A beloved pizzeria owner in Brimfield, Mass., had COVID-19 and needed dialysis, but it wasn't available at the hospital where he died. The health system is "breaking down," a hospital CEO says.
You could call them hobbies. But for some health workers facing burnout, creative outlets provide more than solace — they give a sense of meaning and community.
Black patients and their families are less likely to sign up for end-of-life comfort care. To reach them, investors are starting hospice agencies run by people who look like the patients they serve.
After baby Dorian Bennett arrived two months early and spent more than 50 days in the neonatal ICU, his parents received a bill of more than $550,000 — despite having health insurance.
As unvaccinated COVID-19 patients fill ICU and acute care beds in Colorado, patients with other ailments are being turned away, and health care workers are reaching a new breaking point.
PAs say the new title would clarify that they work in a team and don't require direct oversight by M.D.s. Doctors say it obscures the fact that PAs have less education and training than physicians.
Determined to improve the way doctors connect with their patients, a new wave of innovators are using technology to match people of color with culturally competent professionals.
Congress passed a law last year to shield patients from surprise out-of-network medical charges. But many doctors in the House now say the way the law is to be implemented unfairly favors insurers.
An alternative to original Medicare, the private plans are run mostly by major insurers. A recent analysis estimates Medicare overpaid these insurers by $106 billion from 2010 through 2019.
The open enrollment period to buy health insurance on HealthCare.gov starts now and runs through Jan. 15, 2022. Look for more options and expanded subsidies this year — and more help signing up.
Obstetrical emergency departments are a new aspect of some hospitals that can inflate medical bills for even the easiest, healthiest births. Just ask baby Gus' parents about their $2,755 ER charge.
Across the country, hospitals are desperate for RNs and specialty nurses. Yet, paradoxically, the nursing pipeline has slowed, with educators retiring or returning to clinical work themselves.
In areas overwhelmed by COVID cases, hospitals must rely on traveling nurses to operate ICUs. Hospitals pay a premium for that temporary help, while also struggling to keep their staff nurses happy.
An NPR poll finds that while a large majority of people using telehealth during the pandemic were satisfied, nearly two-thirds prefer in-person visits. That may foretell telehealth's future.
