Health/Science/Tech

The Supreme Court will rule this month on the federal health care law – as early as this week. BJ Austin talked with health care policy expert Anne Dunkelberg and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

It’s the second most common cause of missed work in this country after back pain. About 30 million or more people in America suffer from migraine – often in the form of debilitating headaches. But in a KERA Health Checkup, Deborah Friedman of UT Southwestern Medical Center said the types of migraine can vary.

It contributes greatly to a successful pregnancy, but not all moms-to-be receive prenatal care. Those who do sometimes overlook common warning signs during pregnancy. Dr. Wayne Farley is Medical Director of the Advanced Maternal and Newborn Institute at Medical City in Dallas. In a Health Checkup, Dr. Farley described some of those.

Your medicine chest may contain everything from actual medicine to personal grooming items. But in this KERA Health Checkup, some ideas for what should be in the medicine chest from Dr. Shaun Murphy, a general practitioner and chairman of Dallas Medical Specialists. He told Sam Baker the most important item is a list of your prescription medications.

Faced with a medical problem, many people opt for the emergency room or they contact their primary physician. But in today’s Health Checkup, we look at when to use a third option: urgent care centers. Sam Baker talked with Dr. Sarah Holder, medical director of the Quick Care Clinic at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas. 

Most surgeries involve a doctor’s hand working inside the body. But each year more doctors and patients are opting for a robotics-assisted approach. There’s more precision and greater visibility for doctors with 3-D imaging, plus less scarring and faster recovery for patients.  But the approach has its critics.

Today we continue in the spirit of Earth Day with the first in a series of stories, “Going Green: The Practical Payoffs." We’re taking you to the UT Arlington campus where a biomedical engineering student has come up with a way to get a special kind of bacteria to eat food waste. The process creates energy in an environmentally-friendly, money-saving way. KERA’s BJ Austin says the young inventor hopes to take his microbial fuel cell from the lab to the workplace.

State health officials plan to roll out the Texas Women’s Health Program November 1. KERA’s BJ Austin says it will continue family planning services for low income women without any federal funds.

Typically, the KERA Health Checkup looks at subjects about maintaining your health. But in connection with National Healthcare Decisions Day, we look at advance planning for terminal illness. Sam Baker talked with Dr. Robert Fine of Baylor Medical Center about advance directives.

It’s the fourth leading cause of death in the country behind heart disease, chronic lung disease and cancer. Stroke occurs when blood flow to a part of the brain stops. It’s sometimes called a brain attack, but stroke is often preventable. In this KERA Health Checkup, Sam Baker talked about this with Dr. Dion Graybeal. He’s Medical Director of the Stroke Program at Baylor Medical Center.

About 150,000 people develop colon or colorectal cancer each year. For about one in five, the disease is hereditary. So your family’s history with colon cancer is vital information when screening for the disease. In our KERA Health Checkup, Dr. Samir Gupta of U.T. Southwestern Medical Center tells Sam Baker your family history determines what type of screening you should have – and when.

The state’s Health and Human Services Commission says it plans to present a funding option for the Women’s Health Program to the Legislative Budget Board soon. KERA’s BJ Austin says that would be good news at Parkland Hospital, where some 9,000 woman are enrolled in the program at risk of being eliminated.

Parkland Hospital’s income is dropping while expenses are rising. KERA’s BJ Austin reports.

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on health care reform could affect all Texans, including the nearly six million without health insurance. Local health care experts say the required coverage for everyone could make people healthier, but clog waiting rooms. And it could ultimately change the way health care is paid-for and delivered.

Texasis one of 26 states fighting the constitutionality of President Obama’s health care legislation at the Supreme Court where hearings began Monday. About 25 percent of the Texas population is uninsured, that’s close to six million. KERA’s Courtney Collins spoke to people at a Dallas hospital and bookstore about how mandated health coverage would impact them.

March as National Nutrition Month is being used to raise awareness about healthier eating. In our KERA Health Checkup, Sam Baker talked with Meridan Zerner, a registered dietitian with Cooper Aerobics, about nutrition and children. She said many kids don’t always get the nutrients they need despite their parents’ efforts.

Planned Parenthood clinics across the state have a little more time before the must turn away patients in the state’s Women’s Health Program. KERA’s BJ Austin says funding was to be cut Wednesday, but new regulations issued over the weekend allow patients to be seen through April 30.

Under a change to Texas law, adults can now track their immunizations through a state registry database that was formerly only available for children. But once adolescents turn 18 their records are purged unless they request otherwise. Texas doctors are worried about the loss of those records.

March is National Nutrition March.  In a KERA Health Checkup, some advice on the subject for people 50 and older. Sam Baker talked with Lona Sandon, assistant professor of clinical nutrition at U-T Southwestern Medical Center.

The Food and Drug Administration next month is expected to say if it will approve Qnexa. A diet pill promising a ten percent weight loss could offer hope to a nation with an obesity rate near 35 percent. But Tammy Beaumont is concerned. In a KERA Health Checkup, the Weight Management Director for Methodist Health System talks to Sam Baker about the way you should manage weight loss, even if you used Qnexa. 

Many people take some form of vitamin supplement to begin the day. But taking vitamins doesn’t come without potential risk. In our KERA Health Checkup, Sam Baker talked about this with Susan Rodder, a clinical nutrition instructor at U.T. Southwestern Medical Center. To start, do you need vitamin supplements if you maintain a balanced diet?

Thursday night KERA Channel 13 and public television stations across the state will air an hour-long program on obesity, its link to hunger and what Texans are doing to combat the problem.

Dallas and Tarrant counties lead the state in infant deaths. They’ve been the highest of all urban areas in Texas for more than a decade. KERA’s BJ Austin reports county health officials don’t know why, and are working to figure it out.

In a KERA Health Checkup, a look at how doctors access an artery to check your heart for suspected blockage. It’s called percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI. Most doctors go in through the hip or groin. But a growing number are choosing to access the wrist area instead.  Sam Baker talked about this with Dr. Joshua Jacobi of Methodist Mansfield Medical Center.

Parkland Hospital officials say they are making big changes after failing two critical safety inspections last year, and a new, independent audit found patients ignored in the emergency room, and dirty operating rooms. KERA’s BJ Austin reports.

Personal trainer Bobby Whisnand is partnering with the American Heart Association’s campaign to raise awareness about heart disease. He talked with Sam Baker about steps we can take to reduce the chances of developing heart disease.