Alex Smith
Alex Smith began working in radio as an intern at the National Association of Farm Broadcasters. A few years and a couple of radio jobs later, he became the assistant producer of KCUR's magazine show, KC Currents. In January 2014 he became KCUR's health reporter.
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In Kansas City, hospitals are treating local COVID-19 patients as well as patients transferred from rural counties in Missouri and Kansas, where there's no mandate or culture for wearing masks. -
With coronavirus infections at record rates in rural areas, the sickest patients are being sent to big cities for care, and those urban hospitals are getting alarmingly full.
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Health communication experts say that misinformation spread through support groups can undermine trust in medicine and science. But some patients work to counter falsehoods with facts.
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Rural Missouri counties are becoming coronavirus hot spots, with some slow to embrace safety protocols. Testing problems and funding delays only worsen the situation.
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Missouri is the second state to expand the health care program via ballot measure during the pandemic. Nearly a quarter-million people could get health insurance thanks to the measure.
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Missourians will vote Tuesday on whether to expand Medicaid to uninsured adults. The pandemic has raised the stakes for residents who have lost jobs and insurance coverage.
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Health and hospital officials in two states report that a Trump administration change to how pandemic data is collected has left them unable to access vital information.
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Experts say a bit of extra drinking isn't a problem for many people, but they recommend watching out for specific behaviors that signal addiction.
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New treatment guidelines don't assuage concerns that some children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are being prescribed medication too soon, before behavioral interventions are tried.
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Naltrexone, commonly used for opioid and alcohol use disorders, may also help patients with chronic pain — when prescribed in microdoses. But few doctors or patients seem to know about it.
