Demand Pharmacy

They've created a device the size of a refrigerator that can turn out 1,000 pills in just 24 hours. It's a whole new way to make drugs, but questions about...

Local Coverage

04:34May 16, 2016

A health care worker reaches down to check on a person sleeping on a piece of cardboard on Melnea Cass Boulevard. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

State's Opioid Epidemic Is Vividly Seen On Boston's 'Methadone Mile'

“This has to be the worst section of the city right now,” Vinny Pardini, a resident at a recovery program, says of the one-mile stretch of Massachusetts Avenue. “It’s full...

Local Coverage

08:24May 13, 2016

Dr. Atul Gawande, a co-chair of the Serious Illness Care coalition, is a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. (Courtesy)

Health Care And Civic Leaders Launch Serious Illness Care Coalition

The aim of the group is to encourage patients, doctors and family members to talk about what type of care they want when facing a serious illness.

Local Coverage

04:35May 12, 2016

A Seattle public health official demonstrates the use of a gun lock box during a news conference on Jan. 21. (Elaine Thompson/AP)

Opinion: Pediatrician Asks, Why Can't I Talk To You About Guns In The Home?

Since 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics has encouraged primary care providers to discuss firearm safety with families.

Local Coverage

May 11, 2016

Visitors relax in the Prouty Garden in this file photo. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Judge Rejects Injunction To Stop Construction On Children's Hospital Healing Garden

The hospital plans to demolish Prouty Garden and build a new clinical building.

Local Coverage

May 9, 2016

Justin Bonoyer standing in the athletic field at Ponaganset High School. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Policies For Transgender High School Athletes Vary From State To State

There's a lot of attention on bathrooms in the debate about transgender rights. The next battleground may be locker rooms, basketball courts and soccer fields. For high school students, the...

Local Coverage

08:26May 9, 2016

The trauma/ICU simulation room at Boston Children's Hospital (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Opinion: In Simulation Era, Your Doc's First Try At A Procedure Should Not Be On You

Doctors in training increasingly practice on computers and simulated patients, but the “see one, do one, teach one” culture still persists in many hospitals.

Local Coverage

May 6, 2016

As a doctor myself, writes Dr. Anna Reisman, I was embarrassed that I didn’t know how to help a patient with a bedpan. (Michaelwalk/Wikimedia Commons)

Narrating Medicine: Let's Talk Bedpans, And Why Doctors Should Get Good With Them

As a doctor myself, I was embarrassed that I didn’t know how to help handle a patient's bedpan.

Local Coverage

May 4, 2016

A new study is bad news for the push for health care shopping. (Caden Crawford/Flickr)

Harvard Study: Shopping For Health Care Fails To Lower Costs

A new Harvard study finds that, contrary to hopes and expectations, helping people shop for health care does not bring down costs -- in fact, shopping may even lead people...

Local Coverage

May 3, 2016

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New England Governors Converge To Address Opioid Epidemic

Birth Control's Next Frontier? Health Center Aims For Quick And Easy IUDs And Implants

Diagnosing CTE In The Living: Massive Study Of Degenerative Brain Disease To Begin

At 'Pain School,' Veterans Learn To Manage With Fewer Pills

New Addiction Treatment Implant Will Hit The Market Next Month At $4,950

Popping A Daily Baby Aspirin? Caution: New Guidelines, Amid Controversy

The Promise And Price Of New Addiction Treatment Implant

Boston Medical Center Launches First Comprehensive Transgender Medical Center In Northeast

Dartmouth Study Looks At When Doctors And Patients Clash Over 'Unnecessary' Care

7 Things To Know About The Nation's First Penis Transplant

Cancer Patient Receives Nation's First Penis Transplant At MGH

MIT Researchers Aim To Create An On-Demand Pharmacy

State's Opioid Epidemic Is Vividly Seen On Boston's 'Methadone Mile'

Health Care And Civic Leaders Launch Serious Illness Care Coalition

Opinion: Pediatrician Asks, Why Can't I Talk To You About Guns In The Home?

Judge Rejects Injunction To Stop Construction On Children's Hospital Healing Garden

Policies For Transgender High School Athletes Vary From State To State

Opinion: In Simulation Era, Your Doc's First Try At A Procedure Should Not Be On You

Narrating Medicine: Let's Talk Bedpans, And Why Doctors Should Get Good With Them

Harvard Study: Shopping For Health Care Fails To Lower Costs