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A new government watchdog report outlines vulnerabilities in Medicare's $17 billion hospice program, pointing to inadequate services, inappropriate billing and outright fraud.
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.
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.
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.
Millions of Americans undergo procedures each year requiring medical scopes, but there’s growing concern about the risk of infection from dirty devices. Be prepared to ask questions — and bail if you’re not satisfied with the answers.
End-of-life documents express your preferences for care but may not be binding medical orders. Here’s how to better prepare for the unexpected — that your last wishes won’t be carried out.
One in 5 Medicare patients who leave the hospital for a nursing home end up back in the hospital. To discourage this, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will soon give bonuses and penalties to facilities based on their rehospitalization rates.
Use this tool to see how skilled nursing homes in the U.S. performed on two metrics of quality.
The ‘scary’ findings show a discouraging lack of progress in cleaning the devices, despite more vigorous efforts in the wake of deadly superbug outbreaks, experts say.
KHN’s newsletter editor, Brianna Labuskes, wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
California and federal officials have cracked down on a major compounding pharmacy they say posed a threat to public safety, but their actions are worsening shortages of medications that doctors rely on to keep their patients out of pain.
Memory problems and trouble multitasking are among the symptoms of POCD, a little-known condition that affects a substantial number of older adults after surgery.
In some cases, information now available to people without talking to a doctor can be a source of confusion and alarm and the cause of more work for doctors because it comes without adequate guidance.
A nationwide shortage of injectable opioid painkillers has left hospitals scrambling to find alternatives — in some cases leading to dosage mistakes that may harm patients.
State says its new site is easier to navigate, though it remains a work in progress. Advocates for nursing home patients call it “a huge step in the wrong direction” that could endanger people’s lives.
An investigation by Kaiser Health News and the USA TODAY Network discovers that more than 260 patients have died since 2013 after in-and-out procedures at surgery centers across the country. More than a dozen — some as young as 2 — have perished after routine operations, such as colonoscopies and tonsillectomies.
The insurer says it is not usually medically necessary to have an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist on hand during the common surgery.
Algorithms and other technologies are moving from research labs to hospitals and clinics to predict and combat disease.
Some hospitals now focus on preparing seniors for the risks and realities of surgical care.
An onslaught of fires, shootings and storms across the country last year tested hospital readiness. Now, leaders are using their experiences to address shortcomings that surfaced amid the chaos.
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