Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Come for your drugs, leave with more shopping: Walmart's newgrowth strategy?
Walmart Inc’s efforts to develop closer ties withhealth insurer Humana Inc, which came to light onThursday, point to a brave new world of retail where superstoresbecome healthcare centers offering basic medical care. They arealso aimed at boosting Walmart's slowing growth inbrick-and-mortar store sales as it faces increasing pressureonline from Amazon.com Inc. Deepening its existingpartnership with Humana, or even acquiring the company outright,could be a step toward turning its 4,700 or so U.S. stores intohealthcare centers that aim to attract more shoppers over 65.
Doctors often skip discussing dangers of driving afterconcussion
Most doctors who treat young athletes for concussion knowthat the injury increases the risk of having a car accident, butbarely half counsel their patients against driving, a U.S. studysuggests. Researchers invited members of the American MedicalSociety for Sports Medicine to complete a 24-question onlinesurvey about their attitudes toward driving after a concussionand what they tell their patients. The study team examinedanswers from 333 doctors who had managed at least 12 concussionsper year.
Starbucks coffee in California must have cancer warning,judge says
Starbucks Corp and other coffee sellers must put acancer warning on coffee sold in California, a Los Angeles judgehas ruled, possibly exposing the companies to millions ofdollars in fines. A little-known not-for-profit group sued some90 coffee retailers, including Starbucks, on grounds they wereviolating a California law requiring companies to warn consumersof chemicals in their products that could cause cancer.
People with sinus infections stay on antibiotics too long
Most people prescribed antibiotics for sinus infections areon treatment courses of 10 days or longer even though infectiousdisease doctors recommend five to seven days for uncomplicatedcases, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined data from asample representing an estimated 3.7 million adults treated forsinusitis and prescribed antibiotics in 2016. Overall, 70percent of antibiotics prescribed were for 10 days or longer,the study found.
HPV vaccine coverage on the rise, but still far from 2020goal
The proportion of boys and young men in the U.S. receivingthe human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has more than tripledsince 2011, new research shows. Among 9- to 26-year-old males,27 percent had received at least one dose of the vaccine in2016, compared to 8 percent in 2011. Vaccination rates rose from38 percent to 46 percent in girls and women over the same timeperiod, according to the results published in the Journal ofInfectious Diseases.