Health Policy News

April 30, 2025

Top Headlines

London's Low Emission Zones Save Lives and Money

Apr. 23, 2025 — Study finds a 18.5% reduction in sick leave following LEZ implementation in Greater London compared to areas in England without low emission ...

AI Model for Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis, With Over 90% Accuracy and Reduced Consultation Preparation Time

Apr. 25, 2025 — An interdisciplinary research team has unveiled the world's first artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to classify both the cancer stage and risk category of thyroid cancer, achieving ...

Breakthrough Approach for Diagnosing TB Could Significantly Improve Detection

Apr. 23, 2025 — A new strategy for tuberculosis (TB) screening provides a solution to problems with current TB screening, which does not always accurately detect disease. Simultaneously screening for both active and ...

Telemedicine Had an Impact on Carbon Emissions Equivalent to Reducing Up to 130,000 Car Trips Each Month in 2023

Apr. 22, 2025 — Telemedicine use in 2023 reduced monthly carbon dioxide emissions by the equivalent of up to 130,000 gas operated vehicles or recycling up to 4 million trash ...

Latest Headlines

updated 4:44pm EDT

More Americans Are Using Psilocybin -- Especially Those With Mental Health Conditions, Study Shows

Apr. 21, 2025 — Use of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic chemical found in what is known as 'magic mushrooms,' has increased significantly nationwide since 2019, ...

New Analytics-Driven Framework Aims to Improve Care of Chronic Disease

Apr. 21, 2025 — A data-informed approach to scheduling patient encounters with clinicians can reduce risks associated with diabetes management by up to 19.4%, especially for underserved populations, says new ...

Americans Don't Think Bird Flu Is a Threat, Study Suggests

Apr. 18, 2025 — A team led by researchers say public ignorance and apathy towards bird flu (highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI) could pose a serious obstacle to containing the virus and preventing a ...

Nature-Based Activity Is Effective Therapy for Anxiety and Depression, Study Shows

Apr. 16, 2025 — Researchers evaluating a nature-based program of activities for patients with mild to moderate mental health conditions have shown that improvements ...

School-Based Asthma Therapy Improves Student Health, Lowers Medical Costs

Apr. 11, 2025 — Millions of U.S. children have asthma and benefit from taking anti-inflammatory medications at least once a day as prescribed by their health care provider. This school-based asthma therapy program ...

Tech-Assisted Peer Therapy Effective for Perinatal Depression in Lower Income Countries

Apr. 8, 2025 — A study has demonstrated the effectiveness of a technology-assisted intervention for perinatal ...

A New Smartphone-Sized Device Can Test for Tuberculosis: Here's Why That Matters for Children

Apr. 9, 2025 — This handheld device is the first that can detect tuberculosis in saliva, in addition to blood and sputum samples, an important breakthrough for ...

Antibiotic Resistance Among Key Bacterial Species Plateaus Over Time

Apr. 3, 2025 — Antibiotic resistance tends to stabilize over time, according to a new ...

Wildfire Recovery: What Victims Say They Need Most

Apr. 9, 2025 — Wildfire victims have a range of needs, including mental health support and information about wildfire smoke, according to a new ...

Climate and Health Litigation Mounting in Australia as Exposure to Heatwaves Grows

Apr. 7, 2025 — Australia has experienced a 37 per cent rise in dangerous heat exposure over the past two decades, while becoming the world's second-highest hotspot ...

Multi-Virus Wastewater Surveillance Shows Promise at Smaller, Site-Specific Scales

Apr. 9, 2025 — In a new study, wastewater surveillance for multiple pathogens at five different sites identified local trends that were not captured in larger surveillance programs, and some sites used the data to ...

Artificial Intelligence Has Potential to Aid Physician Decisions During Virtual Urgent Care

Apr. 4, 2025 — Do physicians or artificial intelligence (AI) offer better treatment recommendations for patients examined through a virtual urgent care setting? A new study shows physicians and AI models have ...

Exposure to Wildfire Smoke Linked With Worsening Mental Health Conditions

Apr. 4, 2025 — Exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke was associated with increased visits to emergency departments (ED) for mental health conditions, according to a new ...

