I received a note from a patient who has seen me for nearly 30 years. They recalled a conversation we’d had many years ago when I first expressed an interest in taking care of senior citizens.

Q. I am devastated to learn that the risk of skin cancer can be increased by taking hydrochlorothiazide. I have been on this blood pressure medication since around 2007.

With the rollout of vaccines picking up, there's a lot of talk about resuming pre-pandemic lives. But although many of us might welcome such a return, we also may have made changes over the past year. 

With vaccination efforts nearly complete in long-term care facilities, families are reuniting this spring.

The University of Washington School of Medicine is the No. 1 graduate school in the country for primary care education, according to U.S. News & World Report’s latest annual ranking.

In addition to visiting the federal mass vaccination site in Yakima, he met with the Yakama Nation Tribal Council and toured their cultural center.

Bike commuting has become more popular over recent years and its converts love to boast about the benefits. It builds exercise into your day, it’s environmentally friendly, it’s a great way to unwind, and it can cut down transportation costs.

COVID-19 case counts in young adults are increasing, worrying health officials about the potential for a fourth wave.

Major depression hit Nera Daugherty of Spokane a year ago. Living independently at age 18, she suddenly felt cut off from everything as the pandemic's impacts mounted.

Health care leaders say one benefit after a year into the pandemic is that more people are talking about mental health with less stigma. Yet more work is needed on another front: access.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday all adults who want the vaccine will be eligible, if they want, just four months after the first vaccinations began in Washington. 

Last year, we realized how many things we could do at home if needed. Bake, cook, teach, work – and work out. Sales of exercise equipment, such as balls and indoor exercise bikes, have surged.

Q. My libido had dropped to zero after menopause. A new doctor prescribed testosterone cream specially formulated by a compounding pharmacy. I was like a teenage boy!

Dear Dr. Paster: I’m worried about COVID-19 vaccine side effects. I’m allergic to eggs. For years, I didn’t get the flu vaccine until my doctor assured me it was safe. 

American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead was once asked by a student what she considered to be the earliest sign of civilization. Mead famously replied, “A healed femur,” due to the implication that it required a person to care for another person while their bone healed over several weeks.

Social isolation and disrupted supply lines of other pharmaceuticals led to an increase in the use of fentanyl, according to anecdotal and statistical accounts in Washington, a deadly synthetic opioid that was already ticking up in use before the pandemic. A recent study by the firm Millennium Health found that positive tests for fentanyl in the urine of people seeking treatment for pain, substance abuse disorders and other health needs rose more sharply in Washington than any other state in 2020, and the Spokane Regional Health District's Opioid Treatment Program saw local positive tests for the drug double in 2020. 

Health care professionals believe 1 in 10 women have endometriosis, a painful disorder that can go on for years before being diagnosed. Spokane City Councilwoman Kate Burke, 32, lived with symptoms for years.

SAN DIEGO — The coughing among the western lowland gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in January was the first warning sign. Soon, the fears were confirmed.