Getting health care to rural areas may involve tough decisions about the role of hospitals. hmproudlove/Getty Images hide caption
Health Care
Maxine Stanich celebrated her 90th birthday with friends and family in 2010, more than two years after her implanted defibrillator was deactivated by Dr. Rita Redberg to comply with Stanich's "do not resuscitate" directive. Courtesy of Susan Giaquinto/Kaiser Health News hide caption
Confused about whether your health plan is ACA-compliant? To be sure you're using your state's official marketplace, start with HealthCare.gov, and click on "see if I can change." Hero Images/Getty Images hide caption
Experts Say There's Little Connection Between Mental Health And Mass Shootings
Ashley Copeland (right) talks to her mom Sue Iverson in the Swedish Medical Center emergency department, near Denver. Copeland got a nerve-blocking anesthetic instead of opioids to ease her severe headache. At discharge she was advised to use over-the-counter painkillers, if necessary. John Daley / CPR News hide caption
A new study offers a systematic look at what midwives can and can't do in different states, offering evidence that empowering them could boost maternal and infant health. Trina Dalziel/Getty Images/Ikon Images hide caption
Rosemary Grant is a registered nurse and helps coordinate sepsis care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The center's goal, she says, is to get a patient who might be developing sepsis antibiotics within three hours. Ian C. Bates for NPR hide caption
Synergy Between Nurses And Automation Could Be Key To Finding Sepsis Early
A measles vaccine, such as the one shown here from a Los Angeles clinic, is highly effective in preventing the spread of measles. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters hide caption
Francisco Hidalgo prepares to receive a trigger point injection from Dr. Alexis LaPietra (right) at St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., while Dr. Tyler Manis observes. An alternative to opioids, the trigger point injection involves dry needling to stop pain from a muscle spasm and a shot of local anesthetic for the soreness from the needle. Hansi Lo Wang/NPR hide caption
ER Reduces Opioid Use By More Than Half With Dry Needles, Laughing Gas
Royal Australian Navy Lt. Elizabeth Livingstone and Singapore Army Maj. Paul Zhao perform cataract surgery aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy during a visit to Quy Nhon, Vietnam in 2010. Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eddie Harrison/U.S. Navy hide caption
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks to the House Ways and Means Committee last week in Washington about the FY19 budget. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption
Urine testing to diagnose illness or to detect the presence of drugs is generally routine. But a woman who gave her doctor a urine sample months after back surgery got socked with a huge bill. SPL/Science Source hide caption
Liz Moreno thought she was done paying for her back surgery in 2015. But a $17,850 bill for a urine test showed up nine months later. Her father, Paul Davis, a retired doctor from Ohio, settled with the lab company for $5,000 in order to protect his daughter's credit history. Julia Robinson for KHN hide caption
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar faced questions Wednesday from the House Ways and Means Committee about Idaho's move. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption