Connecticut doctors have been slow to adopt electronic medical records, in part because a majority of the state’s physicians work in groups with four doctors or fewer. That means they don’t have a big institution, with deep resources, to help make some of the large technological investments needed to switch over to an electronic system. […]

A fight over whether the world’s best-selling cancer drug should be approved to treat breast cancer represents a metaphor for the national debate over the government’s role in health care, Maggie Fox writes in the National Journal. Fox writes that the drug Avastin has been shown to be effective in treating some tumors, but evidence […]

Negotiators have reached agreements on new contracts for workers at 25 of 69 nursing homes where contracts expired earlier this year, according to the union representing the workers. “We’re a little less than halfway there,” said Deborah Chernoff, spokeswoman for the New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199, SEIU. The 25 contracts cover about […]

As Congress crafts a budget that addresses our nation’s long-term fiscal challenges, Foodshare and our partner agencies – more than 350 food pantries, meal sites, shelters, senior centers and after-school programs — are urging our elected officials to safeguard nutrition assistance and other safety net programs. The number of families struggling to make ends meet […]

Anthem Blue Cross Blue and Blue Shield is under fire for a plan to stop allowing its customers in California to pay their insurance premiums through automatic credit card billings. Instead, if a patient wanted to pay their bill via credit card, they would have to call Anthem every month-and in the process incur a […]

Health care experts thought eliminating surgeries performed on the wrong patient or body part would be a simple job, but seven years after the launch of a major effort to eradicate the medical errors, experts say the problem is more complicated, Sandra G. Boodman writes for Kaiser Health News. In fact, some experts say the […]

Americans are no more likely to get an HIV test now than they were 14 years ago, and they are less likely to say HIV/AIDS is an urgent health problem. At the same time, the percentage of Americans who say they are “very concerned” about becoming infected with the virus has inched up, and stigma […]

With the decline in smoking rates stalled, the Food and Drug Administration has unveiled new graphic warning labels for cigarette packs that will be required next year. The warning labels come in nine versions. One shows a man smoking through a hole in his throat with the words “Warning: Cigarettes Are Addictive.” Others show a […]

Former UConn President Philip E. Austin, who just finished serving as interim university president, will become the university’s interim vice president for health affairs until a permanent replacement is found for Dr. Cato Laurencin, the medical school dean and vice president for health affairs. Dr. Bruce Liang, director of the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology […]

The UConn Health Center will have new leadership as it moves ahead with a just-approved $864 million expansion and renovation plan. School of Medicine Dean Dr. Cato Laurencin is stepping down July 1, UConn President Susan Herbst announced Thursday. “While many people worked hard over many years to secure a healthy future for the UConn […]