Where Do Older Americans Get Best Health Care? Group Issues Report Cards
The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice based its regional ratings on factors like time spent with a doctor, likelihood of hospitalization and number of unnecessary tests or risky medications. Meanwhile, KHN reports on the latest preventive care guidance on eye exams for seniors.
Reuters:
For U.S. Seniors, Health Care Quality Is All Over The Map
Seniors living in Manhattan spend an average of nearly 25 days a year at doctor visits or at a hospital. But in Lebanon, New Hampshire, contact with the healthcare system is far lower - just 10 days on average. New Yorkers probably are not that much sicker than their New England neighbors. Instead, the statistic reflects the wide variation in the way healthcare is delivered to older adults around the United States. (Miller, 3/10)
Earlier KHN coverage: Report Details Senior Health Care That Misses The Mark (Andrews, 3/8)
Kaiser Health News:
Prevention Experts, Eye Doctors Disagree On Vision Tests For Seniors
Some doctors and a key group of preventive care experts are not seeing eye to eye on seniors’ need for vision screening during primary care visits. There’s not enough evidence to know whether giving seniors a vision test when they visit their primary care doctor will lead to earlier detection and treatment of cataracts, age-related macular degeneration or refractive problems that could require corrective glasses and contacts, according to guidelines published by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Andrews, 3/11)
