Category: Hospitals

Drew Altman: Drugs Aren’t the Reason the U.S. Spends So Much on Health Care

Drew Altman’s column in Axios: the U.S. now spends twice per capita what other wealthy countries do on health care. But while drug costs get all the time in public debate, it’s hospital and outpatient spending that mostly explains the difference. And t…

Post-COVID Clinics Get Jump-Start From Patients With Lingering Illness

Pop-up care facilities bring together a range of specialists to address the needs of patients who survive but continue to wrestle with COVID-19’s physical or mental effects, including lung damage, heart or neurological concerns, anxiety and depression.

Battle Rages Inside Hospitals Over How COVID Strikes and Kills

The debate over how the coronavirus spreads heated up Friday when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conceded that the virus spreads through tiny particles, but then took down guidance that could have forced big changes in hospitals.

Rural Hospitals Teeter on Financial Cliff as COVID Medicare Loans Come Due

A lack of direction from federal administrators is causing confusion for many hospital administrators. Rural hospitals are among the ones hit hardest.

Urban Hospitals of Last Resort Cling to Life in Time of COVID

Rural hospitals have been closing at a quickening pace in recent years, but a number of inner-city hospitals now face a similar fate. Experts fear that the economic damage inflicted by the COVID pandemic is helping push some of these urban hospitals over the edge at the very time their services are most needed.

Tough to Tell COVID From Smoke Inhalation Symptoms — And Flu Season’s Coming

Respiratory symptoms stemming from coronavirus infection and smoke inhalation are too similar to distinguish without a full workup. This is complicating the jobs of health care workers as wildfires rage up and down the West Coast.

Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fail to Separate COVID Patients, Putting Others at Risk

COVID patients have been commingled with uninfected patients in California, Florida, New Jersey, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, New York and beyond. While officials have penalized nursing homes for such failures, hospitals have seen less scrutiny.

HHS Plan to Improve Rural Health Focuses on Better Broadband, Telehealth Services

The proposal details a wide-ranging agenda to remedy the gaps in health care and myriad challenges in rural America. In addition to more telehealth options, it includes shifts in hospital payments and expanded funding for school-based mental health programs.

Another COVID Mystery: Patients Survive Ventilator, But Linger in a Coma

Doctors are diagnosing a new stage of COVID-19 recovery: patients who take much longer than usual to regain consciousness after coming off a ventilator. And a growing number of doctors are worried some patients aren’t being given the time they need to wake up.

Prognosis for Rural Hospitals Worsens With Pandemic

Rural hospitals were already struggling before the coronavirus emerged. Now, the loss of revenue from patients who are afraid to come to the emergency room, postponing doctor’s appointments and delaying elective surgeries is adding to the pressure.