We examine some of the latest findings on vitamins and supplements and ask which, if any, should we be taking daily?

On October 1st, every state in the U.S. will open an online health insurance marketplace. For states that have opted to run their own insurance exchange (rather than letting the federal government set it up), the challenge now is informing residents about how to use these new marketplaces. Americans who already have insurance probably don't need to know the ins and outs of online exchanges,…

A  national programme of regular health checks operated by the UK public health authorities has been called into question by both independent research and the Royal College of General Practitioners, which represents doctors responsible for primary care.

Public Health England,…

New research is throwing a clearer light onto some of the processes that bring about specific cancers via investigations into the basic building blocks - our cell and genes. This is allowing scientists to discover exactly how smoking or exposure to ultraviolet light can lead to cancer and also confirm if a particular environmental hazard has been the cause of a specific cancer.

When it comes to advising how best to manage the medical conditions that are the principal causes of death in the prosperous west, there is absolute clarity from the health profession. Whether it is heart disease, stroke, diabetes or cancers of the breast and the colon, the simple message rings out very clear - more exercise is the one simple thing that almost anyone can do to reduce the…

Until the new changes made were announced in England this week, only certain 'prescribers' have been allowed to assess patients and prescribe medicine to aid their recovery. Some of these medical professionals are known as 'Independent Prescribers', and they include doctors, dentists nurses, pharmacists and optometrist. But news this week, has seen another two professions…

Recent research has confirmed previous  findings that taller people are more likely to suffer from some cancers. However, for a range of other serious conditions - particularly heart disease and strokes - the reverse is true with these ailments being more common among shorter people. The reason why height should be associated with these illnesses is far from clear and is the subject of…

Changes to the current NHS policy regarding medical workers will mean that as of April 2014, HIV positive doctors, nurses, dentists in the UK will be able to perform surgical procedures as they could before the 1990s when the restriction was imposed. Chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies made the announcements last week and declared that the existing legislation was outdated and introduced…

A recent article published in JAMA Internal Medicine, a Journal of the American Medical Association Network publication, has highlighted how modern doctors deal with patients who come to them concerned about back pain. According to the studies, an increasing number of cases of back pain have been…

Most news stories which address private healthcare in England only serve to accentuate the difference between the private and public health systems - and more often than not, celebrate the quality of services available at privately- run facilities. But a story last week painted a less than perfect picture of one privately- run hospital. The Lister Surgicentre, a private…