Latest KFF Health News Stories
If You Want To Spend A Bundle On Your Bundle Of Joy, Go To Northern California
A new study shows that Sacramento and San Francisco are the two most expensive places to give birth among the nation’s 30 largest metropolitan areas. One possible reason: consolidation of hospitals and doctors.
Ga., Calif. Hospitals Sue Blue Cross Plan For Sending ER Reimbursements To Patients
The lawsuits allege that the practice costs the hospitals money because the patients often spend the funds.
Old Motels Get New Life Helping Homeless Heal
Using run-down motels to care for and temporarily house homeless people recently discharged from the hospital helps stabilize them inexpensively, preventing unnecessary and costly returns to ERs and hospitals.
A pioneering program in southern California provides ongoing care and housing to homeless people who are “super-utilizers” of hospital emergency rooms. The effort is reducing ER visits and saving a lot of money.
In Alameda County, A Big Data Effort To Prevent Frequent ER Visits
Hospitals share patient records of “super-users” to save money and avoid duplicating medical treatment.
Screen Flashes And Pop-Up Reminders: ‘Alert Fatigue’ Spreads Through Medicine
Electronic health records increasingly include automated alert systems pegged to patients’ health information. In some cases, though, the sheer volume of these messages has become unmanageable.
Medicare Releases Draft Proposal For Patient Observation Notice
Although there is widespread agreement on the need to let people know if they haven’t been admitted, the language proposed by federal officials hasn’t satisfied everyone.
As Hospital Chains Grow, So Do Their Prices For Care
The average patient stay costs $4,000 more at Sutter and Dignity hospitals than at other California medical centers, study shows.
Lights Out: Some Children’s Hospitals Take Steps To Ensure A Good Night’s Sleep
Because of the important role sleep plays in healing, a trend is emerging in which children’s hospitals are reorganizing their workflow to help their young patients sleep through the night.
When Adult Children Get Sick, It May Be Hard For Parents To Get Information
Federal law seeks to protect the privacy of patients’ health information, but sometimes leaving parents out of the loop can complicate the patient’s recovery.
Missouri Hospitals Seek To Focus Readmission Penalties On Patient Poverty
The Missouri Hospital Association objects to the formula for setting the federal penalties because it does not factor in the number of patients who are poor or in bad health. It is seeking to generate consumer interest in the penalties.
Inspectors Find Calif. Hospital’s Pharmacy Posed Infection Risk
Thousands of patients at the San Diego-area hospital may have been exposed to infection last year because of unsanitary conditions in the compounding lab where IVs were mixed, officials found.
Critics Of Medicare’s Overall Hospital Star Rating Push For Changes
Federal officials delayed the release of the ratings after the hospital industry and members of Congress objected to the formula, saying it worked against hospitals that take the patients that are the toughest to treat.
Expectant Moms: You Have Nine Months For Delivery Decisions, You Better Shop Around
A nonprofit patient safety group devised nationally standardized measures to help pregnant women gauge hospitals on quality of maternity care.
Shortages Of Essential Emergency Care Drugs Increase, Study Finds
The problems persist even after Congress in 2012 gave the FDA enhanced powers to respond when drug levels are low.
Medicare Pays Bonuses To 231 Hospitals With Lower Quality Because Of Cheaper Costs
New research highlights the paradox in the federal program to improve hospital quality.
For Hospitals, Prestige Leads To Profits
A new study explores why the most profitable U.S. hospitals are who they are.
Opioid Epidemic Fueling Hospitalizations, Hospital Costs
New research sheds light on the growing costs to the health care system associated with painkiller and heroin abuse.
Hospital Discharge: It’s One Of The Most Dangerous Periods For Patients
Bad coordination and communication can put patients at risk as they’re discharged from a hospital.
Three Hospitals Hope To Spark A Reduction In Surgeries By Inexperienced Doctors
The prestigious facilities are seeking to improve patient safety by getting surgeons and hospitals to pledge to meet minimum thresholds for 10 high-risk procedures.
