DC Healthcare Provider Limps On After Malware Attack

Despite its computer systems being infected with malware since Monday, MedStar Health, which operates 10 hospitals and more than 250 outpatient facilities in and around Washington, D.C., has continued to provide patient care at near normal levels, according to several updates released this week. Since the malware attack occurred, MedStar Health has treated an average of 3,380...

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For kids with autism, this tech matters

For these kids, games and cute robots are more than just fun. On World Autism Awareness Day, we look at some of the ways technology is improving the lives of those with the condition. Both Katie and her teacher look like they'd be right at home in a Pixar film, and at first their conversation seems like it would fit in one too. The ponytailed and pink-clad Katie really wants...

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Obamacare premiums could spike next year

Companies selling individual health plans on Obamacare’s insurance marketplaces must grapple with the impending expiration of two of the law’s key early-stage programs, likely foretelling premium increases in 2017, as PricewaterhouseCoopers points out in a new regulatory brief. The Affordable Care Act included a trio of provisions meant to counteract insurance marketplace...

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Mammograms May Detect More Than Breast Cancer

New study finds calcium deposits in breast tissue can predict calcium in arteries, a known risk factor for heart disease. Mammograms are widely and often successfully used to detect breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women. Now, new research published in the journal JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging suggests it can help protect against an even bigger...

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2 New Cancer Therapies That Might Help Patients 'Live Again'

Cancer can be devastating to the individuals and families it affects. The disease alters patients' routines, roles, and relationships with others. Luckily, in the age of cancer research, millions more Americans are surviving the horrible disease, showing that you can live with cancer rather than die from it. In Big Think's latest video, 2 New Cancer Treatments That Give Patients...

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Federal officials, advocates push pill-tracking databases

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's top health officials are stepping up calls to require doctors to log in to pill-tracking databases before prescribing painkillers and other high-risk drugs. The move is part of a multi-pronged strategy by the Obama administration to tame an epidemic of abuse and death tied to opioid painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin. But physician groups...

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Ransomware hackers take aim at Kentucky hospital

A Kentucky hospital is operating in an internal state of emergency following an attack by cybercriminals on its computer network, Krebs on Security reported. Methodist Hospital, based in Henderson, Kentucky, is the victim of a ransomware attack in which hackers infiltrated its computer network, encrypted files and are now holding the data hostage, Krebs reported Tuesday....

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