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Skilled Healthcare fourth quarter revenue increases 2.4% to $219.2 million

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. today announced its consolidated financial operating results for the three and twelve-month period ended December 31, 2012.

12 Feb 2013

Letters to the editor: Readers' thoughts on issues related to hospice care, mental health provisions of the President's gun plan

Here's a selection of reader responses to Kaiser Health News' stories, including one about a federal investigation into San Diego Hospice as well as another detailing the mental health provisions included in President Barack Obama's gun plan.

12 Feb 2013

Brookdale fourth quarter total revenue increases 4.1% to $699.7 million

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. today reported financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year 2012.

11 Feb 2013

House GOP seeks to change Medicare doctor payment formula

The chairmen of the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees want a permanent change to the current system that repeatedly threatens to cut doctor payments unless Congress steps in.

10 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 8, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about Marilyn Tavenner's nomination to run Medicare and the Catholic bishops' rejection of the Obama administration's contraception plan announced last week.

9 Feb 2013

Study: Hospice use on the rise, but after late-stage aggressive care

A study released Tuesday found that, although the number of elderly people who died in a hospice setting is increasing, it usually came late in the process and after highly aggressive care near the end of life.

7 Feb 2013

Start palliative care early for optimum results

Palliative care provided early in the ambulatory care setting varies with the trajectory of patients’ disease and is complementary to medical management, show study results.

6 Feb 2013

Advanced care planning improves end-of-life care

Advance care planning for older adults results in improved quality of care at the end of life, with less in-hospital death and the increased use of hospice services, the results of a study indicate.

5 Feb 2013

State roundup: Texas lawmakers ready health budget

Texas budget writers got a briefing on the state's health care programs Wednesday, and many of the biggest questions focused on how the state can reduce fraud and what to do about ever-increasing health care costs.

1 Feb 2013

NSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine receives approval for new medical specialty

Nova Southeastern University's College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM) received approval for a new medical specialty—correctional medicine—that was developed at the college in collaboration with the Florida Department of Corrections.

31 Jan 2013

Antibiotic use common at the end of life

More than one-quarter of hospice patients receive antibiotics in their last week of life, despite the absence of documented infection in most cases, US researchers report.

25 Jan 2013

Efficacy of docusate called into question

Docusate does not significantly improve the management of constipation in hospice patients, show the results of a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

25 Jan 2013

AACN expands its hospital-based nurse leadership and innovation training program

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) expands its hospital-based nurse leadership and innovation training program to a fourth region with the addition of eight Austin-area hospitals.

25 Jan 2013

Roundup: Lessons from Mass. health reform; Berwick moves closer to gov. bid; Jindal reverses Medicaid hospice cut

When Massachusetts adopted its landmark health care law in 2006, the goals were ambitious and the potential solutions complex. ... What are they getting in return?

25 Jan 2013

Longer looks: Difficult end-of-life care discussions; Mississippi's last abortion clinic; rural docs

Precious final days for many Massachusetts residents are still not spent the way they would have chosen.

25 Jan 2013

AANS, CNS join other medical societies in endorsing Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) joined 24 other medical societies in endorsing the "Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act." Sponsored by Reps. Phil Roe, MD (R-TN) and Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), this bipartisan legislation would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), thereby protecting seniors from Medicare cuts that could threaten their access to care.

23 Jan 2013