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Burdened by high prescription drug costs, states are looking northward to Canada; more hands-on nursing care can help fight hospital-acquired pneumonia; and doctors should talk to teens about contraceptive options.
States like Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Oklahoma are pushing legislation that would seek permission from the Trump administration to launch their own plans to import less expensive prescription drugs from Canada. Kaiser Health News reported the states want a formal process that would allow them to contract with wholesalers in Canada, and distribute the medicines to the state’s health care system. Implemenation of any process would require negotiation with HHS.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia is more widespread and urgent than most people realize, and in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, authors of a new study about the issue said more hands-on nursing care could help prevent many cases. One method: getting patients to brush their teeth and gargle before surgery and throughout their stay.
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have urged their members to have “comprehensive” conversations with adolescent patients about their reproductive health and their contraceptive needs, knowledge and concerns, given what columnist Jane E. Brody called “challenging” statistics about teen birthrates and pregnancies, The New York Times reported. The column discusses what teenagers should know about contraception, ranked in order of effectiveness.
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