Guideline on Newborn Screening for Cystic Fibrosis Calls for Changes in Practice

Apr. 2, 2025 — The United States Cystic Fibrosis Foundation released the first guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF), in order to improve timely detection of CF in infants from all racial and ...

Awareness Grows of Cancer Risk from Alcohol Consumption

Apr. 1, 2025 — Public awareness of the link between drinking alcohol and an elevated risk of cancer has grown since last fall, with 55% of U.S. adults saying that regularly consuming alcohol increases your chances ...

Clinical Trial Unearths Hidden Hypertension With Automated Searches of Health Records

Mar. 31, 2025 — A trial of 648 patients found that the new automated method and intervention strategy resulted in nearly four times as many diagnoses and treatment plans for high blood pressure compared with ...

My Robot Therapist: The Ethics of AI Mental Health Chatbots for Kids

Mar. 31, 2025 — AI mental health apps may offer a cheap and accessible way to fill the gaps in the overstretched U.S. mental health care system, but ethics experts warn that we need to be thoughtful about how we use ...

Research Highlights Urgent Need for National Strategy to Combat Rising Eating Disorders

Mar. 27, 2025 — The increasing number of people with eating disorders and a lack of national guidance for support teams has led to researchers calling for a new national strategy that includes specific guidance to ...

Adulting Is Hard on the Heart: Teen to Young Adulthood Is a Critical Time to Address Risk

Mar. 26, 2025 — Many youth have heart disease risk factors by their late teens, and preventing or addressing these risks early may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the future, according to a ...

Avoidable Deaths Are on the Rise in the United States, Yet Falling in Many Peer Nations

Mar. 24, 2025 — In most high-income countries around the world, the number of avoidable mortalities is going down. But in the United States, avoidable deaths have been on the rise for more than a decade, according ...

Tax Sugar and Salt in Food to Improve Health?

Mar. 17, 2025 — Introducing a new salt levy is another proposal put forward in a comprehensive set of recommended regulations for the food ...

When It Comes to ACL Injury, a Dollar of Prevention Is Worth More Than Seven Dollars of Cure

Mar. 13, 2025 — An analysis of high school soccer players suggests that incorporating a lower extremity injury prevention program results in fewer anterior cruciate ligament tears and a big reduction in health care ...

Intervention Boosts Brain Infection Diagnosis and Care

Mar. 13, 2025 — Researchers have worked with global partners to identify and successfully implement an intervention package that has significantly improved the diagnosis and management of brain infections in ...

Study Quantifies Loss of Disability-Free Years of Life from COVID-19 Pandemic

Mar. 11, 2025 — Among 289 million adults in 18 European countries, more than 16 million years of life were lost from 2020 through 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new ...

Study Challenges Conventional Thought on Nurse Continuity in ICUs

Mar. 5, 2025 — A new study challenges conventional thought regarding the benefits of continuity in nursing care within intensive care units (ICUs). The researchers found that increased nurse continuity was not ...

Does Getting ADHD Drugs Via Telehealth Increase Addiction Risk?

Mar. 5, 2025 — A study of people who started ADHD stimulant treatment via telehealth vs in-person visits shows no difference in risk of new substance use disorders except for young adults age ...

A Third of Children Worldwide Forecast to Be Obese or Overweight by 2050

Mar. 3, 2025 — Obesity rates are set to skyrocket, with one in six children and adolescents worldwide forecast to be obese by 2050, according to a new study. But with significant increases predicted within the next ...

Infant Mortality Tied to Concentration of Lead in Air

Feb. 26, 2025 — In a new study, researchers used data on lead emissions in the air to estimate the effects of air lead concentration on infant mortality. The study found a statistically significant relation between ...

A Change in Child Concussion Management Policies Led to Improvements in Recovery Time

Feb. 25, 2025 — A concussion clinic changed its childhood concussion policies in 2017. A new study of this protocol change shows the approach, which recommended concussed kids begin rehab two weeks or less after ...

Telemedicine May Help Reduce Use of Unnecessary Health Tests

Feb. 24, 2025 — A research team has found that telemedicine may help to reduce the use of low-value ...