Healthcare Archive

Therapies such as acupuncture, massage, or tai chi are often recommended as a way to help treat chronic disease such as chronic pain or stress. But there are many types of experts who offer such services. To find a qualified practitioner, it helps to know exactly which type of service is needed, get referrals, find out if the practitioner has the specific training for the desired therapy, and check the practitioner's certifications and licensing. It also helps to interview the practitioner before signing on for any type of treatment.

Any type of eye-related surgery can trigger dry eye disease, which causes a burning, gritty, or itchy feeling in the eyes. Treatments typically start with over-the-counter remedies such as preservative-free artificial tears, eye gels or ointments used at night, and warm compresses or heated eye masks. If those approaches don't relieve discomfort, doctors can prescribe a number of treatments, such as prescription eye drops or nasal sprays, tear duct implants to help retain tears, special heat treatments, or amniotic membranes that help reduce inflammation.

Doctors may diagnose heart attacks in people who have not actually had one, in part because they screen people with subtle symptoms out of fear of missing the diagnosis. Failure to diagnose a heart attack is the No. 1 cause of malpractice payouts in the emergency department. But the blood test used to detect a heart attack is very sensitive, and other conditions such as myocarditis (heart inflammation) may be misdiagnosed as a heart attack. This problem of overdiagnosis can expose people to unneeded risks, high costs, and other downsides.

When you have a medical appointment, your health provider writes notes on the visit that are available to you. It's a good idea to read these — though you may be surprised or confused by some of the language — and to check in if you have questions or need to make important corrections.

Health insurance companies sometimes require prior authorization for new, expensive medications. The high price patients pay for these drugs is related to complexities in health insurance coverage.

Modern medicine offers ever-expanding ways to heal and prevent disease, but it's also true that health care can cause harm. Some harms are preventable while others are much harder to control. So how can you reduce your chances of being harmed?

Three strategies can help decrease the number of days one must devote to medical appointments. The first is eliminating unneeded care, such as screening tests for people at low risk for certain conditions. The second strategy is coordinating various doctor visits, tests, or imaging for the same day. The third strategy is using telemedicine in place of appointments that would normally happen in person, such as mental health care visits or routine appointments for diabetes or high blood pressure.

A 2024 study of 277 million patient visits within the Veterans Affairs Health Care System found that video-based telemedicine visits remain close to the peak pandemic level of about 12%, which is a steep increase from the pre-pandemic level.