Payments from pharmaceutical companies touch hundreds of thousands of doctors. The 17 companies we’ve tracked spent $1.4 billion in 2013 alone. Here are our top five takeaways from following all that money. (David Sleight/ProPublica) This…
Move America Forward has collected millions to send care packages to U.S. troops. But its appeals often rely on images and stories borrowed without permission, and its assets have been used to benefit political consulting…
By: Cara Rosner For more than 40 years, Erik Drewniak has been plagued by high fevers and chills and never knew why. Whenever he got a 104 or 105-degree fever that would linger for a…
By: Lisa Chedekel Connecticut still ranks high among states in the use of antipsychotic drugs for elderly nursing home residents, but its rate of use has dropped 21.6 percent since 2011 – more than the…
By: Julia Werth As one of the wealthiest towns in the state, Darien has few residents who routinely go hungry. It’s also ranked in the bottom quartile of Connecticut when it comes to services for…
By: Lisa Chedekel After months of delays, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed state Veterans Affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz as the new Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Policy and Planning in the U.S. Department…
By: Kate Farrish The Connecticut Medical Examining Board Tuesday ordered an employee of Laser55 of West Hartford to stop using an infrared laser device to heat fat tissue for potential weight loss, saying it constitutes…
By: Jodie Mozdzer Gil Ava Passley covered her nose and giggled as Dr. Jacob Hen walked into an examination room at his pediatric pulmonology office in Trumbull recently. Ava, 3, of Bridgeport, knows what to expect…
By: Lisa Chedekel A preliminary review by the Office of the Child Advocate of conditions at the state’s controversial locked treatment program for troubled girls in Middletown raises concerns about the improper use of restraints,…
The Federal Trade Commission has halted two health care scams that were designed to trick consumers into paying for phony “discount” cards, which the scammers falsely claimed would provide consumers with health insurance, or help…
A Texas-based company, Applied Food Sciences, Inc. (AFS), has settled Federal Trade Commission charges that it used the results of a flawed study to make baseless weight-loss claims about its green coffee extract to retailers,…
By: Peggy McCarthy | Conley Monk, a Vietnam War veteran who has been fighting for decades to have his military discharge status upgraded, expressed hope Friday that new Pentagon guidelines will help him and other…
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection is alerting parents and children’s caregivers to a new recall of children’s sunglasses that have been deemed unsafe due to excessive levels of lead. Consumers should immediately take these…
By: Lisa Chedekel The state needs to enlist pediatricians in screening children for mental health problems, expand school-based counseling services and create regional “care management entities” to help families access treatment, a draft report by…
By: Kate Farrish The state Department of Public Health has shut down eight blood collection centers because they were operating without a license or certificate. DPH issued a cease and desist order Aug. 29 against…
By: Kate Farrish Eight nursing homes have been fined more than $1,000 each by the state Department of Public Health in connection with incidents in which residents sustained cuts or broken bones or suffered from…
By: Liz Seegert Doug Crocker knows a thing or two about driving. The 74-year-old former Hartford police officer and his wife have navigated the continental U.S. three times in their motor home. Even experienced drivers…
By: Karen Weintraub For the last 50 years, men have consistently had an easier time quitting smoking than women. More men go cold turkey. More men stop on nicotine blockers like gum and patches. More…
By: Susan Campbell This is not original with me, but what if all women living in the U.S. wore their weight written on small placards around their necks? (Mine would say “150.” Let’s just get…
By: Lisa Chedekel With obesity rates rising among children, leaders of the nation’s top children’s hospitals are recommending that primary care pediatricians help to identify and treat four related medical conditions, previously found in adults,…