Author: Evan O'Connor

Awareness, Cancer
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Blood Cancer Awareness: Leukemia and Lymphoma

September is National Blood Cancer Awareness Month, also known as Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. Leukemia and lymphoma are types of cancer that can affect the bone marrow, blood cells, lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system.    Someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with blood cancer every three minutes, with someone dying as a result every nine minutes. An estimated combined total of 186,400 people in the United States are expected to be diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma in 2021, leading to an estimated 57,750 deaths this year.   There are multiple types of leukemia, some more […]

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NeedyMeds, Prescription Drugs
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All About Patient Assistance Programs

NeedyMeds was started in 1997 when a family physician and a medical social worker realized there were dozens of pharmaceutical patient assistance programs available, providing medications to those in need at low- or no-cost, but no centralized resource for the information.  We became that resource, using the relatively new (at the time) Internet as the perfect medium for the constantly changing information. Despite growing significantly since our inception, we still have an expanding database of Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs) to help those unable to cover the costs of prescriptions.   Patient assistance programs are typically funded by pharmaceutical companies to […]

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Healthcare Reform, Safety
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Health Benefits of Organized Labor

Labor Day is a national holiday to recognize and honor the American labor movement and the contributions of organizers and laborers to the development and achievements of the United States. Today, one out of every ten workers in the U.S. is a member of a labor union. Labor unions not only advocate for healthy and safe work environments; they improve the lives and promote the health of workers, their families, the community, and public health.   The labor movement has led the charge to protect working people from workplace injury, illness, and death since the Industrial Revolution. Unions in the […]

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Awareness, Mental Health
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How to Save a Life: Suicide Prevention

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. Each year over 45,000 people in America die by suicide — a rate that has increased 41% since 1999. Mental health conditions are often seen as the cause of suicide, but 54% of those who commit suicide do not have a known mental illness.    Suicide is rarely caused by a single factor, and is also affected by personal relationships, substance use, physical health, and stress from jobs, money, legal issues, and/or housing. The realities of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued systemic injustices have also had a chilling effect […]

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Vaccinations
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How to Avoid Preventable Illness: Get Vaccinated

August is National Immunization Awareness Month. Vaccines are a vital part of healthcare at all stages of life and offer the best protection available against many potentially devastating illnesses — especially COVID-19.   The ultimate goal of protecting the world’s population from the COVID-19 pandemic can likely only be achievable through the equitable distribution of vaccines. There are currently three vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19 for all adults and children as young as 12 years old​​.   Vaccines have been a crucial part in developing children’s […]

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About Us

Welcome to the NeedyMeds Voice! We look forward to presenting you with timely, provocative pieces on healthcare reform, patient advocacy, medication and healthcare access, and other health-related news. Our goals are to educate, enlighten, and elucidate; together, we will try to make sense of the myriad and ongoing healthcare-related changes in the U.S. today.