PROFILE
FROM Sabrina Tavernise
America's Wild West of Drug Pricing Earlier this year, when pharma exec Martin Shkreli bought the rights to an old drug and then raised its price 5000%, Americans named him the most hated man in the country. But he is only doing what Big Pharma does everyday thanks to patent laws and America's free market approach to drug pricing. Rising costs are outraging patients, doctors and health insurers all along the political spectrum, but with all the money Big Pharma spends on lobbying, will Washington take up drug pricing reform?
The Nurse Is IN: When the Doctor Is a Nurse Nebraska and Maryland are just the latest converts to a growing trend in healthcare that allows nurses with advanced degrees in certain medical fields to perform such "doctorly" duties as prescribing medication, interpreting diagnostics, or administering treatments, without the oversight of a physician. So far 21 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws permitting this, and another eight are considering it. It's been a boon for rural states that struggle to recruit doctors, but a number of MD's and medical associations oppose the new legislation, saying nurses lack the skills to provide quality medical care. We visit the doctor-less office and test more high tech healthcare.
Youth Obesity Falling One of America’s enduring health problems is childhood obesity, which has been on the rise for decades. But now there are rays of hope around the country that the process may be turning around. In major metropolitan areas including New York and Los Angeles, and in smaller cities around the country, childhood obesity is declining for the first time in 30 years. The drops are small, but they're raising hopes that obesity rates may have finally reached a peak. Sabrina Tavernise is a reporter for the New York Times .
Youth Obesity Falling One of America’s enduring health problems is childhood obesity, which has been on the rise for decades. But now there are rays of hope around the country that the process may be turning around. In major metropolitan areas including New York and Los Angeles, and in smaller cities around the country, childhood obesity is declining for the first time in 30 years. The drops are small, but they're raising hopes that obesity rates may have finally reached a peak. Sabrina Tavernise is a reporter for the New York Times .
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