medical procedures

Patients are ending up with large bills from doctors outside of their insurance network that they never even chose to use for their procedures, according to new research by Johns Hopkins.

The opioid dilemma puts pressure on every physician to pause and reflect. Physician anesthesiologists are dedicated to providing pain relief in the safest manner possible, which includes prescribing and managing opioid therapy when medical conditions warrant. What we face now is too many tragic instances of patients emerging from pain treatment regimens only to see their lives destroyed later through addiction.

Orioles right-hander Branden Kline finally getting back to normal after 2015 Tommy John surgery

Plavix is a blood thinner that prevents the blood from clotting around stents after surgery, which can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with heart disease. But the drug only works when a liver enzyme in the body activates it. About 30 percent of people have at least one gene variation that might prevent this activation and make the drug less effective.

Dr. Ryan Katz and James Higgins from the Curtis National Hand Center at Union Memorial Hospital said the surgery is the first of its kind performed in the United States.

Eliminating medical malpractice suits in the United States will also eliminate the ordering of unnecessary tests and reduce the country's health care costs by millions.

Orioles pitching prospect Hunter Harvey slated to resume throwing next week following July's Tommy John surgery

Dr. John A. Steers named physician of month

LifeBridge Health buys SurgiCenter of Baltimore in Owings Mills and the Ellicott City Ambulatory Surgery Center in Howard County

Exploratory surgery would later confirm her fears: Megan had bilateral ovarian cancer, and would need both ovaries removed. The news that her hopes for a family were dashed hit hard.

In 2011, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force changed their prostate cancer screening guidelines, in effect, recommending that men not undergo the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA test

New basic and clinical research through either NIH or the DOD will not only benefit the 1 million Americans — me included — already living with hydrocephalus, but could also shed new light into more effective treatments for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and traumatic brain injuries. Over the long run, more effective treatments will improve lives, save taxpayer dollars and reduce the burden of unnecessary high cost procedures on the health care system.

Dr. Sung Eui Kim, an Anne Arundel County obstetrician and gynecologist, died Monday of complications following surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 71.

Skilled health services provided at home, or home health care, can be an important tool for people who have recently had surgery or have health issues that make

The fact that Caleb Joseph, who fell to his knees for several moments after he was hit by Travis Shaw's foul ball in the eighth inning remained in the game quelled concern, but hours later Joseph was in an area hospital undergoing a surgical procedure for a testicular injury.

Daniel Centeno, the jockey of the second horse that died Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, received good news Wednesday. After he returned home from the hospital

Taking time for extra precautions is best course for safe surgery

For all the enthusiasm about adopting electronic medical records, security remains a worry.

Johns Hopkins Medicine has performed the nation's first liver and kidney transplants from a donor infected with HIV to recipients also infected with the virus, a triumph for one of the transplant surgeons, who fought for six years for federal approval of the life-saving surgery.

Dr. Irvin Pollack, 85, a retired ophthalmologist who founded Sinai Hospital's Krieger Eye Institute and was a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor, died of cancer March 1.

Howard County health digest

There was a time, not all that long ago, Cummings said, when doctors would never have dreamed of performing heart surgery on someone in their early 90s, especially valve replacement surgery of the sort Shipley required. Since the failing valve is in the interior of the heart, the conventional treatment would have been open heart surgery, a procedure that requires stopping, and slicing open the heart itself.

Nowadays, the standard emergency procedure for someone having a heart attack is catheterization: A catheter threaded into the arteries is used to located the blockage, to clear it and to brace it open.

'Red tape' can save women's lives

Maryland is the only state testing an "all Payer" model for Medicare insurance payments. This model pays hospitals a fixed amount for each patient, in contrast to standard fee-for-service payments for each test or doctor's visit. A recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine showed Maryland's experiment has resulted in a 26 percent drop in infections, surgical errors and other preventable conditions. The model's success is counter-intuitive and throws into question our belief that more

An increasing number of women are undergoing minimum invasive surgery to treat early stages of uterine cancer, but new research by Johns Hopkins Medicine found that there are large racial and economic disparities to who is getting these procedures.

The inspiring story of Dr. Felix Flores, who overcame great hardship to rise to the position of chief of surgery at Laurel Regional Hospital, is an incredible tale on its own. His story becomes even more amazing with the revelation that his father, also named Felix, was a soldier in Pancho Villa's army during the Mexican Revolution.

Gabriel Del Corral and Andrew Hodge receive hospital recognition

How does a half-hour in the operating room at $140 per minute add up to more than $5K?

The average price for common procedures can vary greatly among Maryland hospitals. Here are some common inpatient procedures and the hospitals with the highest and lowest average prices in 2014.

Americans have larger out-of-pocket insurance costs but cannot easily shop around for medical care, even though where they go matters

With residents gaining momentum in their fight to save Laurel Regional Hospital, Advantia Health has opened its third outpatient surgery facility near Route 1 in Beltsville, providing immediate health care to its patients.

Howard County health digest

Howard County health digest

Accurate medical information should show patients, as simply and effortlessly as possible, what a test, procedure or drug actually means in terms of their own health objectives and their quality of life. What is needed is a simple, straightforward graphic that presents, on one page, a clear and objective picture of actual health benefits and risks associated with various medicines, tests and procedures.

Howard County health digest

Diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in July of 2013, Sarah Brooks underwent surgery to remove the tumor, followed by 45 weeks of chemotherapy.

DCIS is now the most commonly diagnosed breast cancer and doctors have long treated it with surgery and radiation, but that standard is evolving.

Dr. Patricia "Pat" Charache, an internationally known Johns Hopkins Medicine infectious diseases specialist and medical microbiologist who also had been a distinguished professor of pathology, died Saturdayof complications following surgery at the Edenwald retirement community in Towson. She was 85.

Ultrasound waves through the skull could help treat symptoms of Parkinson's disease

Carroll Health Group Plastic Surgery and Dr. Gabriel Del Corral move to new location

Robert Gordon named Carroll Hospital May physician of the month

Reservoir senior pitcher Cody Morris told his team that he will have Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow as the Gators prepared to defend their 3A state baseball championship. Morris said he was told he needed the surgery by Dr. Timothy Kremchek, medical director for the Cincinnati Reds and a special adviser to Morris.

Time out to prevent operating room errors

Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold has filed a lawsuit alleging negligent medical care at Johns Hopkins Hospital when he underwent spinal surgery, claiming he was cleared to resume play too quickly, causing additional damage.

Dr. Levi Watkins, the first black chief resident of cardiac surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, was known as much for fighting the injustice faced by African Americans as his groundbreaking medical work.