Under Pressure, Hospitals Push Physicians To Improve Their Bedside Manners
Motivated by financial incentives and consumer demands, medical centers are creating programs to infuse more compassion and understanding into the doctor-patient relationship.
The Gender Gap Persists In Academic Medicine, Studies Find
Research in JAMA concludes that even after accounting for factors such as experience, age and research, women do not get promoted as often to full professor jobs in academic medical centers.
Why Your Doctor Won’t Friend You On Facebook
Facebook is a part of everyday life – both professionally and personally – and doctors and patients are wondering how it best works between them.
For Hospitals, Sleep And Patient Satisfaction May Go Hand In Hand
As hospitals try to improve their consumer ratings, many are revisiting nighttime policies to help patients maximize their chances to get some rest.
Do Cell Phones Belong In The Operating Room?
A number of doctors and professional organizations are calling for clear rules on whether and how health care professionals can use cell phones while in the operating room.
Talking The Talk: Swift Responses To The Supreme Court’s King V. Burwell Decision
Lawmakers and policy experts offered a range of views on the high court’s long-awaited decision.
What Patients Gain By Reading Their Doctor’s Notes
Doctors are increasingly making their records available to patients. Advocates say the concept makes the doctor-patient relationship less paternalistic and can lead to better patient outcomes and satisfaction. But there could be downsides, too.
Hospitals Increasingly Turn To Patients For Advice
Federal efforts are driving hospitals to see patients as customers.
In Pursuit Of Patient Satisfaction, Hospitals Update The Hated Hospital Gown
Redesigning and replacing hospital gowns is one example of efforts by hospitals and health systems to enhance the patient experience.
Internists Get A Break From Controversial Efforts To Bolster Performance
The American Board of Internal Medicine, responding to complaints from doctors, steps back from plans for new standards for physicians’ board recertification, but consumer advocates stress that the board needs to keep focused on patients’ health.
Study: Physicians Report Few Requests By Patients For ‘Unnecessary’ Treatments
These findings call into question the conventional wisdom that suggests doctors often give unnecessary or inappropriate treatments because patients demand them.
Some Pediatricians Don’t Have Adequate Training With IUDs
Although IUDs — a form of long-acting birth-control — are growing in popularity and recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, some pediatricians face challenges in offering it to teenage patients who are sexually active.
Medical Debt Still a Problem Under Health Law — Despite Protections
The health law was supposed to keep people from going broke, but despite limits on how much people will have to pay in the face of a medical catastrophe, many are still struggling to pay their health care bills.
HHS, Research Community Debate Informed Consent Policy
Supporters say the proposed changes would lead to clear and thorough explanations of the dangers studies involve, but some advocacy groups warn they could have a chilling effect on innovation.
Big Data Offer New Strategy For Public Health Campaigns
In Chicago, data analytics methods once used in political campaigns helped identify women needing mammograms.
Study: American Seniors Face Health Care Gaps, Despite Medicare
The Commonwealth Fund finds cost barriers and limits on care for Medicare beneficiaries consistently places the U.S. low on the list of an 11-nation ranking of how older people fare in industrialized nations.
ALS Patients Win Fight Over Medicare Reimbursement For Speech Devices
Medicare announced Thursday it would continue covering devices that patients themselves can upgrade.
Medicare Changes Could Limit Patient Access To ALS Communication Tools
Patient advocates say that, because of an official coverage reminder “the door is closing” for ALS patients who depend on Medicare to get speech-generation devices.
Even With Insurance, Language Barriers Could Undermine Asian Americans’ Access To Care
If people who face English language challenges don’t understand their coverage, maneuvering the health care system could prove unwieldy.
As Payments Database Debuts, Doctors Urge Caution
Consumers can look up their doctors and see if they were paid in any way by the health industry.
