Confidential report calls for sweeping changes to track covid vaccine harms
Citing a survey called “Killer Jab?,” which found that nearly 1 out of 4 Americans reported knowing someone who died from a covid vaccine, a federal work group is calling for sweeping changes to how the medical establishment tracks and treats injuries from the shots. The changes are proposed in...
Do you really need a water filter? Here’s what experts say
U.S. tap water is generally safe and high quality. But that doesn’t mean every glass tastes the same, or that every building’s plumbing delivers identical water to the faucet. That uncertainty has fueled a booming market for water filters, from simple pitcher models to multi-thousand-dollar reverse osmosis systems. Yet experts...
The shifting guidelines for blood pressure control
The patient initially came to see Dr. Mark Supiano in 2017 because her family was concerned about her short-term memory loss. While taking her history and vital signs, Supiano, a geriatrician at the University of Utah, saw one disturbing signal: Her blood pressure was 148/86, above normal despite her taking...
WVU Medicine goes all in on AI medical transcription software Abridge
West Virginia University Medicine is accelerating its rollout of an artificial intelligence transcription software developed by Pittsburgh-based startup Abridge. A small pilot program started last May has grown to more than 1,200 doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants adopting Abridge to fill out charts while they talk to patients, WVU...
AI chatbots want your health records. Tread carefully.
SAN FRANCISCO — For the last few years, the tech industry has convinced people that their artificially intelligent chatbots get better the more data you feed them. The next step is to get users to share their most sensitive information: their health records. What could go wrong? Microsoft this week...
Report estimates 82M Americans skimp on food, gas, utilities to afford health care
You have nothing without your health, the saying goes, and some Americans are taking that to heart by slashing basic spending to afford medical care. A report released Thursday estimated a third of U.S. adults recently pulled back on necessities like food, gas and utilities to keep up with health...
Colorectal cancer rates skyrocketing in younger people
Intuition is what prompted Colleen McGarrity to get a colonoscopy at age 41. The preventative screening probably saved her life. The Ford City resident experienced spotty symptoms but had no family history of colon cancer. A nurse at ACMH Hospital, she considered herself generally healthy. “My diagnosis came out of...
Yale report warns Independence Health takeover could prove costly for patients
West Virginia University Medicine’s pending takeover of Independence Health System would reduce competition and likely drive up patient costs, according to the Health Care Affordability Lab at Yale. A report released Monday by the lab found the acquisition would make parts of Fayette and Westmoreland counties even more severe “red...
Dr. Oz, who runs Medicare and Medicaid, meets with UPMC’s CEO to discuss collaboration
UPMC CEO Leslie Davis recently met with Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, bringing together leadership from Western Pennsylvania’s largest health system and the agency overseeing critical government insurance programs. The two discussed UPMC’s efforts to roll out new technology, fast-track medical innovations and...
Labor pains: Union nurses, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital spar over staffing in 1st contract
Unionized nurses at Allegheny General Hospital spent more than two decades successfully fighting for caps on their number of assigned patients. The young UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital nurses unions hope to secure them in their first contracts. When the Allegheny General Hospital union formed in 1999, “nobody had staffing standards in...
FDA finds little evidence that a generic drug could help many people with autism
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a generic medication for a rare brain disorder, while walking back suggestions by President Donald Trump and other administration officials that the drug showed great promise for people with autism. The agency said it approved leucovorin for children and adults...
FDA opens door to more flavored e-cigarettes
The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that it would open the door to e-cigarettes in flavors that it deems appealing to adults, shifting from the agency’s unsuccessful ban on fruit and candy-flavored versions that have continued to flood the market. The agency said in a document released Monday that...
UPMC Magee-Womens nurses union clamors for staffing ratios
Unionized nurses at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital will propose unit-by-unit staffing standards Tuesday as they bargain with their employer for a first contract. Roughly 900 registered nurses and advanced practitioners are seeking mandatory patient-to-nurse ratios based on recommendations from various professional organizations, such as the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and...
