Elana Gordon

After minor surgeries, many dentists used to reflexively prescribe quick-acting opioids to relieve a patient's pain. Now they're learning to counsel patients about better, less addictive alternatives.

Now that there are better treatments for hepatitis C in adults, doctors hope the drugs soon will be approved for use in children who were infected at birth. But many at-risk infants don't get tested.

Savvy patients want the best medical care for the best deal, and online calculators seem like a great way to compare the cost of common scans and procedures. But many are inaccurate.

A Supreme Court ruling could threaten health insurance subsidies in about three dozen states. But many states aren't sharing contingency plans lest they be seen as supporting Obamacare.

Drugs made from proteins or antibodies are difficult for rival manufacturers to copy. The Food and Drug Administration just approved a copycat drug for cancer patients that shows it can be done.

The company Vital Decisions hires social workers to help people make end-of-life plans in advance, over the phone. But the counselors are paid by insurers. Critics see a conflict of interest.

Young people on the upper range of income eligible for subsidies are finding that they don't always qualify. That could influence the number of young adults who enroll.

The hospital says it can't guarantee the supplements' safety because of lax regulations. The Food and Drug Administration does not routinely review the manufacturing of dietary supplements, which calls their safety and effectiveness into question, doctors say.

After initially declining federal funding to expand Medicaid, Gov. Tom Corbett has changed course slightly. He is pursuing an approach for Pennsylvania that would make use of federal funds, but there are some caveats.

Secure data storage is a big selling point for Cerner. But the company also develops software for all kinds of medical settings, and it even sends tech people to hospitals to run their information systems. Founded in 1979, Cerner now employs 12,000 people, and it can't hire engineers fast enough.