Richard Knox
Since he joined NPR in 2000, Knox has covered a broad range of issues and events in public health, medicine, and science. His reports can be heard on NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Talk of the Nation, and newscasts.
Among other things, Knox's NPR reports have examined the impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa, North America, and the Caribbean; anthrax terrorism; smallpox and other bioterrorism preparedness issues; the rising cost of medical care; early detection of lung cancer; community caregiving; music and the brain; and the SARS epidemic.
Before joining NPR, Knox covered medicine and health for The Boston Globe. His award-winning 1995 articles on medical errors are considered landmarks in the national movement to prevent medical mistakes. Knox is a graduate of the University of Illinois and Columbia University. He has held yearlong fellowships at Stanford and Harvard Universities, and is the author of a 1993 book on Germany's health care system.
He and his wife Jean, an editor, live in Boston. They have two daughters.
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Our call-out on Facebook for people to share their experiences of the health care system yielded wrenching tales of bankruptcies, medical errors, and delayed or foregone treatment. -
When Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts, he made universal health care law. But the 2006 law didn't do anything about controlling costs, which were already among the nation's highest. So now the conversation has turned to cost control, and some very interesting things are beginning to happen.
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Many activists praised President Obama's plans to expand U.S. efforts to fight AIDS at home and abroad. The announcement comes at a time when experts and activists believe that the goal of an "AIDS-free generation" may be achievable. -
Drug shortages may be the new normal in U.S. medical care, experts say. Most drug shortages occur because something goes wrong in the manufacturing process that halts production. -
Drug shortages may be the new normal in U.S. medical care, experts say. Most drug shortages occur because something goes wrong in the manufacturing process that halts production.
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Tens of millions of people suffer from a nasty disorder called irritable bowel syndrome. It can last for months or even years. New research suggests many patients can be helped by taking an antibiotic for just two weeks.
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It's no surprise that placebos -- fake pills that contain no active ingredient -- often work to relieve symptoms. Doctors think placebos work because patients think they might be getting an active drug but there's an element of deception. But now Harvard researchers show that even when volunteers with severe bowel disease know they're getting a placebo, 59 percent had relief from symptoms. Call it an "honest placebo."
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The spine's complexity is the source of its strength — and weakness.
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Use of CT scans in the U.S. has more than tripled in less than two decades. Despite the medical benefits, these scans emit a significant amount of radiation. A new study estimates that 29,000 future cancers could be related to CT scans performed in the U.S. in 2007.
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As health care becomes more and more complicated, some people are turning to patient advocates to help them get through the system. Advocates help coordinate care, accompany patients to doctors' appointments and help negotiate the increasingly complex world of medicine.
