Health A-Z News & Features

As more Americans trek to Canada or Mexico to buy critical prescription drugs they cannot afford here, some U.S. doctors have a devised a system they say will help.

Marshall Klavan wanted to die. His physicians wanted him to live. Who had the right to decide?

Laws in every state have made it clear: You have the fundamental right to make a decision in advance about whether to accept or refuse medical treatment if you become gravely ill.

Making Your Last Wishes Known

Once tossed in the trash, umbilical cord blood is now worth big money, thanks to medical discoveries and entrepreneurial efforts like private for-profit blood banks.

Nothing can be more frustrating or confusing than to show up at your doctor's office with symptoms of a health problem, only to be told you can't get the diagnostic test you want, a referral to a specialist, or a specific medical treatment.

The agreement reached last month in the lawsuit brought by the State of Texas against Aetna U.S. Healthcare may have solved the company's problems there, but two other key states, New York and Connecticut, are moving forward with probes aimed at reviewing the insurance giant's practices.

Here are some situations that might lead you to suspect your doctor is not listening -- and how to find out if you're correct.

The key to health may be knowing when to talk and when to listen.

Any time you have a very serious or life-threatening disease is a situation that demands a second opinion.

How can you minimize complications in the delivery room, the operating room, or the doctor's office? Find a doctor who will be open with you.

The high costs of delivering high-risk care are driving many ob-gyns to leave obstetrical practice.

Shopping for prescription drugs at a legitimate online site is not much different from buying books or sporting goods over the Internet, although you do need your doctor's permission.

Industry and consumer studies show that, compared with filling prescriptions at the corner drug store, ordering drugs online can cut costs considerably.

Online prescriptions are easy to get. But beware: The drug you buy without medical supervision could be your undoing

Drug companies offer a variety of patient assistance programs, but finding out about them, and learning whether you qualify, is often difficult.

The long-standing relationship between doctors and drug companies is intended to serve mutual interests: Doctors need tested remedies with which to treat patients, and drug companies need a way to sell their tested remedies.

Conflict of Interest Checkup

A look at the ignorance of residents (trainees) and practicing physicians regarding guidelines concerning their contacts with drug companies.

All they wanted was to watch their two granddaughters grow up, and all she wanted to do was build a family. Yet this seemingly ordinary dispute has become a landmark legal case that raises tough questions about the limits of grandparenting.

The High-Tech Disease of an Overproductive Age?

If it weren't for his few daily tokes from marijuana cigarettes, Kiyoshi Kuromiya believes he would no longer be alive

Does stem cell research result in the destruction of life, or is it the harbinger of a lifesaving scientific tool?

Union membership, which has been steadily declining in the manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy, might be poised to gain some new ground in the health care industry.

Find out the history behind the most popular vitamin supplements.

Although convenient, the proliferation of Internet prescription sites is sounding alarm bells for health professionals nationwide because of a lack of standards - even illegal practices.

Now, you can also go online to buy travel insurance, selecting from options that include medical coverage and evacuation and trip-cancellation insurance.

Under managed care, a primary care provider (PCP) wields considerable power. He or she is the gatekeeper who holds the keys to the specialized medical care you may need.