ChatGPT, the AI chatbot everyone is talking about, can often give reliable answers to questions about breast cancer, a new study finds. But it's not yet ready to replace your physician.

The big caveat, researchers said, is that the information is not always trustworthy, or offers only a small part of the story. So at least for now, they said, take your medical questions to your human doct...

Telehealth appointments — meetings with a doctor through a phone or video call — are valuable tools in the fight against opioid use disorder in the United States, researchers say.

The use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with medications for addiction, reduced the risk for fatal overdose among Medicare recipients, a new study finds.

The study findings support co...

Children's screen use could be altering their developing brains as they enter adolescence and increasing their risk for mood disorders, a major new study finds.

Children ages 9 and 10 who spend more time on smartphones, tablets, video games and TV exhibited higher levels of depression and anxiety by the time they were 11 and 12, researchers found.

Further, the investigators linked s...

Curated images of perfect bodies -- often highly filtered and unrealistic -- are common on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

And a broad new review of 50 recent studies across 17 countries finds that relentless online exposure to largely unat...

Don't put lip balm on your eyelid, even if you saw it on TikTok.

It's bad for your eyes, according to a Michigan Medicine expert.

The trend first began back in the 2010s, but has seen a resurgence in 2023.

Called “beezin',” because the trend is to use Burt's Bees lip balm in particular, some believe it gets them high, heightens the sensation of being drunk or high, or in...

If you're struggling to find ways to get a good night's sleep, you may not want to use YouTube videos as a resource.

Researchers found what they described as an alarming amount of medical misinformation in YouTube videos about sleep disorders.

"What's tricky is that so much of health information is very nuanced, and a lot of popular YouTube videos have clickbait and appeal to shorte...

Federal officials plan to tighten access to drugs that have the potential for abuse by reinstating federal prescribing requirements that were loosened during the pandemic.

The Biden administration will require that patients see a doctor in person, rather than through a telehealth appointment, to get a first prescription for opioid painkillers and the attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD...

All those images of beautiful-looking people on social media can deflate a young person's self-image, but there may be an easy fix: limiting time spent on TikTok, Instagram and the like.

A new Canadian study finds that teens and young adults who already had symptoms of anxiety or depression and who cut their social media usage by about 50% experienced a significant improvement in how they...

Email has become an easy and essential form of communication between patients and physicians -- so much so that doctors are deluged daily with messages from patients.

Now, some hospitals and health systems have started charging for doctors' responses to those messages, depending on the amount of work needed to respond. Only a handful of health systems have started billing for these, and t...

While you can't trust everything you read or see on social media, some information is reliable.

Researchers from Duke University studied popular videos on the social media site TikTok. The videos offered information on ways to obtain a medication abortion.

These were typically informative and useful, the study authors said.

“When we started the study, we expected to find mor...

Despite distance and occasional technical glitches, a new study finds that most patients like seeing a surgeon for the first time via video.

The study was published Jan. 19 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

"We see patients ...

Ransomware attacks on America's health care systems have more than doubled in recent years, disrupting needed medical care and exposing the personal information of millions, a new study reports.

These attacks — in which computer systems are locked down by hackers until the victim agrees to pay a ransom — hit all levels of health care, from your doctor's or dentist's office up to ...

A Pennsylvania man who persuaded desperate pet owners that he could help cure their dogs' cancer was convicted by a federal jury of wire fraud and interstate shipment of misbranded animal drugs.

Jonathan Nyce, 73, of Collegeville, Pa., was charged in February 2020 in a years-long scheme to defraud pet owners by falsely claiming to sell canine cancer-curing drugs, according to U.S. Attorne...

Researchers studying dry eye disease in mice have found that the condition can alter how the cornea heals itself. They have also identified potential treatments.

“We have drugs, but they only work well in about 10% to 15% of patients,” said senior researcher Dr. Rajendra Apt...

A comprehensive eye exam could be the key to determining if you have glaucoma, a silent thief of sight.

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that affect the optic nerve, and the leading cause of preventable blindness, according to The Glaucoma Foundation.

But most people are unaware of their risk...

COVID vaccine boosters appear to be perfectly safe for your heart, data gathered from nearly 5,000 smartwatch wearers shows.

Researchers tracked the heart health of thousands of Israeli smartwatch users, including more than 2,000 who received a booster dose of Pfizer's COVID vaccine.

The result: no lasting effect on a person's heart after they got the vaccine, compared to others who...

Social media's impact on young people is a hot topic, with most kids and teens wanting to do whatever their friends are doing and parents worrying about setting limits.

A new study examines whether frequent checking of social media sites (Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat) is associated with changes in functional brain development in these early adolescents, about age 12.

Using brain...

Swedish researchers studying anger say it appears there is a pent-up need for anger management and that an internet-based treatment can work.

Scientists from the Centre for Psychiatry Research at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, had to close its recruitment site after a few weeks because there was so much demand for help with anger issues.

"It is usually very difficul...

Preteens who spend much of their free time watching online videos or playing video games may have a heightened risk of developing obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among 9,200 9- and 10-year-olds they assessed, the odds of developing OCD inched up ...

It's an all-too-familiar scenario for many parents: Your preschooler starts to act up just as the phone rings or you start dinner.

Maybe you hand over an iPad or smartphone to soothe the child so you can get down to business.

And this probably does the trick. But if this is your go-to strategy, your child may be at risk for developing longer-term behavioral issues — especially boy...

With more American men turning to testosterone therapy as a way to boost energy levels, build muscle and tackle erectile dysfunction, it's no wonder that web-based merchants have stepped into the breach, seeking to grab market share away from doctors and pharmacies.

But are online testosterone purchases safe? No, a new investigation warns.

The conclusion follows an anonymous te...

A high number of preteens and teens in the United States have viewed pornography and many have also sent or received nude or seminude photos -- sexting -- over their smartphones, a new study reveals.

“The prevalence rates we found in this study suggest that school counselors must be prepared to talk about sexting and pornography use with students, and to change the narrative about the...

It might be tempting to buy prescription medication online, but buyers should beware, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.

While some pharmacy websites operate legally and can offer convenience, privacy and lower costs, others may be selling unapproved, counterfeit and unsafe medications, the