News and Updates for the Patient and Family

This annual report from ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) highlights the 10 most pressing patient safety challenges facing the healthcare industry in 2025.

In this article, we will define sleep deprivation; discuss its causes, contributing factors, and consequences; and highlight why this represents a public health issue.

Taking even one medication correctly and on time each day can be a challenge. In fact, research shows that as many as half of all patients don’t follow their medication instructions properly. For older adults who often juggle multiple medicines, the challenge is even greater.

Use of herbal and dietary supplements (HDSs) accounts for an increasing proportion of drug hepatotoxicity cases. Turmeric or curcumin, green tea extract, Garcinia cambogia, black cohosh, red yeast rice, and ashwagandha are the most frequently reported hepatoxic botanicals, but their prevalence and reasons for use in the general population are…

The damage caused by substance abuse doesn’t only affect the individual who is battling alcohol or drug dependency. The effects of addiction impact friends and family members close to the individual, as well. The reason addiction can last months or even years is because friends and family members who recognize…

Once a patient no longer requires at-home care, families are left with the task of determining what to do with leftover medical supplies. These items often require specific disposal practices. Without instructions on how to carry that out, families may throw them in the trash or follow unsafe disposal practices.

As a front-line treatment for type 2 diabetes, metformin is among the most widely prescribed drugs in the United States. In 2021 alone, clinicians wrote more than 91 million orders for the medication — up from 40 million 2004.

New data from the Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) suggest that a daily multivitamin may help protect the aging brain. However, at least one expert has concerns about the study’s methodology and, as a result, the interpretation of its findings.

Life’s Essential 8 are the key measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health, as defined by the American Heart Association. Better cardiovascular health helps lower the risk for heart disease, stroke and other major health problems.

Almost 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) attributable to physical inactivity, between 2020 and 2030, costing US$ 27 billion annually, if governments don’t take urgent action to encourage more physical activity among their populations. The Global status report on physical activity 2022,…