Latest News On Emergency Medicine

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Incidental Cases and Staff Shortages Make Covid’s Next Act Tough for Hospitals

KFF Health News Original

As omicron sweeps the country, many hospitals are dealing with a flood of people hospitalized with covid — including those primarily admitted for other reasons. While often milder cases, so-called incidental covid infections still drain the beleaguered health care workforce and can put them and other patients at higher risk for contracting covid.

Rural Communities Left Hurting Without a Hospital, Ambulance or Doctors Nearby

KFF Health News Original

Rural areas such as Echols County, Georgia, have high levels of uninsured people and profound physician shortages that compound the lack of health care options, especially in the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid.

As Hospitals Fill Up, Paramedics Spend More Time Moving Patients, Less on Emergencies

KFF Health News Original

Gunnison paramedics cover the largest response zone in Colorado. Because of covid and the lack of nearby hospital beds, patients increasingly are transported long distances, leaving few ambulances to respond to emergencies.

A Rural Georgia Community Reels After Its Hospital Closes

KFF Health News Original

A record number of hospitals closed in rural America last year. For the residents of Cuthbert, Georgia, the loss has meant many problems, including delayed care for emergencies that can turn deadly.

ERs Are Swamped With Seriously Ill Patients, Although Many Don’t Have Covid

KFF Health News Original

Certain patients who couldn’t get in to see a doctor earlier in the pandemic, or were avoiding the covid risks inside hospitals, have become too sick to stay away. Many ERs now struggle to cope with an onslaught of demand.

Q&A: How Will California’s New 988 Mental Health Line Actually Work?

KFF Health News Original

California Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who authored legislation to create and fund the state’s new 988 phone line for mental health emergencies, spoke with KHN about the effort and what more will be needed to create a full-fledged response network for people experiencing mental health crises.

ICUs Are Filled With Covid — And Regret

KFF Health News Original

Unvaccinated people are filling intensive care beds and dying of covid in record numbers in Tennessee and other Southern states. Many tell their nurses and doctors they regret the decision not to get the vaccine when they could.

Telehealth’s Limits: Battle Over State Lines and Licensing Threatens Patients’ Options

KFF Health News Original

Televisits took off during the worst days of the pandemic, but states are now rolling back the temporary rules that facilitated them. That’s adding fuel to debates about states’ authority over medical licensing.

From Uber Rides to Patient Advocates: What It Takes to Increase ER Addiction Treatment

KFF Health News Original

Despite widespread consensus on the importance of addiction treatment in the ER, many hospitals fail to screen for substance use, offer medications to treat opioid use disorder or connect patients to follow-up care. But some are working to change that.

How a Hospital and a School District Teamed Up to Help Kids in Emotional Crisis

KFF Health News Original

A Long Island, New York, school system has partnered with a hospital to create a mental health safety net for children. The heart of the initiative is a new behavioral health center, which the hospital opened to help children avoid unnecessary hospitalization.

How ERs Fail Patients With Addiction: One Patient’s Tragic Death

KFF Health News Original

Two intractable failings of the U.S. health care system — addiction treatment and medical costs — come to a head in the ER, where patients desperate for addiction treatment arrive, only to find the facility may not be equipped to deal with substance use or, if they are, treatment is prohibitively expensive.