Elana Gordon

In several European countries and Canada, patients with longterm opioid addiction are prescribed pharmaceutical grade heroin which they inject in clinics like the Patrida Medical Clinic in Berlin. Some addiction specialists want to pilot similar programs in the U.S.

Is America Ready For Prescription Heroin?

Elana Gordon

In some countries, doctors prescribe medical-grade heroin to patients with long-term addiction. Could it ever happen the U.S.? A new report from RAND Corporation outlines the pros and cons.

Supervised injection sites, like Insite in Vancouver, Canada, provide drug users with clean needles and other supplies to help prevent the spread of disease.

What's The Evidence That Supervised Drug Injection Sites Save Lives?

Elana Gordon

Proposals in several cities to offer drug users access to a safe space to consume drugs have caused a political stir, but what do we really know about the effectiveness of safe injection sites?

Lisa Iezzoni is professor of medicine at Harvard. She has multiple sclerosis and researches disparities in health care for people with disabilities.

Doctors With Disabilities Push For Culture Change In Medicine

Elana Gordon

Disabled Americans working in medicine are speaking up about their role in the profession. Not only can they perform the work of doctors, but they offer a level of empathy others may lack.

A spread of ointments, gauze, sterile water and other items stocked inside Prevention Point Philadelphia's mobile wound care unit.

Healing Drug Injection Wounds Can Help Get Care Closer To Patients

Elana Gordon

Infections from intravenous drug use are often hidden, under sleeves and beneath pants. These wounds of addiction may be buried in shame. They can also be serious, requiring surgery or constant care.

Philadelphia officials cleared the way for a safe injection site for drug users. But there are many details to work out before the idea can become reality.

What's Next For 'Safe Injection' Sites In Philadelphia?

Elana Gordon

Philadelphia officials gave the OK to establishing safe injection sites for drug users. But it's unclear where the sites would be located and who would fund and operate them.

Without Medical Support, DIY Detox Often Fails

Elana Gordon

Treatment for opioid addiction can be expensive and difficult to coordinate. That might make some people tempted to think they can overcome the addiction on their own. This rarely works.

Carl Goulden, of Littlestown Pa., developed hepatitis B 10 years ago. Soon his health insurance premiums soared beyond a price he and his wife could afford.

U.S. Health Care Wrestles With The 'Pre-Existing Condition'

Elana Gordon

Insurers and politicians struggle constantly to thread the needle between making sure people have good health insurance and figuring out who should pay, especially for those who need a lot of care.

Medical graduates from Iran, in Philadelphia on research fellowships, anxiously await results of their U.S. medical residency applications. The Trump administration's immigration executive order has put added stress on "match week" for them.

Travel Ban Adds Stress To 'Match Week' For Some Doctors

Elana Gordon

A medical residency program is the next training step for newly minted doctors, and awaiting "the match" can be tense. For some international students, Trump's travel ban has made that tension worse.

Dr. Joel Funari performs some 300 tooth extractions annually at his private practice in Devon, Pa.. He's part of a group of dentists reassessing opioid prescribing guidelines in the state.

Dentists Work To Ease Patients' Pain With Fewer Opioids

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.

New drugs like Harvoni effectively cure hepatitis C, but they haven't yet been approved for use in children.

Children Exposed To Hepatitis C May Be Missing Out On Treatment

Elana Gordon

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.