Recent research in England has thrown more light on a worrying phenomenon - the fact that your chances of surviving surgery are greatly influenced by exactly when in the week you have  your operation. The investigation, published by the British Medical Journal in May 2013, has made it clear that weekend surgery or elective…

When a patient is treated and released from the hospital, doctors don't want to see that patient again. Not that they are cold or cruel - a patient who leaves the hospital and doesn't return, at least not within the next 30 days, is a patient who is ably managing their health condition. However, a patient who is treated and then readmitted to hospital before the end of the month hasn't…

The Hong Kong government has recently suffered an angry reaction from the insurance industry in response to its proposed standardised medical insurance plan. Insurers argue that the government has backed down, in this new move, from regulating the costs of private hospitals. Under the new Health Protection…

Cosmetic surgery is big business in the UK. According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), the number of facelifts, liposuction procedures, nose jobs and other surgical cosmetic operations in the UK totaled 43,172 last year, and the industry is predicted to be worth £3.6 billion in the UK by 2015. As cosmetic…

American President Barack Obama this week encouraged those Americans paying high prices for health insurance, as well as the uninsured, to sign up for cover under his new Affordable Care Act. On a trip to California, Obama encouraged the recruitment of Hispanics in particular to the new healthcare scheme that is designed to help uninsured Americans afford health insurance.

California…

If recent news stories are any indication, the general public of the United States is not comfortable with personal data getting into the hands of the government - the revelation last week concerning the

Doctors and nurses, physicians and clinicians are essential to any healthcare system, but educating these and other medical personnel is equally important. Health Education England (HEE) is a newly established strategic body in the United Kingdom, created to oversee healthcare staff training and education programmes. Already, HEE has identified two key areas that staff training ought to…

Of all the changes that Obamacare has made to health insurance in the United States, one of the earliest and most well-known bits of legislation kept young adults on their parents' health care plans longer. Starting in 2010, insurance plans that extended coverage to dependents of the main beneficiaries were required to continue covering those dependents until they had reached the age of…

A new, low-cost means of screening for cervical cancer could save tens of thousands of lives in parts of the world where women simply cannot afford expensive cancer screenings treatments. A large clinical trial out of India, which was released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology this week, found cervical swabs using vinegar to be an effective means of screening for cervical cancer where pap…

A food co-op is a place you go to buy organic groceries in a non-corporate, community-run environment. A housing co-op is a place where neighbors work together to create, alter or govern a place of residence. A banking co-op is an institution controlled by members. And, a health co-operative? The role of a health co-op in the United States is still being…