Want to Slow Down Aging? There May Be A Cheap Way To Do It.
A drug taken by millions of people to control diabetes may do more than lower blood sugar
(NPR, Allison Aubrey) -- Research suggests metformin has anti-inflammatory effects that could help protect against common age-related diseases including heart disease, cancer, and cognitive decline.
Scientists who study the biology of aging have designed a clinical study, known as The TAME…
What’s The True Secret to Happiness? Scientists May be About to Find Out
Researchers are hoping to uncover the elusive secret to happiness in the biggest study of its kind to date
(PositiveNews, Robin Eveleigh) -- While some people get their highs from a brisk run, others swear by sharing a cuppa with a friend or spending time in nature for a wellbeing boost.
Now those behind the Global Happiness Megastudy hope to recruit tens of thousands of…
ICYMI: North Carolina Doctors, Patients, Lawmakers Call for Health Insurance Reform in 2025
An attempt to limit insurers' use of prior authorization is expected to be a top priority this session for a bipartisan group of North Carolina state lawmakers. That's likely to provoke a battle with state health insurers, who say it's an essential tool to help control health care costs.
*This report first appeared on WRAL on January 29, 2025, by Laura Leslie, WRAL capitol bureau chief
An…
NCMS at Work: Success of NCMS Prior Authorization Press Conference
RALEIGH - On January 28, 2025, the North Carolina Medical Society put prior authorization reform in the spotlight at a press conference at its Raleigh headquarters.
Lawmakers, physicians, advocates, and a cancer patient came together to highlight the inefficient, outdated, costly, and often life-threatening nature of the current prior authorization process. To help make the case for reform,…
States Cranking Up Oversight of Health Insurers, NCMS Focusing on Prior Authorization in 2025
Mounting public anger over health insurance is leading more state legislatures to eye tighter oversight of the industry, starting with its use of AI to screen claims and issue denials
(See bottom for statement from NCMS)
(Axios, Tina Reed) -- Mounting public anger over health insurance is leading more state legislatures to eye tighter oversight of the industry, starting with its use of AI to…
NC Medicaid to Cover Weight-Loss Drugs After Access Cut for State Workers
Weight loss drugs like Wegovy will soon be available for people on Medicaid in North Carolina
(News & Observer, Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi) -- People on Medicaid in North Carolina will soon be able to have obesity management medications covered. The state’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced that effective Aug. 1, NC Medicaid will add coverage of FDA-approved…
AI is Dreaming Up Drugs That No One Has Ever Seen. Now We’ve Got to See if They Work.
MIT Technology Review Looks at What is Happening with Artificial Intelligence and Drug Research
(MIT Tech Review, Will Douglas Heaven) -- At 82 years old, with an aggressive form of blood cancer that six courses of chemotherapy had failed to eliminate, Paul appeared to be out of options. With each long and unpleasant round of treatment, his doctors had been working their way down a list…
World’s First Malaria Vaccine Program for Children Begins
Cameroon starts world’s first malaria vaccine program for children
(ASSOCIATED PRESS) -- Cameroon will be the first country to routinely give children a new malaria vaccine as the shots are rolled out in Africa.
The campaign due to start Monday was described by officials as a milestone in the decades-long effort to curb the mosquito-spread disease on the continent, which accounts for 95% of…
The Biggest Health and Medicine Stories of 2023. There is Plenty to be Awed by.
From new uses for weight-loss drugs to the first CRISPR gene editing therapy, these were some of the most impactful health stories of the year
In world with so much urgent and depressing news, it can be hard to take a moment and reflect on all of the encouraging scientific and medical progress that has happened. But looking back at 2023, there was plenty on the health beat to be awed by.…
Could A Saliva Test Help Diagnose Cancer in the Future?
A saliva or blood test looking for changes in the structure of sugar molecules could, in the future, help diagnose different forms of cancer early on
The global number of cancer cases is expected to hit 28.4 million by 2040.
For most cancers, early detection and treatment can provide better outcomes.
