The Checkup Archive: medical costs

Healthy adults getting unneeded heart screenings

But a report issued this morning by Consumer Reports shows that a whopping 44 percent of healthy adults (those who have no history of heart disease and who have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels) have had heart-health screening procedures that they didn't really need. The report also notes that few of us question the need for screening, whether by blood-pressure check, EKG, or C-reactive protein test. And still fewer of us seem to care about the potential risks of such screenings, which include unneeded followup screenings, tests and treatments.

By Jennifer LaRue Huget  | February 3, 2011; 6:00 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (6)
Categories:  Cardiovascular Health, Chronic Conditions, medical costs, screening  
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Medicare panel endorses prostate cancer vaccine

A panel of experts Wednesday endorsed an expensive new vaccine recently approved to treat men with advanced prostate cancer. In a series of votes, the 14-member Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee said that there did appear to be sufficient evidence that Provenge, which was approved in April, could...

By Rob Stein  | November 17, 2010; 5:04 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (9)
Categories:  Cancer, Medical Technology, medical costs, medicare, prostate cancer  
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