Butler County Community College to launch radiologic technology program
Butler County Community College officials say a new radiologic technology program will prepare students for a high-demand career. The college plans to launch a radiologic technology program in August 2027. “We saw, across the board, a need for radiological technologists,” said Julia Carney, Butler County Community College’s dean of nursing...
Challenging your brain helps keep it healthy. Here’s how to do it
WASHINGTON — “Exercise your brain,” experts advise people hoping to stave off dementia. But how? Stretching your brain might be the better description. Do a crossword puzzle a day and you may just get good at crosswords. Instead, research increasingly shows that a variety of habits and hobbies are like...
How springing forward to daylight saving time could affect your health
WASHINGTON — Most of America “springs forward” Sunday for daylight saving time. Losing that hour of sleep can do more than leave you tired and cranky the next day; it also could harm your health. Darker mornings and more evening light knock your body clock out of whack — which...
Drug plan middlemen face new oversight push as Pa. pharmacies close
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Some Pennsylvania lawmakers want to give the state’s top prosecutor more power to take on pharmacy benefit...
Study suggests Trump’s unproven autism claims influenced care
Last year, President Donald Trump told pregnant women not to take Tylenol as he promoted unproven ties between the fever reducer and autism and touted an old generic drug as a treatment for the developmental condition. For nearly three months after that, new research found, Tylenol orders for pregnant women...
Eye on the prize: Pitt researchers study how bacteria could heal corneal wounds
Bacteria live throughout the human body. The eye was long thought to be an exception. Dr. Anthony St. Leger, a professor of ophthalmology and immunology at the University of Pittsburgh, shattered that notion in 2017 by discovering microbe C. mast lives in the eye — and even helps it stay...
Allegheny General Hospital treats victims of mock mass shooting in drill preceding 2026 NFL Draft
A woman in a Ben Roethlisberger jersey approached a triage tent Thursday morning near the ambulance bay at Allegheny General Hospital. Her left cheek was streaked red, representing a gunshot wound from a fictional mass shooting at Acrisure Stadium. “What am I supposed to do?” the actor asked the cluster...
Allegheny General Hospital simulating mass tragedy care ahead of NFL Draft
Doctors and nurses at Allegheny General Hospital will see a flood of about 20 mock mass casualty victims Thursday morning as part of a drill at the Level 1 trauma center. The scenario will focus on a fictional tragedy at Acrisure Stadium, the centerpiece of 2026 NFL Draft festivities descending...
Don’t go there: Independence Health thoracic surgeon warns Hempfield Area students about vaping
Independence Health thoracic surgeon Michael Szwerc asked Hempfield Area’s ninth grade students to raise their hand if they believe vaping is dangerous. Nearly all 360 students seated in the Harrold School auditorium Wednesday afternoon shot a hand into the air. Szwerc, who has practiced thoracic surgery for 26 years, has...
U.S. maternal deaths fell in 2024 and may have dropped again last year, government data shows
NEW YORK — Fewer U.S. women died around the time of childbirth in 2024, a government analysis shows, and provisional data suggests the trend may have continued last year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday reported that 649 mothers died in 2024 during pregnancy or shortly...
Pennsylvania reports 12 measles cases in residents, including several in the Philly suburbs
Pennsylvania had 12 confirmed cases of measles among state residents and another two involving visitors to the state as of Tuesday, the state Department of Health said. Eight cases are associated with an outbreak in Lancaster County, where the state declared an outbreak involving five cases a month ago. The...
Pittsburgh VA expanding emergency room at Oakland hospital
The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System is expanding the emergency room and renovating spaces for physical therapy, neurology and vascular care at its Oakland hospital. Upgrades to the emergency department at the University Drive medical center will allow for faster triage, shorter wait times and more patient beds, the Pittsburgh VA...
