Health Headlines for Thursday, February 16

U.S. healthcare costs to escalate over next decade: government agency

Reuters

The cost of medical care in the United States is expected to grow at a faster clip over the next decade and overall health spending growth will outpace that of the gross domestic product, a U.S. government health agency said on Wednesday.

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Long-Term Opioid Use Could Depend on the Doctor Who First Prescribed It

New York Times

Some emergency room doctors are far more likely than others even within their own department to prescribe opioids to treat pain in older people, and their patients are at greater risk of using the powerful drugs chronically than those who saw doctors who prescribe them less frequently, according to a large new study.

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PhRMA questions legality of Gov’s drug price control plan

Albany Times Union/Blog

The pharmaceutical industry does not like Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposals to control drug prices.

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City delays planned $764M record-keeping system at hospitals

New York Post

The financially strapped municipal hospital system is delaying a planned $764 million medical record-keeping system — and refuses to say how much it has spent so far.

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Survival rates for extremely preterm babies improving in U.S.

Reuters

The first decade of the 2000s saw a small but significant increase in the survival of extremely premature infants without early neurodevelopmental problems, according to a study of nearly 4,500 babies born at 11 U.S. medical centers.

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Government mandates jack up health care costs

Albany Business Review

Have you noticed that the mail from your health insurance company weighs a little more these days?

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New dads risk depression too, study says

CNN

Many men might describe expecting a baby as a joyous time in their life, but for some, a bundle of joy might be linked to a greater risk of depression.

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Catholic Health merger advancing, slowly

Buffalo Business First

Five years after beginning work to merge 10 separate corporations, Catholic Health says a plan for a full-asset merger of its hospitals and health services is still in the works.

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