Digital mental health companies draw scrutiny and growing concerns
When Pat Paulson’s son told her he was feeling anxious and depressed at college, Paulson went through her Blue Cross Blue Shield provider directory and started calling mental health therapists. No providers in the Wisconsin city where her son’s university is located had openings. So she bought a monthly subscription...
Relaxed methadone rules appear safe, researchers find
As the coronavirus pandemic shut down the nation in March of 2020, the U.S. government told methadone clinics they could allow stable patients with opioid addiction to take their medicine at home unsupervised. Methadone, an opioid itself, can be dangerous in large amounts and most patients are required to take...
‘The virus is not done with us yet’: New covid-19 variants better evade antibodies, doctors say
CHICAGO — For people who contracted covid-19 during earlier omicron surges, doctors have some unwelcome news: You are again susceptible to catching the virus. Two new variants of the virus appear to more easily evade immune protection from prior infections, meaning even some who have recovered from a case of...
Superbug infections, deaths rose at beginning of pandemic
NEW YORK — The toll of drug-resistant “superbug” infections worsened during the first year of the covid-19 pandemic, U.S. health officials said Tuesday. After years of decline, 2020 ushered in a 15% increase in hospital infections and deaths caused by some of the most worrisome bacterial infections, according to a...
Over-the-counter birth control? Drugmaker seeks FDA approval
WASHINGTON — For the first time, a pharmaceutical company has asked for permission to sell a birth control pill over the counter in the U.S. HRA Pharma’s application on Monday sets up a high-stakes decision for health regulators amid legal and political battles over women’s reproductive health. The company says...
Center for Hearing & Deaf Services celebrating 100 years
Last month, Mattel released a Barbie doll with hearing aids. She wears a floral dress, pink boots and has her hair in a ponytail. Two over-the-ear hearing aids are visible. The assistive devices might seem like small accessories to some people, but they speak volumes to the hard of hearing...
FDA allows pharmacists to prescribe Pfizer’s covid-19 pillVideo
WASHINGTON — Pharmacists can prescribe the leading covid-19 pill directly to patients under a new U.S. policy announced Wednesday that’s intended to expand use of Pfizer’s drug Paxlovid. The Food and Drug Administration said pharmacists can begin screening patients to see if they are eligible for Paxlovid and then prescribe...
Many won’t rely on virtual options after covid, poll says
WASHINGTON — Many Americans don’t expect to rely on the digital services that became commonplace during the pandemic after covid-19 subsides, according to a new poll, even as many think it’s a good thing if those options remain available in the future. Close to half or more of U.S. adults...
Medication abortion is common; here’s how it works
Medication abortions became the preferred method for ending pregnancy in the U.S. even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. These involve taking two prescription medicines days apart — at home or in a clinic. Abortion procedures are an invasive medical technique that empties the womb. They sometimes are...
UPMC to close Somerset hospice facility; care shifting to homes, hospital
SOMERSET — Hospice care inside Somerset’s In Touch Hospice House will end this summer, driven by changing industry trends, UPMC officials said. With more patients able to receive end-of-life care at home, demand for the North Center Avenue location’s 10-bed unit has decreased in recent years, a UPMC spokesperson said...
Should you get a vasectomy after Roe decision? Doctors explain how it works
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Since Roe v. Wade was overturned on Friday and Missouri’s trigger ban outlawed nearly all abortion in the state, interest in vasectomies has been on the rise around Kansas City. Since the ruling dropped on Friday, The Kansas City Urology Care, which has about a dozen...
5 questions about monkeypox with Pittsburgh infectious disease experts
A third confirmed case of the virus associated with monkeypox was reported Friday in Allegheny County, spurring further curiosity about the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting tests to confirm monkeypox, according to the Allegheny County Health Department. All three cases of orthopoxvirus were confirmed in...
Some medical debt is being removed from U.S. credit reports
Help is coming for many people with medical debt on their credit reports. Starting Friday, the three major U.S. credit reporting companies will stop counting paid medical debt on the reports that banks, potential landlords and others use to judge creditworthiness. The companies also will start giving people a year...
Pittsburgh considers partnering with Johns Hopkins University on drug-withdrawal program
Pittsburgh officials are considering partnering with Johns Hopkins University to analyze the city’s prehospital buprenorphine program. The city launched the program in November, allowing EMS personnel to administer the drug to patients experiencing opioid withdrawal. Hospitals and physicians commonly use buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal, which...
A viral reprise: When covid-19 strikes again and again
For New York musician Erica Mancini, covid-19 made repeat performances. March 2020. Last December. And again this May. “I’m bummed to know that I might forever just get infected,” said the 31-year-old singer, who is vaccinated and boosted. “I don’t want to be getting sick every month or every two...
WHO chief: U.S. abortion ruling ‘a setback,’ will cost lives
GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday criticized the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, saying the decision to no longer recognize a constitutional right to abortion was “a setback” that would ultimately cost lives. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a...
Monkeypox case diagnosed in Pittsburgh
A case of monkeypox has been detected in Pittsburgh, the infected patient’s primary care office said Wednesday in a statement. The individual received testing for monkeypox at Central Outreach Wellness Center on the North Side, according to the statement, and the state Department of Health confirmed the result Tuesday. The...
U.S. officials announce more steps against monkeypox outbreak
NEW YORK — Reacting to a surprising and growing monkeypox outbreak, U.S. health officials on Tuesday expanded the group of people recommended to get vaccinated against the monkeypox virus. They also said they are providing more monkeypox vaccine, working to expand testing, and taking other steps to try to get...
CVS, Rite Aid put limits on purchase of ‘morning after’ pills after seeing sales spike
CVS Health and Rite Aid are limiting how many so-called “morning after” emergency contraceptive pills a person can buy at one time. Both agencies told NBC News that the limit is being placed because of increased demand. The demand is likely connected to the Supreme Court ruling on Friday that...
FDA advisers debate updating covid booster shots for fall
Government advisers debated Tuesday if Americans should get a modified covid-19 booster shot this fall — and exactly how best to update it to fight a virus that surely will change even more by then. “That’s the problem — we’re being asked to more or less have a crystal ball...
Pittsburgh nurses say overturning Roe will endanger patients, increase burnout
About half a dozen nurses gathered Tuesday outside of West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield to decry the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, essentially making abortion illegal in several states. Pennsylvania still allows abortions up to 24 weeks into pregnancies and will continue at least through...
Millennial Money: Getting therapy when cost is a barrier
The race to find mental health treatment can feel like a marathon when you may not have the energy or ability to even make it to the starting line. You may be faced with limited affordable options and a lack of available therapists. “Prior to the pandemic, we had an...
Covid vaccines saved 20M lives in 1st year, scientists say
Nearly 20 million lives were saved by covid-19 vaccines during their first year, but even more deaths could have been prevented if international targets for the shots had been reached, researchers reported Thursday. On Dec. 8, 2020, a retired shop clerk in England received the first shot in what would...
FDA bans Juul e-cigarettes tied to teen vaping surge
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials on Thursday ordered Juul to pull its electronic cigarettes from the U.S. market, the latest blow to the embattled company widely blamed for sparking a national surge in teen vaping. The action is part of a sweeping effort by the Food and Drug Administration to...
Belle Vernon dad organizes blood drive in honor of ‘superhero’ son battling eye cancer
Albert Jasso knows how important it is to have donated blood at the ready during a medical emergency. Jasso’s 11-year-old son, Cam, recently needed blood transfusions while undergoing chemotherapy treatments for orbital rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the eye. “This time around, we knew it was going to be more intense,...
