Latest KFF Health News Stories
Bunny’s Last Days: When Living Will Isn’t Enough
In the era of modern medicine, there is often no easy way to navigate between an acceptable quality of life and a death with dignity. But palliative care specialists, relatively new players on the health care scene, offer comfort, support, pain control and, if requested, spiritual counsel, helping people sort through often confusing and ambiguous medical options.
Living wills and advance directives were the hope for end-of-life decision-making decades ago. But a 2004 survey by FindLaw found that 36 percent of Americans have a living will, and even when people have filled out living wills, doctors often ignore them.
Hospice, Palliative Care Aim To Ease Suffering
Palliative services are designed to help patients and their families sort through their options – ome of which may help restore the patient, while others may increase suffering for a minimal health benefit.
Catholic Directive May Thwart End-Of-Life Wishes
A directive passed last November in Tulsa, Okla., raises fresh questions about the ability of patients to have their end-of-life treatment wishes honored – and whether and how a health care provider should comply with lawful requests not consistent with the provider’s religious views.
Doctor Shortage Fuels Nurses’ Push For Expanded Role
Nurse practitioners – like Irene Cavall in North Carolina – are gaining support in their drive to play a larger primary care role. But the powerful AMA is waving a yellow caution flag before state regulators and legislators.
Why Are Fewer Patients Enrolling in Hospice?
It is not clear why it’s happening, but some hospice officials blame both a bad economy and Medicare rules that unintentionally discourage doctors from referring all but those who are about to die.
Community Health Centers Providing Return On Investment
The federal stimulus package that sent nearly $2 billion to community health centers appears to have paid off in economic returns.
High-Tech Medicine Contributes To High-Cost Health Care
The U.S. leads the world in creating state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic treatments with the potential to work miracles for patients. But is the overuse of pricey technologies in preventive medicine driving up health care costs unnecessarily?
Facing Shortage, Kansas Seeks To Increase Doctor Training
Kansas is going to need more doctors to meet the growing needs of an aging population, officials here say.
As Records Go Digital, Cultures Clash
A group of Broward County doctors looking to switch to electronic medical records say the result has been a massive headache: surprise charges, inadequate training and even blocked access to patient files.
Let Women Decide On Medical Tests
It is entirely reasonable for women to decide to get mammograms beginning in their forties. It is also reasonable for them to decide against it, and neither guidelines nor their physician’s personal opinion
Ten Years Later: Look To Nurses As Champions of Patient Safety
Ten years ago this month, IOM’s ‘To Err Is Human’ cast a spotlight on the role of the nurse in keeping patients safe, a role that will become even more important under the ongoing effort to reform the health care system.
Caring For Elderly And Disabled Is A Family Affair
A new study says almost one out of three adults in the U.S. currently serves as a caregiver. The time and energy they put into caregiving becomes like an unpaid job.
Kansas Medicaid Cuts Expected To Hinder Access To Care
Consumer advocates and others say it will only become harder for low-income Kansans to get medical services now that the state is cutting Medicaid payments by 10 percent.
Perhaps the political and media elite shouldn’t wait for an impending presidential election to pay attention to what Iowa has to say.
Getting The Bugs Out Of Health Reform
When it comes to making medical care not only cheaper but also better, reducing hospital infections is among the easiest changes to make–something reform really should be able to do, even in this political universe of such limited possibility.
About 11 percent of people ages 60 and older suffer from some kind of abuse every year. But as a part of health care overhaul legislation, lawmakers are taking steps that would for the first time establish a federal beachhead in fighting such abuse.
Evidence-Based Medicine: Hard For Some To Swallow
Patients often find it difficult to base medical decisions on study results. This story comes from our partner NPR News.
Why A Little City In Wisconsin Is The Best Place To Die
Nearly all adults who die in La Crosse, Wisconsin, have filled out “advance directives” – explicit instructions on what treatments they do and don’t want at the end of life. The medical ethicist who started the program says “We believe it’s part of good patient care.”
New Technology Helps Elderly Stay Healthy At Home
Devices that measure blood pressure and other health information may help the elderly and people with chronic conditions stay in touch with doctors while remaining at home. The technology could cut health spending by catching problems before they escalate into crises.
