Latest KFF Health News Stories
Many Still Sidestep End-Of-Life Care Planning, Study Finds
Only about a third of U.S. adults have advance directives in place to guide the care they receive in the event that they are unable to make their own decisions about life-sustaining medical treatments.
Jump-Starting Hard Conversations As The End Nears
An end-of life-planning website can encourage patients to tackle that difficult topic before they become too ill to communicate, according to a new study. But they may be more likely to make concrete plans with help from a doctor or social worker.
Mensajes desde el más allá: usan tecnología para preservar la memoria
Al igual que los primeros humanos utilizaron herramientas primitivas para tallar retratos de sus vidas en las paredes de las cuevas, la tecnología actual puede ayudar a preservar la memoria.
Messages From Beyond: Using Technology To Seal Your Legacy
From slick videos to digital “time capsules,” folks have new ways to “stay alive” long after they die.
Take Our Quiz To Test Your Wits On Aging
As we get older, it helps to tickle the noggin with trivia. Here’s a pop quiz to see what you have learned as a regular reader of Kaiser Health News.
California’s Aid-In-Dying Law Turns 1, But Not All Doctors Have Adopted It
At least 500 terminally ill Californians have asked for the medicine that allows them to end their lives, and nearly 500 health organizations have signed on to help.
Quiz: Help Us Take The Pulse Of Our Readers
Even the most exalted among us realize health care policy is complicated. Here’s a pop quiz to see what you have learned as a regular reader of Kaiser Health News.
Coming Full Circle, Doulas Cradle The Dying
Traditionally there for mothers giving birth, a doula’s role has evolved to comforting seniors facing death.
Fenómeno en aumento: los abuelos que cuidan a sus padres
Los Jones son bisabuelos. Sin embargo, están entre un creciente grupo de personas mayores con un padre vivo, lo que significa que, en el siglo XXI, los años de jubilación pueden incluir el cuidado de un papá o una mamá ancianos.
Boomerang Seniors: Aging Adults Move To Be Near Mom Or Dad
Some older adults are living in the same senior communities as their parents, which streamlines caretaking in the end-of-life years.
‘Pre-Hospice’ Saves Money By Keeping People At Home Near The End Of Life
A San Diego program helps chronically ill people avoid the hospital by teaching them how to better manage their diseases and telling them what to expect in their final years. Other health providers and insurers around the country are trying similar approaches.
Where You Live May Determine How You Die. Oregon Leads The Way.
A state with integrated systems for end-of-life care offers better treatment for the seriously ill, according to a new study.
A Playbook For Managing Problems In The Last Chapter Of Your Life
Many people age 75 or older can take steps to avoid a crisis in the remaining years of their lives.
‘Right-To-Try’ Laws Expose Dying Patients To Exploitation, Ethicists Warn
More than 30 states have laws on the books to allow dying patients the right to try experimental treatments. But these treatments may not be covered by insurance, and ethicists worry vulnerable people could be exploited near the end of their lives. The laws may also duplicate a process the FDA already has in place.
For Some Hospice Patients, A 911 Call Saves A Trip To The ER
Hospice groups are teaming up with specially trained paramedics to deal with common problems that worried patients or families incorrectly think need hospital care.
Docs In Northwest Tweak Aid-In-Dying Drugs To Prevent Prolonged Deaths
Some terminal patients, typically high-dose opioid users, who choose to end their lives have taken many hours, even days, to die.
Right-To-Die Fight Hits National Stage
A Republican-led effort to overturn D.C.’s aid-in-dying law may catalyze a broader effort to ban the practice nationally.
Docs Bill Medicare For End-Of-Life Advice As ‘Death Panel’ Fears Reemerge
The federal program paid $16 million in the first six months of 2016 to counsel 223,000 patients about treatment preferences in their last days.
¿Cómo superar el miedo a la muerte? Trata con el amor
Cada uno debe encontrar su propia manera de manejar el miedo a la muerte. Una experta, quien superó su propio miedo a través de años de asistir a los moribundos, dice que la muerte raramente es tan terrible como la mayoría de la gente teme.
Death Doesn’t Have To Be So Scary
Taking time to discuss the inevitable can help conquer a universal fear.
