Helping people find assistance with health care and prescription costs

Awareness, Health, Prescription Drugs
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Migraine and Headache Awareness Month

June is Migraine and Headache Awareness Month. A vital part of awareness is knowing that migraines are much more than just a bad headache. Migraine is a neurological disease with incapacitating neurological symptoms that affects over 39 million men, women, and children in the United States. Most people who experience migraines get them once or twice a month, but more than 4 million are affected by daily chronic migraine with at least 15 days of debilitating symptoms every month. Everyone has headaches, but not everyone has migraines. Migraine involves nerve pathways, brain chemicals, and often runs in families but also […]

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Awareness, Cancer, Health, Safety
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Are the Health Risks of Smoking Reversible?

by Mark A. Kelley This blog originally appeared on HealthWeb Navigator. As a lung specialist, I am often asked whether the body can recover from many years of smoking. Based on decades of research, the answer is a resounding “Yes” … but only if you quit smoking — completely.   What Are The Risks of Smoking? Cigarette smoking kills over 480,000 Americans each year — more than the combined deaths from alcohol, illegal drug use, homicide, suicide, car accidents, and AIDS combined. Cancer – Before cigarette smoking became widespread in the twentieth century, lung cancer was a rare disease. However, […]

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Awareness, BeMedWise, Medicine Safety, Prescription Drugs
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Meeting the Medicine Information Needs of Americans with Vision Loss  

The Facts More than 3.4 million (3%) Americans aged 40 years and older are either legally blind (having visual acuity [VA] of 20/200 or worse or a visual field of less than 20 degrees) or are visually impaired (having VA of 20/40 or less). The Federal Interagency Forum on Aging Related Statistics estimates that 17% of the age 65 and older population report “vision trouble.” Twenty-one million Americans report functional vision problems or eye conditions that may compromise vision. Older people are more likely to experience vision loss because of age-related eye diseases. Prevalence of Visual Disability The following estimates […]

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Medicine Safety, Prescription Drugs
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Doctors Prescribe Too Many Medications

This blog post originally appeared on Zaggocare.org Medications save lives and make life more bearable for millions of people. No doubt about it. But medications can also cause harm. Logically, the more medications a patient takes, the higher the risk of side effects and dangerous interactions between medications. Did you know many patients take inappropriate or unnecessary medications? Unfortunately, over-prescribing is a widespread, dangerous problem in the US, especially for older patients (categorized as those 65+ years old). Why do doctors prescribe too many medications? What harm does it cause? And what can patients do? An extensive report by the […]

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Affordable Care Act, Awareness, Health, Healthcare Reform, Mental Health, Safety
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National Women’s Health Week 2019

This past Mother’s Day launched the 20th annual National Women’s Health Week. Led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health, the goal is to empower women to make their health a priority and raise awareness of the steps one can take to improve their health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends many common measures, such as proper health screenings, staying physically active, eating healthy, and promoting other healthy behaviors. Healthy behaviors include getting enough sleep, being tobacco-free, washing your hands, not texting while driving, and wearing a seatbelt, a bicycle helmet, […]

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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.