Between 1485 and 1551, England was hit by at least five epidemics of sweating sickness. But after that, the disease supposedly vanished off the face of the Earth. With fatality rates as high as 90% according to some sources (perhaps...

Near the end of 2020, we got some puzzling but good news: COVID-19 fatality rates have been dropping. Here are a few factors that might help explain why we’re seeing this trend.

While doctors take an oath to do no harm, there's a good chance their unconscious biases can seep into how seriously they take your pain. Physician Sheetal DeCaria explains how perception impacts medical care and treatment -- and calls...

From 1932 to 1972, the United States Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention operated an extremely unethical medical experiment on the effects of outcomes of untreated syphilis. Hundreds of poor Black men...

Near the end of 2020, we got some puzzling but good news: COVID-19 fatality rates have been dropping. Here are a few factors that might help explain why we’re seeing this trend.

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the most diversely talented individuals of all time. His "unquenchable curiosity" led him to make discoveries and inventions that were beyond his time, not to mention his numerous artistic masterpieces. Today...

Different hospitals produce different results on different procedures. Only, patients don’t know that data, making choosing a surgeon a high-stakes guessing game. Stefan Larsson looks at what happens when doctors measure and share their...

The year is 1656. Your body is wracked by violent chills. Your head pounds and you're too weak to sit up. In your feverish state, you see a strange-looking man wearing a beak-like mask, his body covered from head to toe. Without seeing...

Doctors once believed that the uterus would just start wandering around your body, leading to "hysteria." Spoiler Alert: That's not a thing! Isn't it great to be alive... now?

Why do doctors get sued? How can malpractice suits be avoided? It turns out, the answer may be simple. Defensive medicine refers to the idea that doctors are forced to order extra tests, perform extra procedures, or push for more office...

Whenever I give a talk on the sorry state of the US health care system, someone asks me what we should do. My first comment is always something along the lines of "if we knew what to do, we'd have already done it". But if I'm pushed, I...

Barbershops have long played a significant social, economic, and cultural role in African-American life. Barbershops foster both confidentiality and camaraderie, which seems like a good environment to talk to men about hypertension.

We continue our special look at guns and public health in the United States. This week, we're looking at how easily accessible firearms complicate the suicide rate in the United States. While people have always committed suicide, guns...

When Aaron was an intern, or a first-year doctor in training, he knew something was wrong with him. He had trouble sleeping. He had difficulty feeling joy. He was prone to crying at inopportune times. Even worse, he had trouble...

When people hear about vaccine denial, they most often think about parents who are refusing to vaccinate their children. But there's another type of vaccine refusal, and it's important that we not ignore that, too. Doctors sometimes...

Part four of our six-part series on vaccinations, supported by the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation. It turns out, people have been resistant to the idea of vaccines pretty much since vaccines were invented. This...

Many people have to wait too long to see a doctor. And it could get worse. If, as many people believe, we have a shortage of doctors in the United States, then it follows that we can fix this only by training and hiring more physicians.

Recent news articles have brought renewed attention to financial conflicts of interest in medical science but that should not lead us to ignore other conflicts that may be equally or even more important. Career advancement and reputation...

Aside from whatever a visit to the doctor costs you in money, it also costs you in time. A lot of it. Can we make that better? That's the topic of this week's Healthcare Triage.

Aaron and his wife both work. When one of their kids wakes up complaining of a sore throat, they begin a ritual staredown to determine which of them is going to have to wait for the doctor's office to open, call them, wait on hold,...

For a lot of patients, prescriptions build up over time, and older people end up taking A LOT of different drugs. Doctors don't always have the time or will to assess these mounting prescriptions. Empowering pharmacists to recommend...

Study after study affirms that doctors treat their patients differently, depending on the patient's race. Minority patients get different diagnoses, different treatments, and are often subject to being stereotyped by their physicians.

Stents are a popular treatment for angina pectoris, or chest pain usually resulting from narrowed arteries. Getting a stent is a serious procedure, with no small risk associated with it. And recent studies indicate that stents don't do...

Do No Harm - The Opioid Epidemic - Dr. Georges C. Benjamin Promo