Hospitals

A medical worker in a protective suit tends to a patient in a hospital in Wuhan, China.

Health & Safety

What Happens If You're Critically Ill In China — But Not With Coronavirus

1:46pm February 25, 2020

Residents say their relatives have been unable to get care for cancer, for childhood diseases and more as Wuhan and other cities put a priority on treating COVID-19 patients.

A drug implant was prescribed for an active 8-year-old girl diagnosed with central precocious puberty. The price of one option was thousands of dollars less than the other.

Health & Safety

Hormone Blocker Sticker Shock: Kids Drug Costs 8 Times More Than One For Adults

5:11am February 24, 2020

by Sydney Lupkin

Two nearly identical drug implants have very different prices. The one for kids has a list price of $37,300. For adults, it's $4,400. A dad fought for his daughter to be able to get the cheaper drug.

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Until very recently, the separate company that runs the emergency department at Nashville General Hospital was continuing to haul patients who couldn't pay medical bills into court.

It's Not Just Hospitals That Are Quick To Sue Patients Who Can't Pay

11:59am February 19, 2020

by Blake Farmer

The firm that staffed the emergency room with doctors at Nashville General Hospital was taking more patients to court for unpaid medical bills than any other hospital or practice in the city.

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Under the law, Medicare is mandated each year to punish the 25% of general care hospitals that have the highest rates of patient safety issues. The assessment is based on rates of infections, blood clots, sepsis cases, bedsores, hip fractures and other co

Health & Safety

Several 'Best' U.S. Hospitals Penalized Over Too-High Rates Of Infection, Injury

5:00am January 31, 2020

by Jordan Rau

Medicare is cutting payments to 786 hospitals with the highest infection and complication rates. The list includes a third of the hospitals proclaimed as the nation's "best" in one prominent ranking.

Joshua Bates, a technical recruiter for a staffing firm, who lives in Charlotte, N.C., was "balance billed" by an out-of-network hospital after an emergency appendectomy.

Health & Safety

A $41,212 Surgery Bill Compounded A Patient's Appendicitis Pain

9:10pm January 29, 2020

by Julie Appleby

A young man averted disaster after a friend took him to the nearest hospital just before his appendix burst. But more than a year later, he's still facing a huge bill for his out-of-network surgery.

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Some people land in the hospital over and over. Although research suggests that giving those patients extra follow-up care from nurses and social workers won't reduce those extra hospital visits, some hospitals say the approach still saves them money in t

Health & Safety

'To Stop Now Would Be Foolish': Doubling Down On Services For High-Cost Patients

5:00am January 22, 2020

A study this month showed giving extra social services to the neediest patients didn't reduce hospital readmissions. Now health advocates say that might not be the right measurement of success.

Sepsis arises when the body overreacts to an infection, and blood vessels throughout the body become leaky. Researchers now estimate that about 11 million people worldwide died with sepsis in 2017 alone — that's about 20% of all deaths.

Health & Safety

Stealth Disease Likely To Blame For 20% Of Worldwide Deaths

4:40pm January 16, 2020

by Richard Harris

Sepsis, or blood poisoning, arises when the body overreacts to an infection. An analysis finds that it may be involved in 20% of deaths worldwide, twice the proportion previously estimated.

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Matching patients with social workers, housing and medical support doesn't actually reduce costly hospital readmissions, a study finds. Still, some say it can transform lives.

Health & Safety

Reduce Health Costs By Nurturing The Sickest? A Much-Touted Idea Disappoints

5:00pm January 08, 2020

Matching the sickest patients with social workers and medical support doesn't reduce costly hospital readmissions, a study finds. Still, some believe greater social investment could make a difference.

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Eliza Oliver helps her daughter, Taelyn, step down from the exam table after a wellness check at the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas in Fort Scott, Kan. The child's doctor now has a medical scribe to takes notes. The visit this time seemed mor

Health & Safety

1 Year After Losing Its Hospital, A Rural Town Is Determined To Survive

5:01am December 26, 2019

by Sarah Jane Tribble

Anger and fear have turned to pragmatic hope in the year since the people of Fort Scott, Kan., lost their hospital to corporate downsizing. A community health center remains. So far, so good.

Health & Safety

Can Applesauce Help Close The Racial Health Gap? No, Wait, Hear This Chef Out

7:00am December 17, 2019

by Maria Godoy

From infant mortality rates to access to cancer treatment, stark health disparities exist between blacks and whites. One Michigan experiment to address that starts with money made from hospital food.