For Nursing Home Patients, Breast Cancer Surgery May Do More Harm Than Good
A new study of 6,000 older patients shows little gain from surgeries for breast cancer.
KFF Health News’ coverage related to aging and improving care of older adults is supported in part by The John A. Hartford Foundation.
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Earwax, Of All Things, Poses Unrecognized Risk In Long-Term Care
Up to two-thirds of residents in nursing homes may have impacted earwax, which can worsen hearing loss, falls and cognitive decline.
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A Late-Life Surprise: Taking Care Of Frail, Aging Parents
More and more older adults, age 60 and older, care for their elderly parents and face physical, emotional and financial stress.
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The Man Who Sold America On Vitamin D — And Profited In The Process
The doctor most responsible for turning the sunshine supplement into a billion-dollar juggernaut has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the vitamin D industry, according to government records and interviews.
By Liz Szabo -
Hospitals Battle For Control Over Fast-Growing Heart-Valve Procedure
Medicare limits payments for valve replacement via a catheter to hospitals with large numbers of heart procedures. But smaller facilities are crying foul.
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Purdue Pharma’s Sales Pitch Downplayed Risks Of Opioid Addiction
Through a widely circulated brochure and a videotape of testimonials, the maker of OxyContin stressed patients’ right to opioid treatment for pain.
By Fred Schulte -
‘No One Is Ever Really Ready’: Aid-In-Dying Patient Chooses His Last Day
With its expansion to Hawaii this year, medical aid-in-dying is now approved in eight U.S. jurisdictions. Even when legal, the controversial practice of choosing to die after a terminal diagnosis is difficult, said one Seattle man who shared his final deliberations.
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Simple Surgeries. Tragic Results.
Lax Oversight Leaves Surgery Center Regulators And Patients In The Dark
A Kaiser Health News and USA Today Network investigation finds that a hodgepodge of state rules governing outpatient centers allow some deaths and serious injuries to go unexamined. And no rule stops a doctor exiled by a hospital for misconduct from opening a surgery center down the street.
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Learning To Live Well With Dementia
Two leading experts on caring for people with Alzheimer’s offer ways to make life better for patients and their caregivers.
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How Rival Opioid Makers Sought To Cash In On Alarm Over OxyContin’s Dangers
Fentanyl and other painkillers marketed as safer than Purdue Pharma’s blockbuster drug left their own trail of overdose deaths.
By Fred Schulte -
Missed Visits, Uncontrolled Pain And Fraud: Report Says Hospice Lacks Oversight
A new government watchdog report outlines vulnerabilities in Medicare's $17 billion hospice program, pointing to inadequate services, inappropriate billing and outright fraud.
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Simple Surgeries, Tragic Results
Medicare Reconsiders Paying For Seniors’ Spine Operations At Surgery Centers
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.
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Mining A New Data Set To Pinpoint Critical Staffing Issues In Skilled Nursing Facilities
Low staffing is a root cause of many injuries in nursing homes. Kaiser Health News senior correspondent Jordan Rau explains how he connected the dots between manpower and risk at facilities nationwide, using a federal tool known as the Payroll-Based Journal.
By Jordan Rau -
Readers And Tweeters: On Seniors Packing Heat And When They Should Pack It In
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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1,400 Nursing Homes Get Lower Medicare Ratings Because Of Staffing Concerns
Medicare said those homes either lacked a registered nurse for “a high number of days” over three months, provided data the government couldn’t verify or didn’t supply their payroll data at all.
By Jordan Rau and Elizabeth Lucas -
How Soon Is Soon Enough To Learn You Have Alzheimer’s?
Only about half of people with Alzheimer's symptoms get a diagnosis, partly out of fear of an incurable decline, doctors suspect. But Jose Belardo says facing the future allows him to plan for it.
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No Gaps In Understanding: Here’s Your Primer On Medigap Coverage
Seniors often don’t realize that private insurers are required to offer Medigap policies, or supplemental insurance, only when people first sign up for Medicare.
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Hurricane Maria Still Taking A Toll On Puerto Rico’s Seniors
KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney reports on the challenges of providing health care to older people on the island.
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Facebook Live: The Marketing Plan That Fueled An Addiction Epidemic
KHN senior correspondent Fred Schulte talks about a cache of files detailing Purdue Pharma’s early OxyContin marketing plan.
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‘Like A Ghost Town’: Erratic Nursing Home Staffing Revealed Through New Records
Daily nursing home payroll records just released by the federal government show the number of nurses and aides dips far below average on some days and consistently plummets on weekends.
By Jordan Rau