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Cancer death rate continues decades-long drop in the United States

The cancer death rate dropped 1.7% from 2014 to 2015, continuing a drop that began in 1991 and has reached 26%, resulting in nearly 2.4 million fewer cancer deaths during that time.

4 Jan 2018

Medicare now covers new noninvasive test for heart disease

Loyola Medicine is the leading center in Illinois offering a new noninvasive test for heart disease that now is covered by Medicare.

4 Jan 2018

Small-cell lung cancer patients encounter obstacles to receiving standard-of-care treatment

Despite decades of clinical research establishing chemotherapy with thoracic radiation as the standard-of-care for the initial management of non-metastatic small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), a large percentage of U.S. patients do not receive these treatments and in turn have lower overall survival, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

4 Jan 2018

Trump administration relaxes financial penalties against nursing homes

The Trump administration — reversing guidelines put in place under President Barack Obama — is scaling back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave risk of injury.

2 Jan 2018

Care suffers as more nursing homes feed money into corporate webs

When one of Martha Jane Pierce's sons peeled back the white sock that had been covering his 82-year-old mother's right foot for a month, he discovered rotting flesh.

2 Jan 2018

Ophthalmologists have more negative perceptions about effect of EHR systems

Ophthalmologists' use of electronic health records systems for storing and accessing patients' medical histories more than doubled between 2006 and 2016, while their perceptions of financial and clinical productivity following EHR implementation declined, a study published today in JAMA Ophthalmology shows.

29 Dec 2017

Indirect referrals by nonpublic EDs prevalent in communities with public hospital option

The practice of indirect referrals by nonpublic emergency departments and their affiliated physicians are prevalent in communities with a public hospital option.

28 Dec 2017

Opioid prescribing for disabled Medicare beneficiaries related to county-level economic factors

For non-elderly Americans on disability, local prescribing of opioid pain medications is significantly related to county-level economic factors like unemployment and income level, reports a study in the January issue of Medical Care, published by Wolters Kluwer.

28 Dec 2017

Children’s insurance, other health programs funded — for now — in bill

The bill passed by Congress late Thursday to keep most of the federal government funded for another month also provided a temporary reprieve to a number of health programs in danger of running out of money, most notably the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.

22 Dec 2017

New long-term analysis at heart attack care in America shows more survival and spending

A new long-term look at heart attack care and spending in America since the turn of the century shows more survival, more spending, and more variation between hospitals on both scores.

22 Dec 2017

Medicare penalizes group of 751 hospitals for patient injuries

The federal government Thursday lowered a year's worth of Medicare payments to 751 hospitals to penalize them for having the highest rates of patient injuries.

21 Dec 2017

Deep brain stimulation may improve survival for Parkinson's patients

A treatment called deep brain stimulation (DBS) could extend the life of people with Parkinson's disease. Researchers at the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital in Illinois found that patients who received stimulation via an implanted device had a modest survival advantage compared with those treated with medication only.

21 Dec 2017

Acid reflux linked to cancer of respiratory and upper digestive tracts in older adults

Acid reflux was associated with cancer of the respiratory and upper digestive tracts in older adults.

21 Dec 2017

Rush University, Rush Copley Medical Center receive five-star rating for hospital quality

Rush University Medical Center and Rush Copley Medical Center each have received five stars, the highest possible rating, for hospital quality from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

21 Dec 2017

High out-of-pocket costs act as barrier to potentially life-saving cancer treatments

Sticker shock may be leading many insured Americans with cancer to forego treatment with a wide range of oral cancer drugs, suggests a study published online this week in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

20 Dec 2017

Doing more harm than good? Epidemic of screening burdens nation’s older patients

Elena Altemus is 89 and has dementia. She often forgets her children's names, and sometimes can't recall whether she lives in Maryland or Italy.

20 Dec 2017

When nursing homes push out poor and disabled patients

Anita Willis says the social worker offered her a painful choice: She could either leave the San Jose, Calif., nursing home where she'd spent a month recovering from a stroke — or come up with $336 a day to stay on.

20 Dec 2017

Study finds racial, socioeconomic barriers to accessing life-saving treatment for metastatic cancer

Increasing use of a potentially life-saving treatment for metastatic cancer is leaving too many vulnerable patients behind, according to a new study from Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital published in JNCCN – Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

19 Dec 2017

Special issue highlights factors affecting healthcare for LGBT older adults

A special issue of LGBT Health includes the latest research, clinical practice innovations, and policy aimed at addressing disparities and enhancing healthcare for older LGBT populations.

18 Dec 2017

Study finds racial differences in hospice care between African American and white patients

African Americans at the end of life have significantly higher rates of hospital admission, emergency department (ED) visits, and discontinuing (also known as disenrolling from) hospice care than whites, according to a new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai published today by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

18 Dec 2017

Medicare News and Research

Cancer death rate continues decades-long drop in the United States

Medicare now covers new noninvasive test for heart disease

Small-cell lung cancer patients encounter obstacles to receiving standard-of-care treatment

Trump administration relaxes financial penalties against nursing homes

Care suffers as more nursing homes feed money into corporate webs

Ophthalmologists have more negative perceptions about effect of EHR systems

Indirect referrals by nonpublic EDs prevalent in communities with public hospital option

Opioid prescribing for disabled Medicare beneficiaries related to county-level economic factors

Children’s insurance, other health programs funded — for now — in bill

New long-term analysis at heart attack care in America shows more survival and spending

Medicare penalizes group of 751 hospitals for patient injuries

Deep brain stimulation may improve survival for Parkinson's patients

Acid reflux linked to cancer of respiratory and upper digestive tracts in older adults

Rush University, Rush Copley Medical Center receive five-star rating for hospital quality

High out-of-pocket costs act as barrier to potentially life-saving cancer treatments

Doing more harm than good? Epidemic of screening burdens nation’s older patients

When nursing homes push out poor and disabled patients

Study finds racial, socioeconomic barriers to accessing life-saving treatment for metastatic cancer

Special issue highlights factors affecting healthcare for LGBT older adults

Study finds racial differences in hospice care between African American and white patients

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