Latest KFF Health News Stories
Walgreens Becomes 1st Retail Chain To Diagnose, Treat Chronic Conditions
Stores in 18 states to use nurse practitioners, physician assistants to expand services to include diagnosis and treatment for chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma.
In South Jersey, New Options For Primary Care Are Slow To Take Hold
A clinic in a Camden, N.J., apartment building makes slow progress persuading patients not to use hospital emergency rooms for primary care.
Death Rates Rise At Geographically Isolated Hospitals, Study Finds
These critical access hospitals, which are often in rural areas, get paid more generously by Medicare and are exempt from some federal reporting standards. But those exemptions may be hiding quality issues at the facilities.
New Med School Aims To Train Primary Care Docs
Quinnipiac University in Connecticut is recruiting its first class for the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, with an eye toward meeting the coming demand for more primary care physicians.
Maryland’s Tough New Hospital Spending Proposal Seen As ‘Nationally Significant’
State officials want to limit hospital spending to the growth rate of the state’s economy, a huge challenge for hospitals.
Economic Changes Hurt The Bottom Line For Rural Ga. Hospitals
To save money, some cut procedures, such as labor and delivery services, but a growing number are forced to close.
Slow Progress On Efforts To Pay Docs, Hospitals For ‘Value,’ Not Volume
Consortium of large employers says that only 10.9 percent of employers’ health spending is based on value-based payment.
In The Emergency Department, Gunshot Fatalities Often ‘Hard To Forget’
While some emergency department doctors take strong positions against guns, others maintain that the first defense is keeping firearms out of the hands of people who are mentally ill.
Grieving Doctor Regrets He Didn’t Ask Depressed Patient About Gun
Physicians are urged to discuss access to firearms with patients who might be suicidal.
Q&A: I Had To Return To The Hospital; Will They Be Penalized?
Consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about what triggers Medicare’s penalties for hospitals who readmit patients too frequently.
This list includes various sources for hospital ratings.
Hospital Ratings Are In The Eye Of The Beholder
With an expanding number of groups offering a stamp of approval, consumers find a confusing array of quality awards to consider when choosing a hospital.
Osteopath Aims Approach At Filling Primary Care Gap
Dr. Valerie Goodman, an osteopathic doctor, explains osteopathic medicine and how it influences how she delivers patient-centered care at her practice in rural Centreville, Md.
Osteopathic Physicians: An Answer To Rural Health Care Needs?
The growing number of osteopathic doctors could help fill the primary care niche in medically underserved areas.
The Mainstreaming Of Osteopathic Medicine
For years, osteopathic physicians were viewed differently than their medical-doctor counterparts, but this distinction is disappearing.
Hospitals Crack Down On Tirades By Angry Doctors
For many years, hospitals were reluctant to address physicians who berated nurses, threw scalpels or demeaned co-workers. But increasingly such actions bring discipline.
Activist Ignites A Movement For Patients Through Art And Story
The experience of her husband’s death transformed artist Regina Holliday into a patient advocate. Now, she’s galvanizing others with the common goal of improving health care to make it better, cheaper and safer.
Hospitals Clamp Down On Dangerous Early Elective Deliveries
Pressure from insurers, employers and advocacy groups is finally reducing rates of elective deliveries before 39 weeks.
Walmart Health Screening Stations Touted As Part Of ‘Self-Service Revolution’
The kiosks are part of a technology boom targeted at consumers seeking instant health data and cheaper, more convenient care.
New Coverage May Spur Younger Women To Use Long-Acting Contraceptives
The health law specifies that birth control is a covered service in many plans ending the burden of a high up-front cost for IUDs and hormonal implants.
