Health Care and Medicine

Medical marijuana sales in Iowa have leveled off as Iowans flock to cheaper, largely unregulated consumable hemp products, regulators said Friday.

The University of Iowa is looking to lease 65,760 square feet of warehouse, office, and support space on ACT Inc.’s former Iowa City campus for use by UI Health Care’s pharmacy services group.

The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law, a ruling critics said could have sweeping implications for fertility treatments.

Iowa continues to have the second highest cancer rate in the nation — and the fastest growing rate of new cancers, with another 21,000 estimated this year — according to the Iowa Cancer Registry’s 2024 “Cancer in Iowa” report.

The restrictive abortion law is currently on hold as the court considers Gov. Kim Reynolds ' appeal of the lower court’s decision that paused the crux of it.

Iowa House Republicans and Iowa Senate Democrats introduced their respective legislative proposals Tuesday to ensure safety, support and accountability in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

The bill, which advanced out of a Senate subcommittee on Monday, would apply to people on state-regulated health insurance plans, including people with private health insurance and state-provided Medicaid. Uninsured Iowans would not be covered by the bill.

Previous attempts to pass the bill have met with resistance in the Iowa House, which held this year’s first hearing on Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposal.

The State Hygienic Lab now can test wastewater for influenza, which gives public health officials advance warning of a spike in their community before positive flu tests show up at doctors’ offices.

THC drinks have been popping up at more and more restaurants and stores. Here’s how they became legal and how they’re different from recreational products sold across Iowa’s borders.

Organ and tissue donations have been increasing across Iowa and nationwide. In 2023, 123 people in Iowa donated 350 organs, and 1,027 people donated tissue, according to a news release from the Iowa Donor Network. Each tissue donation benefits between 50 and 300 people.

In her Condition of the State address in January, Reynolds said there is “little coordination” between the differing districts now, causing problems for Iowans seeking treatment for both. “Over 25 percent of adults with serious mental health challenges also suffer from substance use,” she told lawmakers.