Healthcare Archive

News Briefs

New guidelines from the American College of Physicians (ACP) urge doctors to prescribe generic medications whenever possible, rather than more expensive brand-name medications. The guidelines were published online Nov. 24, 2015, in Annals of Internal Medicine. An ACP committee, led by Harvard Medical School's Dr. Niteesh Choudhry, analyzed more than 2,500 studies and found that brand-name prescription medications are more likely to be prescribed, but not filled. The committee also observed that people do a better job of sticking to a medication regimen if they take generics, since the drugs are cheaper and people are more likely to get prescriptions filled. (If you're more likely to take a medication, you're more likely to get better.) Do generics work just as well? The committee found that the vast majority of the evidence showed generic drugs are as effective as brand-name medications when it comes to health outcomes. If your doctor prescribes a brand-name medication, ask if there's a generic that will do the same job and save you money.

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The best place to get the services you need on short notice depends on the problem you have.

Not long ago, your only alternative to visiting a doctor's office was an urgent care clinic or hospital emergency room. But there are some new options. These include walk-in clinics at drugstores and big-box retailers like Walmart and Target, and online "e-visits" that some health care providers now offer.

Your doctor will make the call, but you can stay informed about the hospital you're admitted to through patient reviews, independent rankings, and satisfaction surveys.

When you are caring for someone who is ill, elderly, or disabled, it's important to consider how you'll handle those times when you can't be with your loved one in person. Thankfully, today's technology offers options that can help you keep track of your loved one's safety and well-being.

Most people are familiar with the emergency response system known as Lifeline. Experts call devices and systems like Lifeline "telecare." But there's much more to telecare than emergency assistance. Today, there are a multitude of telecare devices that can help you stay informed of your loved one's activities and needs in real time.

Although health experts are giving us fewer reasons to see the doctor every year, there are many benefits to doing so.

Emergency rooms, urgent care clinics, and retail clinics offer immediate care. Your symptoms determine which to use.

You've probably had an illness or injury that you weren't quite sure how to handle. Maybe it was a rattling cough, a finger slammed in a car door, or a rash crawling up your arm. If you can't get in to see your doctor, you have a few options for immediate treatment—the clinic at the nearby shopping mall, an urgent care center, or the emergency room at the nearest hospital. How do you decide which one to go to?