Researchers from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden have found that…
A Shorter Scan Could End Your MRI Nightmares
A typical test could take 40 minutes; a “fast MRI” can be done in as little as 10.
(Katie Couric Media - Rachel Uda) -- Getting an MRI is not exactly a comfortable experience. You’re stuck in a big metal tube and instructed to remain perfectly still while what sounds like a car alarm triggered at arm’s length reverberates around you. But it can be a lifesaving test, especially for the…
Getting to Know John Goldfield and The Motel Keys!
From the Medical Board to the Main Stage!
John Goldfield, Asst. Medical Director, NC Medical Board
If you haven't heard of (and heard) John Goldfield then you are missing out! The Assistant Medical Director of the North Carolina Medical Board is the front man for the band The Motel Keys and they are getting more and more well known across the state.
Randy Aldridge of the North Carolina…
Could Your Patients Say Goodbye to Trypanophobia
A biotech is trying to turn injectable drugs into pills
Between 11.5 and 66 million US adults have trypanophobia, or a fear of needles
(Healthcare Brew, Maia Anderson) -- If you could offer your patients medication via a pill rather than a needle, you’d probably do so, right? After all, somewhere between 11.5 and 66 million US adults have trypanophobia, or a fear of needles, which causes…
Is Gig Economy Harming Your Patient’s Health?
(HealthDay, Dennis Thompson)
Capitalism is thought to bring out the best in workers, but there's a dark side to tying a person's everyday efforts to their weekly paycheck.
Folks relying on short-term, freelanced office jobs, or jobs where pay is linked to hustle -- depending largely on tips, commissions and bonuses -- may often suffer poor health related to their…
HB 534 – NC Pharmacy Benefits Manager Licensure Act
HB 534 - NC Pharmacy Benefits Manager Licensure Act
Primary Sponsors: Rep. Wayne Sasser (R-Stanly), Rep. Greg Murphy (R-Pitt), Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett), Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne)
Bill Summary
This bill would establish standards and criteria for the regulation and licensure of pharmacy benefit managers. This bill provides claims processing services or other prescription drug or services for…
In the News
Doctors Choose Cheaper Drugs When Drug Reps Are Kept Away, NPR/ProPublica, 5-2-17
Welcome to the Poison Garden: Medicine's Medieval Roots, NPR, 4-27-17
Widespread Hype Gives False Hope To Many Cancer Patients, Kaiser Health News, 4-27-17
Centene's ACA Profits Rise Amid 'Unfounded Headline Volatility,' Forbes, 4-25-17
Reluctant Patients, Hispanic Men Pose Costly Challenge to the Health System,…
NC Harm Reduction Coalition Reports Over 4000 Overdose Reversals Since 2013
As of Aug. 31, 2016, the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition (NCHRC), a statewide nonprofit dedicated to reducing drug overdose deaths has reported that since Aug. 1, 2013 when they began distributing overdose prevention kits containing the opioid antagonist naloxone, the total number of overdose reversals they know of stands at 4170. For a list of reversals by city click here.
The NCHRC…
NCMS Pushed for Statewide Standing Order for Naloxone
Article by Minali Nigam, 2016 NCMS Foundation Medical Journalism Intern
Last Monday at a press conference at the Guilford County’s Sheriff Office, Governor Pat McCrory signed Senate Bill 724, which allows people in North Carolina to get naloxone at pharmacies without a prescription. Naloxone is a drug that acts as an opioid antagonist and can be used to treat drug overdoses. The bill received…
In the News
Scientists Discover Non-Opioid Pathway In the Brain, National Institutes of Health, 3-17-16
Patients in Pain and a Doctor Who Must Limit Drugs, The New York Times, 3-16-16
Doctors Ponder Delicate Talks As Medicare Pays for End-of-Life Counsel, Kaiser Health News, 3-16-16
CDC Opioid Prescribing Guidelines Unlikely To Affect Physicians' Practices, Modern Healthcare, 3-15-16
Getting Pain Killers…