I'm a big believer in empowered patients -- people taking charge of their health. But in truth, in this country, the empowered patient is the exception. Most of us aren't so savvy, nor so motivated, to roll up our sleeves and drive our care decisions. Most patients don't ask to...

Last month, a small tempest broke out when Walgreen's Pharmacy announced that it would begin selling over-the-counter DNA tests directly to customers -- no doctor needed. The tests, made by a company called Pathway Genomics, promised to scan customers' genomes for more than 70 possible disease risks. "Enjoy the piece...

Cancer is perhaps the most frightening of all diseases we face. And the thing is, it's very often entirely preventable. If we simply made some different decisions, earlier, many cancers would never happen.

That sounds like an audacious statement. Cancer after all, comes "out of the blue" -- we report...

One of the great humdingers in the current debate over healthcare reform is the duplicitous role of technology in increasing costs. Sophisticated medical technologies save thousands of lives every year, giving us scans that spot tumors early and devices that keep our hearts beating and our blood flowing.

But...

Forget the health care crisis.

This country is in the midst of a health crisis -- we are simply in worse health now than we were a decade ago. The trend lines are pointing in the wrong direction. And it all starts with obesity.

When you think about it,...

Every day, we make dozens of decisions without thinking about them: what to feed the kids, how fast to drive to work, whether to hit the snooze bar. We make most of these decisions without a second thought. We go with our gut.

For other decisions, though, we have to...

What would it take for you to change your life?

Imagine this: You keep saying you'll start a diet next week, or that you'll go to the gym tomorrow. Until, one day, a chest pain or a cough or a lump sends you to the doctor. And you cross...

The basic approach to cancer screening in the US has been simple: Look for it early, and if you find it, get rid of it. That's the strategy that helped save thousands of lives from cervical cancer. And it's the strategy behind new screening tests for many other...

If you're like me, you're kinda depressed right now. Whatever's going on in Washington, it sure seems like healthcare reform -- which a month ago seemed to be in pretty good (though far from perfect) shape -- is now on the ropes. Even if Congress does manage to...

Turns out there's more to measuring your sleep than just counting sheep.

In the past year or so, a handful of new devices have come on the market that promise to help you measure your sleep quality, learn when your good night goes bad, and even wake you up at...

I've got some bad news. Most Americans know what we're supposed to do for better health. We should eat better; we should exercise more (and we surely shouldn't smoke). But almost none of us actually follow through. A 2004 study found that just three percent of Americans followed...

There are certain ideas that hover in the ether, hinting at some perfect future where our cars will fly and robots will fetch our slippers. Personalized medicine is one of these - an idea that someday, somehow, we will all enjoy customized medical care that keeps us healthier and enables...