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Though the issue gets scant attention in this center of world-class medicine, segregation patterns are deeply imbedded in Boston health care. Simply put: If you are black in Boston, you are less likely to get care at several of the city’s elite hospitals than if you are white. (Kowalczyk, Wallack Dungca et. al., 12/12)

The life expectancy of Native Americans in some states is 20 years shorter than the national average. There are many reasons why. Among them, health programs for American Indians are chronically underfunded by Congress. And, about a quarter of Native Americans reported experiencing discrimination when going to a doctor or health clinic, according to findings of a poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (Whitney, 12/12)

After a Danish study last week reported finding more breast cancer cases among women who use hormone-based birth control methods, many women were left wondering: How significant is the risk, and what are the alternatives? The answer will be different for each woman and will depend on such factors as her age and general healthand her other risks for breast cancer. But many doctors who prescribe contraceptives say there’s no cause for alarm — and no one should throw away her pills and risk an unwanted pregnancy. (Rabin, 12/11)

Within a few hours of Baylor University Medical Center announcing two weeks ago that it had successfully delivered the first baby in the U.S. to a mother who had undergone a uterine transplant, inquiries began pouring in to the facility. In just one week, Baylor logged nearly 400 calls and emails from potential donors and recipients. (Rice, 12/11)

For all that Americans spend on prescription drugs — $425 billion last year — you’d think we’d actually take our medicine. But one of the frustrating truths about American health care is that half or more of prescribed medication is never taken. It’s called medication nonadherence, and it’s a well-documented and longstanding problem, particularly for patients with chronic conditions. The drugs they’re prescribed are intended to prevent costly complications, reduce hospitalization, even keep them alive. But even when the stakes are high, many patients don’t take their meds. (Frakt, 12/11)

Sanofi Genzyme on Monday told doctors and pharmacists to return more than 12,000 syringes filled with an injectable arthritis gel because it was contaminated, as the Cambridge-based biotech elevated its “product hold” of last week to a recall. (Saltzman, 12/12)

In an unexpected development, sales of antibiotics used in food-producing livestock fell in the U.S. in 2016 although drawing any firm conclusions from the data is likely premature, since a new program designed to limit usage did not go into effect until this year. Last year, sales dropped 14 percent from 2015, the first time since data collection began in 2009 that there has been a year-over-year decrease in the sale of medically important antibiotics used in food-producing animals, according to a report from the Food and Drug Administration. “Medically important” refers to antibiotics that are also used to treat people. (Silverman, 12/11)

Kaiser Health News: An Overlooked Epidemic: Older Americans Taking Too Many Unneeded Drugs

Consider it America’s other prescription drug epidemic. For decades, experts have warned that older Americans are taking too many unnecessary drugs, often prescribed by multiple doctors, for dubious or unknown reasons. Researchers estimate that 25 percent of people ages 65 to 69 take at least five prescription drugs to treat chronic conditions, a figure that jumps to nearly 46 percent for those between 70 and 79. Doctors say it is not uncommon to encounter patients taking more than 20 drugs to treat acid reflux, heart disease, depression or insomnia or other disorders. (Boodman, 12/12)