Dr. Aaron Carroll explains healthcare policy, medical research, and answers a lot of other questions you may have about medicine, health, and healthcare.
From Healthcare Triage. For many of us, a time will come at the end of our lives when we need a specific kind of care to maintain as much quality of life as possible, and to die with dignity. Hospice and palliative care are the topics of this week’s Healthcare Triage. Related HCT episodes: We’re…
From Healthcare Triage. Like it or not, political mudslinging gets heavy around election time, and people come up with all flavors of insults. These aren’t always representative of a person’s actual character or actions, and we think that’s especially true for one we’ve heard this year. Today we’re talking about menstruation and period poverty, and…
From Healthcare Triage. In most countries, health care systems negotiate drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies, making crucial drugs more affordable for their citizens. In America, that wasn’t the case until recently. Signed into law in August of 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act made several changes aimed at strengthening the United States Medicare program. One…
From Healthcare Triage. The first mRNA vaccine to gain full FDA approval was for COVID-19, but the future could see more of this type of vaccine – including those for cancer. Related HCT episodes: Vaccines: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkfBg8ML-gImWWzdv3zO1_5wCRReliEQt Be sure to check out our podcast! Other Healthcare Triage Links: 1. Support the channel on Patreon: http://vid.io/xqXr 2.…
From Healthcare Triage. The issues surrounding sex testing in sports may seem like a new phenomenon, but this has been coming up at least since women were allowed to compete in the Olympics – so, for like the past century or so. There’s a whole lot of concern over who is allowed to compete in…
From Healthcare Triage. A fairly large percentage of Americans don’t take important medications as prescribed due to issues of high cost and/or low supply. How did we get here, and what can we do about it? Thanks in part to support from the National Institute for Healthcare Management, that’s the topic of this week’s Healthcare…
From Healthcare Triage. Between government funding and pharmaceutical industry spending, billions of dollars are spent annually to bring just a handful of drugs to market. That means some strategic investing is likely going on behind the scenes, and we were curious about the factors driving some of that strategy. Thanks in part to support from…
From Healthcare Triage. In 2020 the expected global expenditure on prescription drugs was somewhere around 1.3 TRILLION dollars, with around $350 BILLION of that spending being done in the United States. The US seems to have a particular issue in this area, with citizens paying much more than their counterparts in similar countries. But why…
From Healthcare Triage. This compilation is a deep dive on the opioid crisis, thanks in part to funding by the NIHCM. Explore the history of opioids, the science of opioids, and learn about how and why attitudes and US policy regarding addiction treatment and opioid control need to change. 0:00 Intro 0:22 A Brief History…
From Healthcare Triage. Maybe not quite all the evidence, but we’ve looked at a lot of the benefits of exercise over the years. While we’re taking a few weeks off this summer, we’re looking back at some of our most popular topics. This compilation of videos looks at exercise research and helps us understand just…
From Healthcare Triage. For some women, a simple shot during pregnancy and then right after labor can prevent a huge amount of suffering for both parents and future children. So what happens when there’s a shortage that prevents that shot from happening? Related HCT episodes: Myths About Pregnancy: Be sure to check out our podcast!…
From Healthcare Triage. We already know exercise is good for us, including our mental health, but we still have some questions. Like, what kind of exercise is best? And at what intensity? Related HCT episodes: 1. Most People Exercise: https://youtu.be/cK-JOeJtUbM 2. Misunderstanding the Data on Diet, Exercise, and Mortality: https://youtu.be/P3mutIrl2dQ Be sure to check out…
From Healthcare Triage. We’ve got new and improved data on the relationship between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and diagnoses of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability in offspring. Have we been right or wrong to recommend it during pregnancy? Related HCT episodes: Relative Risks of Acetaminophen, ADHD, and Autism: https://youtu.be/iYX7Y1lLZ78 Be sure to check out our…
From Healthcare Triage. Sigh. Nutrition research is often bad, and how we talk about it is even worse. If you believe the hype from the past several years, intermittent fasting doesn’t only help you lose weight, it may go so far as to prolong your life. So what do we do with new data suggesting…
From Healthcare Triage. In mid to late 2023 there was a flurry of news reports about patients taking new weight loss drugs reporting associated mental health concerns, including suicidal thoughts. There’s still a lot of research to be done to fully understand these drugs and their effects, but we take a close look at the…
From Healthcare Triage. If you or someone you love has a life-threatening food allergy, you have to remain constantly vigilant for even the slightest exposure to that food, making even an outing to a restaurant an impossibility for some people. It can be exhausting, particularly with children, and there’s no cure for food allergies. However,…
From Healthcare Triage. Measles is really contagious and can easily spread in pockets of unvaccinated people. In February 2024 a health advisory was issued by the Florida Department of Health in Broward County to warn the public about several confirmed cases of measles at a local elementary school. The Florida Surgeon General made the wrong…
From Healthcare Triage. Thank to the Commonwealth Fund for supporting the production of this video. The American healthcare debate is often a pendulum swinging between two extremes: maintaining the status quo and adopting a single-payer system. But what if we’re asking the wrong questions? What if the answers lie not in the extremes but in…
From Healthcare Triage. We love some good vaccine data, and we were pretty excited to see a new, long-term study published this month on cervical cancer outcomes after the HPV vaccine. Related HCT episodes: 1. More People Should Get the HPV Vaccine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT65ayU6fpc Be sure to check out our podcast! Other Healthcare Triage Links: 1.…
From Healthcare Triage. According to a recent study, “Oreo Cookie Treatment” is better at lowering LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) than high-intensity therapy with cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins. ARE OREOS A HEALTH FOOD NOW?! Check out the study cited in Aaron’s Bad Food Bible: https://www.nationalaffairs.com/storage/app/uploads/public/58e/1a4/cb2/58e1a4cb29d64718517577.pdf Related HCT episodes: Misunderstanding the Data on Diet and Exercise:…