HHS Sponsors Contest To Develop Emergency Public Health Facebook Apps
UPDATED at 3:52 p.m. — After the Virginia earthquake. The first thing East Coasters did when the ground began to shake this afternoon was not duck under their desks, but to turn to their smart phones. The 5.8 magnitude earthquake that was felt from Durham to Toronto was immediately documented through social media like Facebook […]
Majority Of Docs Face Malpractice Claims
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Shefali S. Kulkarni compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs for Kaiser Health News’ Daily Report. This week in Research Roundup: New England Journal of Medicine explorers the frequency of malpractice claims and cumulative risk of malpractice claims across specialties. The Government Accountability Office examines the Health […]
‘Ankle Phone Call’ Could Save Time And Money In The ER
Got a bum leg? Well if you do, maybe you should call ahead to the emergency room instead of immediately driving over. A new study by doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston suggests that hospitals could save time and money if patients with ankle sprains and other lower extremity injuries talk to a health […]
Hospitalists & Health Costs; Treating Substance Abuse
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Shefali S. Kulkarni compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs for Kaiser Health News’ Daily Report. This week in Research Roundup: The Annals of Internal Medicine weighs the costs and benefits of hospitalist care. The Journal of Cancer Survivorship looks at the out-of-pocket costs of cancer medications […]
The Good, The Bad, And The Costly News On HIV
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that while the overall number of people who are infected with HIV each year is relatively steady — approximately 50,000 new infections each year — there was a 48 percent increase in the number of young HIV-infected African American men who have sex with […]
Social Media Tools Aid Public Health Officials
Dr. Raina M. Merchant, an emergency physician and assistant professor at the Pearlman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, noticed her patients were becoming far more social media savvy than the health care system they were being treated in. She told Kaiser Health News that after reviewing news stories on the use of […]
At Age 46, Is Medicare Ripe For A Change?
Seven experts explore what it would take to muster the political will to revamp the popular health care program.
Restricting Medigap Coverage; Hospital-Acquired Infections
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Shefali S. Kulkarni compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs for Kaiser Health News’ Daily Report. This week in Research Roundup: Archives of Surgery looks at the clinical and economic burden of hospital-acquired infections. Health Affairs weighs the effects of California’s minimum nurse-to-patient ratio. Health Affairs also […]
Hospital Executives Open To ACOs, Survey Finds
Hospitals and other health care providers have complained that federal regulations for accountable care organizations (ACOs) – a proposed model of care in which doctors and hospitals work together to cut unnecessary treatment of patients and share in the savings – don’t offer enough financial rewards and are too burdensome. But the results from a […]
Supermarkets Can’t Alleviate Food Deserts
Even as officials are pushing for more supermarkets to open in produce-starved neighborhoods, a recent study suggests that they might not make the drive-thru line any shorter at fast food restaurants. The study shows that low-income residents are far more dependent on fast food restaurants than grocery stores and supermarkets — even if healthier food […]
Every week, Kaiser Health News reporter Shefali S. Kulkarni compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs for Kaiser Health News’ Daily Report. This week in Research Roundup: JAMA finds the quality of care at rural “critical access hospitals” to be wanting. Health Affairs compares spending in various state Medicaid programs. The National Bureau of […]
Alan D. Aviles, the longest serving president of the nation’s largest municipal health system, discusses his efforts to stabilize HHC’s finances in the face of dramatic budgetary challenges — including the health law’s reduction in special funding for safety net hospitals and state efforts to reduce Medicaid costs.
To Friend Or Not: The Facebook Challenge For Doctors
Two years ago, Dr. Gabriel Bosslet received two friend requests from patients on his Facebook page. ”I was kind of taken aback by it. I wasn’t sure how to respond to it,” he said. The requests were a first for the doctor who serves as a faculty member in pulmonary and critical care medicine at […]
A Hospital’s Newest Weapon Against Infection: Duct Tape
This story has been corrected to reflect new information from officials at Trinity Medical Center about isolation procedures and to correct a citation. In one year, infection specialists saved a Midwest hospital system $110,000 and 2,700 staff hours — by using duct tape. That effort at Trinity Medical Center, a group of four hospitals in […]
Tracking Down Patients Who Skip Their Drugs
For doctors, pharmacists and other health care experts, it’s a bitter pill to swallow: nearly a quarter of people who get a prescription don’t bother to fill it. That gap leads to a variety of health issues, according to Marsha Raebel, a researcher for Kaiser Permanente’s Institute for Health Research in Denver. (KHN is not […]
States Cutting Back On Drug Programs For HIV Patients
Budget shortfalls are forcing many states to tighten their AIDS drug assistance programs and bump low-income patients to waiting lists.
Democrats, Advocacy Groups Campaign Against Medicaid Block Grants
In the continuing Democratic assault on the House GOP’s 2012 budget bill, a group of senators today warned of dire consequences on the plan to transform Medicaid into a block grant program.
