Also, troubling side effects of the crackdown on prescription painkiller abuse, an easier choice near the end of life, and drug companies find a sneaky way to pay doctors.
The elderly and people with respiratory illness are most vulnerable to the legionella bacteria, which can dwell in air conditioning systems and water cooling towers. The Washington Post has this helpful explainer.
Our new podcast "Sick" tells the story of Kevin Polly, a drug user who has to leave his town behind in order to save his own life, in the midst of a historic HIV outbreak.
Side Effects has reported extensively on prescription painkiller and heroin addiction and prevention efforts, like programs that limit the amount of medication pharmacies can dispense. A story from Kaiser Health News this week looked at the dark side of these restrictions: people in great pain who can't get their prescriptions filled.
The way the rules are written, Medicare covers either life-prolonging treatment or palliative care. But in an experiment aimed at reducing costs, thousands of patients will be able to chose both, as Stateline reports.
Drug industry payments to companies that sponsor medical lectures for doctors rose 25 percent between 2011 and 2014, according to a Boston Globe report.
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