Health Headlines for Thursday, April 14
Zika Virus Causes Birth Defects, Health Officials Confirm
New York Times
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday that there was now enough evidence to definitively say that the Zika virus could cause unusually small heads and brain damage in infants born to infected mothers.
Incentives encourage Medicaid patients to choose well
Empire Center Editorial/Times Union
New York under Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been able to tame Medicaid costs by bringing together service providers and health care unions to find ways to save money.
Two doctors in Albany to promote law to allow aid in dying
Albany Times Union
Giving a dying patient a drug to end his life can be a form of palliative care — the type of care given to severely ill people to relieve pain and stress.
As cyber attacks rise, hospitals seek to protect medical records
Capital New York
Amid a flurry of cyber attacks in which hackers have demanded ransom payments from health systems, a top executive at Northwell Health met with FBI officials and federal prosecutors on Wednesday to discuss how law enforcement can help combat this persistent and growing threat.
Enforce nursing standards
Albany Times Union/Blog
The quality of patient care is directly and heavily reliant on the quality of the nurses who serve on the front lines of health care delivery.
Assembly health committee advances medical marijuana bills
Capital New York
The Assembly health committee on Monday advanced two pieces of legislation that would expand the state’s medical marijuana program.
I’m documenting my own Alzheimer’s disease while I still can
Washington Post
On a recent flight from San Francisco back to Boston, I found myself seated between my 28-year-old daughter Colleen and the emergency hatch.
Chip, Implanted in Brain, Helps Paralyzed Man Regain Control of Hand
New York Times
Five years ago, a college freshman named Ian Burkhart dived into a wave at a beach off the Outer Banks in North Carolina and, in a freakish accident, broke his neck on the sandy floor, permanently losing the feeling in his hands and legs.