Latest KFF Health News Stories
‘More At Peace’: Interpreters Key To Easing Patients’ Final Days
But more training is needed for such translators to do their jobs well, without miscommunications and misunderstandings.
Licensing Logjam For California Nurses
A big backlog of applications at the state’s licensing board is holding up hiring by hospitals and making it difficult for recent nurse graduates — and experienced nurses from out of state — to work.
Medical Providers Try Uber, Lyft For Patients With Few Transportation Options
Some hospitals and other medical providers are experimenting with ride-hailing services to help patients without access to cars get to their appointments.
Elderly Patients In The Hospital Need To Keep Moving
Spending too much time in their hospital beds can leave older patients sicker than when they were first admitted.
Elderly Hospital Patients Arrive Sick, Often Leave Disabled
Some hospitals try to avoid sharp declines in the health of elderly patients by treating them in special units geared to their specific needs. This story is the first in a KHN series on the challenges hospitals face with an aging population.
‘Lost In Translation:’ Hospitals’ Language Service Capacity Doesn’t Always Match Need
A study in Health Affairs finds that nationwide hospital-based language services are not available in a systematic way.
California Doctors And Hospitals Tussle Over Role Of Nurse-Midwives
Legislation that would allow nurse-midwives to practice independently is mired in a dispute about whether hospitals should be allowed to hire them.
The Costs Of The Pulse Nightclub Shooting
Mario Perez was grazed by a bullet at the Pulse Nightclub. His bill from Orlando Regional Medical Center’s emergency department was $20,000.
Medicare’s Readmission Penalties Hit New High
Medicare will withhold an estimated $528 million in 2017 from more than 2,500 hospitals that have too many patients returning within 30 days.
Web Tool Reduced Medical Missteps During Hospital-Shift Changes: Study
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston concluded that a web-based tool focused on these critical points of the day helped cut the rate of medical errors in half.
Many Well-Known Hospitals Fail To Score 5 Stars In Medicare’s New Ratings
Of the 102 hospitals that received a five-star rating, few are among the elite generally praised for great care.
Surgeon Says Apps May Turn Organ Donation Support Into ‘Concrete Action’
Dr. Thomas Fishbein of the Medstar Georgetown Transplant Institute is optimistic that efforts by hospitals like his, advocacy groups and app makers, such as Tinder, will increase the number of organ donors.
Medicare Prepares To Go Forward With New Hospital Quality Ratings
The government will soon give hospitals one to five stars to sum up their quality. Some safety hospitals and teaching hospitals won’t fare as well as other facilities.
California is the first state to begin building an up-to-date database to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
‘Don’t Cut Me!’: Discouraged By Experts, Episiotomies Still Common In Some Hospitals
Overall rates are falling in California and nationally but data point to certain hospitals with extremely high percentages.
Sometimes Tiny Is Just The Right Size: ‘Microhospitals’ Filling Some ER Needs
These facilities are full-service hospitals and offer a full array of emergency services but may have only a handful of beds for admitted patients.
Hospital Finance Measure On California Ballot May Stump Voters
Proposition 52 would permanently enshrine a significant source of funding for hospitals and limit lawmakers’ ability to change it.
Viejos moteles cobran nueva vida ayudando a las personas sin hogar a sanar
El uso de moteles deteriorados para cuidar y albergar temporalmente a personas sin hogar recientemente dadas de alta del hospital ayuda a estabilizarlos de manera económica, previniendo retornos innecesarios y costosos a las salas de emergencia y a los hospitales.
Doctors Get Creative To Distract Tech-Savvy Kids Before Surgery
Anxiety before surgery can be dangerous for kids. Medication can help calm them down. But an anesthesiologist in California has come up with a safer, cheaper and much more entertaining alternative.
Study Finds Doctors Quick To Change Practice For Breast Cancer Patients
Despite the usual view that physicians are slow to alter their routines based on new scientific evidence, researchers found that breast cancer surgeons quickly adopted advice to not remove lymph nodes after a landmark clinical trial in 2011.
