Expecting more than $1B in opioid settlement money, Pa. grapples with policing versus treatment
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — A historic settlement to resolve claims against opioid companies is expected to bring Pennsylvania more than $1 billion, but...
Excela podiatrist honored with award in Iceland for fish-based wound treatment
An Excela podiatrist was honored at a conference in Iceland for his use of a wound treatment product that comes from an unlikely source: under the sea. Dr. Patrick Roberto of Excela Health’s Advanced Wound Center traveled to Reykjavik at the end of February for the Northern Lights Wound Workshop...
An emerging threat: Drug mix of xylazine, fentanyl
The U.S. has named a veterinary tranquilizer as an “emerging threat” when it’s mixed with the powerful opioid fentanyl, clearing the way for more efforts to stop the spread of xylazine. The Office of National Drug Control Policy announced the designation Wednesday, the first time the office has used it...
Abortion questions intensify in U.S. courts, legislatures
New court rulings could spark more change for U.S. abortion policy, which has been in flux since last June when the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to an abortion. Courts are considering big changes, including some with broad implications, as state legislatures enact more restrictions or outright bans. Here’s...
U.S. organ transplant system overhaul: What will it mean for Pennsylvanians waiting?
For nearly 40 years, organ transplants in the United States have been directed by a single nonprofit called the United Network for Organ Sharing — UNOS. Critics say UNOS has come to be plagued by problems including outdated technology, wasted organs and lack of transparency. In March, the Biden administration...
With STDs on the rise, this morning-after-style pill may help
NEW YORK — U.S. health officials released data Tuesday showing how chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases have been accelerating, but doctors are hoping an old drug will help fight the sexually transmitted infections. Experts believe STDs have been rising because of declining condom use, inadequate sex education and reduced testing...
Free covid testing will fade with U.S. health emergency in May
WASHINGTON — When the covid-19 public health emergency ends in the U.S. next month, you’ll still have access to a multitude of tests but with one big difference: Who pays for them. For the first time, you may have to pick up some or all of the costs, depending on...
Florida fight over baby boxes part of bigger culture war
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Safe Haven Baby Boxes and A Safe Haven for Newborns are two charities with similar names and the same goal: providing distressed mothers with a safe place to surrender their unwanted newborns instead of dumping them in trash cans or along roadsides. But a fight between...
Some U.S. states stock abortion medications after court ruling
BOSTON — A growing number of states led by Democratic governors are stockpiling doses of drugs used in medication abortions, amid fears that a court ruling could restrict access to the most commonly used method of abortion in the U.S. Massachusetts has purchased enough doses of the drug mifepristone —...
Pa. launches abortion access website in wake of Texas ruling against abortion medication
After a federal judge’s ruling in Texas last week halted the approval of a drug used in medication abortions, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro launched a website informing state residents about their rights to accessing to abortion services. Shapiro said Monday that Pennsylvanians’ reproductive rights have not changed because of the...
AMA’s first gay president to take over at tumultuous time
CHICAGO — The first openly gay person to lead the American Medical Association takes the reins at a fractious time for U.S. health care. Transgender patients and those seeking abortion care face restrictions in many places. The medical judgment of physicians is being overridden by state laws. Disinformation is rampant....
Pitt study shows probiotics boost cancer treatment in mice, could be precursor for human treatment
A new University of Pittsburgh study shows how good gut health could be beneficial at fighting certain kinds of cancer. A study published Thursday in the science journal Cell showed probiotic bacteria in mice traveled from the animals’ guts and established in tumors, where the bacteria directly stimulate immune cells...
Competing abortion pill rulings sow broad alarm, confusion
Emma Hernandez is defiant even if she fears what may come in the latest stage of the nation’s fight over abortion: a widening prohibition to safe and legal ways to end unwanted pregnancies, including access to abortion pills. Competing rulings by two federal judges over the availability of the abortion...
Access to abortion pill in limbo after competing rulings
AUSTIN, Texas — Access to the most commonly used method of abortion in the U.S. plunged into uncertainty Friday following conflicting court rulings over the legality of the abortion medication mifepristone that has been widely available for more than 20 years. For now, the drug the Food and Drug Administration...
Western Pa. recovery experts celebrate over-the-counter naloxone, voice concern about cost
As the overdose-reversing drug naloxone becomes available over the counter this summer without a prescription, recovery organizations and pharmacies look to the change as a step in the right direction — but not the end of the road. The drug, also known by the brand name Narcan, can halt overdoses...
FDA forces unproven premature birth drug Makena off market
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday ordered the immediate market withdrawal of a drug intended to prevent premature births, which has remained available for years despite data showing it doesn’t help pregnant women. The decision follows repeated efforts by Swiss drugmaker Covis Pharma to keep Makena on...
Allegheny County combats opioid abuse through ‘harm reduction’ campaign
Stacie Brown remembers the date her life came crashing down — and when she started to take it back. “June 1, 2012, is the day I overdosed and stopped using,” said Brown, 51, of Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill, an overdose outreach coordinator for Allegheny County Health Department. “I remember I was...
Damar Hamlin visits Washington to promote AED bill
Ninety percent of the 350,000 people who will suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest this year will not survive. Of them, 7,000 will be under the age of 18. “These victims will not even make it to the emergency room to have a fighting chance at life,” Nancy Brown, CEO of...
Judge’s ruling undercuts U.S. health law’s preventive care
AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge in Texas who previously ruled to dismantle the Affordable Care Act struck down a narrower but key part of the nation’s health law Thursday that requires most insurers to cover preventive services that include screenings for cancer, diabetes and mental health. Other no-cost services,...
Gunshot injuries in U.S. surged during pandemic, CDC says
NEW YORK — For every American killed by gunfire, an estimated two or more more survive, often with terrible injuries — a fact that public health experts say is crucial to understanding the full impact of guns on society. A new government study highlights just how violent the recent past...
FDA approves over-the-counter Narcan; here’s what it means
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved selling naloxone without a prescription, setting the overdose-reversing drug on course to become the first opioid treatment drug to be sold over the counter. It’s a move that some advocates have long sought as a way to improve access to a...
Millennial Money: Manage the costs of a chronic condition
For millennials with chronic medical conditions — or those raising kids with chronic conditions — health care can be an enormous monthly expense. About 44% of older millennials born between 1981 and 1988 have at least one chronic health condition, including migraines, major depression and asthma, according to a 2021...
CDC report: Tick-borne illness babesiosis on rise in Northeast
As a rare tick-borne disease is on the rise in the northeastern United States, a local professor is awaiting test results to see whether babesiosis is taking hold in the Keystone State. Pennsylvania is among the worst states in the nation for Lyme cases, and concern about its prevalence has...
Surge in eating disorders spurs state legislative action
DENVER — Stranded at home amid pandemic lockdowns in spring 2020, Emma Warford stumbled down a social media rabbit hole in her quest to get in shape. Viral 28-day fitness challenges. YouTubers promising “hourglass abs.” Diet videos where slim-stomached influencers peddled calorie-tracking apps. Warford, then a 15-year-old starting volleyball player,...
UPMC, surgeon deemed ‘high risk’ to Medicare after rejecting oversight
The government office that fights Medicare fraud has put UPMC and one of its star surgeons on a “high-risk” list after determining that they pose a “significant risk to federal health care programs and beneficiaries.” U.S. officials took the action after Pittsburgh’s multi-billion-dollar health system settled a sweeping Medicare fraud...
