Latest News On Emergency Medicine

Latest KFF Health News Stories

After Her Skiing Accident, An Uphill Battle Over Snowballing Bills

KFF Health News Original

She took a bad fall on the slopes and her surgeon used a metal plate to put the splintered bones of her leg back together. When that device failed less than four months later, she and her insurer had to pay full price for the replacement plate.

Health Suffers Deep In The Troubled Heart Of Texas

KFF Health News Original

The Lone Star State is an economic powerhouse, yet it fails to take care of its residents’ health and is home to some of the most extreme entrepreneurial medical practices.

Check Your Medical Records For Dangerous Errors

KFF Health News Original

Medical records often contain incorrect information that can lead to inappropriate medical treatment. Patients need to review them on a regular basis and correct any errors that creep in.

Measure To Cap Dialysis Profits Pummeled After Record Spending By Industry

KFF Health News Original

The dialysis industry raised nearly $111 million in a successful bid to defeat the measure, which also was opposed by hospitals and doctors. The union that sponsored the measure collected about one-sixth that amount.

VA Adding Opioid Antidote To Defibrillator Cabinets For Quicker Overdose Response

KFF Health News Original

A project that started in a Boston Veterans Affairs facility will soon go nationwide. It puts naloxone, also known as Narcan, into emergency supplies cabinets throughout the VA system.

Taken For A Ride: After ATV Crash, Doctor Gets $56,603 Bill For Air Ambulance Trip

KFF Health News Original

After an accident in an all-terrain vehicle crushed a doctor’s left arm, he was whisked by air ambulance to the closest trauma center for specialized care. Soon he was fighting over the $56,603 bill.

Voters To Settle Dispute Over Ambulance Employee Break Times

KFF Health News Original

Unlike most other workers, private-ambulance employees are frequently called away from their meals and rest breaks to respond to emergency calls, but there’s no law explicitly allowing that practice. Proposition 11 would change that, but some say its real purpose is to get California’s largest ambulance company out of costly litigation.

Medicare Reconsiders Paying For Seniors’ Spine Operations At Surgery Centers

KFF Health News Original

After a USA Today Network-Kaiser Health News investigation, Medicare announced last week that it is re-evaluating whether these procedures “pose a significant safety risk” to patients.

How To Save A Choking Senator: Heimlich Heirs, Red Cross Disagree On Technique

KFF Health News Original

The Red Cross and some other organizations suggest that first aid for choking begin with five slaps on the back. The family of Dr. Henry Heimlich, who developed the abdominal thrusts to dislodge objects that prevent breathing, is launching a campaign to demand proof of why back slaps should come first.

Hospitales están listos para un nuevo diagnóstico: tráfico humano

KFF Health News Original

En Nueva York y California, centros de salud comienzan a entrenar a su personal para detectar señales de que el paciente puede ser víctima de esta particular forma de abuso.