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Trump’s take on COVID testing misses public health realities

President Donald Trump sought to downplay the numbers associated with COVID-19 in the United States — which have passed 2 million confirmed cases and are nearing 120,000 lives lost — by arguing that the soaring national count was simply the result of superior testing.

17 Jun 2020

Use of continuous glucose monitoring reduces hypoglycemia in seniors with T1D

Results from a six-month, multi-site clinical trial called the Wireless Innovation for Seniors with Diabetes Mellitus Study Group have been published by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

16 Jun 2020

Survey: Low income Vermonters have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19

High percentages of Vermonters agree with the social distancing measures put in place by the state in response to the coronavirus pandemic and have complied with them, according to a new survey.

16 Jun 2020

Federal help falters as nursing homes run short of protective equipment

Around the country, nursing homes trying to protect their residents from the coronavirus eagerly await boxes of masks, eyewear and gowns promised by the federal government. But all too often the packages deliver disappointment — if they arrive at all.

11 Jun 2020

Baboon could prove to be a relevant model to test Alzheimer's disease interventions

Scientists at Texas Biomedical Research Institute's Southwest National Primate Research Center recently published findings indicating the baboon could prove to be a relevant model to test therapeutics and interventions for neurodegenerative diseases, such as early stage Alzheimer's and related dementias.

10 Jun 2020

When a doctor no longer accepts Medicare, patients left holding the bag

Pneumonia. Heart problems. High cholesterol. Betsy Carrier, 71, and her husband, Don Resnikoff, 79, relied on their primary care doctor in Montgomery County, Maryland, for help managing their ailments.

9 Jun 2020

Rapid changes to health system spurred by COVID might be here to stay

The U.S. health care system is famously resistant to government-imposed change. It took decades to create Medicare and Medicaid, mostly due to opposition from the medical-industrial complex. Then it was nearly another half-century before the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

8 Jun 2020

Two strategic roadmaps include recommendations to advance value-based care in the U.S.

The Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy and West Health have issued two strategic roadmaps with recommendations for advancing value-based payment (VBP) reform in the U.S. healthcare system.

4 Jun 2020

Study says vitamin-magnesium combo may reduce severity of COVID-19 in seniors

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in late December 2019 has spread to over 188 countries and territories, causing over 6.5 million cases and 385,000 deaths. With no effective therapeutic COVID-19 drug or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine in sight, researchers are exploring different strategies to limit its spread and mortality.

4 Jun 2020

Researchers investigate memory recall in healthy, older adults

Even among healthy people, a faltering memory is often an expected part of aging - but it's not inevitable.

3 Jun 2020

Teen vaping study identifies stomach issues and history of substance abuse

A study of teens diagnosed with the vaping-linked respiratory disease EVALI revealed that most also had gastrointestinal symptoms and a history of psychosocial factors, including substance abuse, UT Southwestern researchers found in one of the first clinical reviews of its kind.

3 Jun 2020

Study aims to bring relief for patients removed from ventilators at end of life

A paper recently published online in the journal Chest reports on a study of the palliative ventilator withdrawal (PVW) procedure performed in intensive care units at end of life.

1 Jun 2020

Kirigami shoe grips could help reduce risk of falling among older adults

You've never seen a pair of snake skin shoes like this before.

1 Jun 2020

Democratic super PAC uses familiar political play to hit Trump on Medicare

Priorities USA Action, a Democratic super PAC, announced a new digital and TV ad series criticizing President Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

1 Jun 2020

‘Why do we always get hit first?’ Proposed budget cuts target vulnerable Californians

Shirley Madden, 83, relies on a caregiver and her two grown daughters to remain living at home — and not in a nursing home.

1 Jun 2020

New software helps prioritize medical procedures and treat people more efficiently

Many patients had to wait for lifesaving surgeries, such as organ transplants, due to the heavy burden COVID-19 caused by hospitals.

1 Jun 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Still seeking a federal coronavirus strategy

The Trump administration sent its COVID-19 testing strategy plan to Congress, formalizing its policy that most testing responsibilities should remain with individual states.

28 May 2020

For seniors, COVID-19 sets off a pandemic of despair

As states relax coronavirus restrictions, older adults are advised, in most cases, to keep sheltering in place. But for some, the burden of isolation and uncertainty is becoming hard to bear.

28 May 2020

$Despite extended nursing home admissions, hip fracture rates remain persistently high$

Despite extended nursing home admissions, hip fracture rates remain persistently high

A recent study of hip fracture rates in nursing homes in the U.S. reports a slight rise in the rate of hip fractures among long-stay residents in recent years.

27 May 2020

Women and older adults still vastly underrepresented in cholesterol drug trials

Although heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, and older adults are more likely to have heart and vascular disease than young people, randomized clinical trials testing medications to lower cholesterol have historically underenrolled both groups.

22 May 2020