Whenever a major merger is announced in health care, the parties routinely tout the benefits for consumers, saying costs will decline and quality will improve. But do the facts bear out these claims?
During the press events announcing these deals, there’s no way to know. Researchers would need a baseline and several years of data to verify the merging partners’ claims and even then such results such as lower costs and improved quality take years to accumulate and measure. Continue reading
Almost every older adult — about 90% according to AARP — will tell you that they want to remain in their own home or in their community as they age. However, that can be a challenge as health issues mount, frailty takes hold or barriers like stairs seem insurmountable. Aging in place is often more easily said than done.
Challenges of social isolation, lack of nearby family to help, or appropriate, safe housing are among the biggest roadblocks to successful aging in place, according to the National Institutes on Aging. While some older adults can afford to hire caregivers who can help them with the various tasks of daily living such as bathing, dressing, or meal preparation, many cannot. Continue reading
Since antibiotics were widely introduced in the mid 1940’s, scientists warned of microbes’ innate ability to evolve and develop resistance. People were cautioned to be judicious with antimicrobials, because overuse could breed “superbugs,” germs resistant to most or all antibiotics.
Indeed, microbes have developed resistance to virtually every new class of antibiotics introduced. Up until the 1980s, however, most pharmaceutical companies kept developing new antibiotics. When a drug developed resistance, there was a new one in the development pipeline that could take its place. Continue reading
America’s first community health centers opened their doors in 1965 and the system has been growing ever since.
Today, about 1,400 federally-supported health center programs provide primary care to an estimated 28 million patients – roughly 1 in 12 U.S. residents.
These clinics have always focused on reaching underserved populations. That has meant finding ways to bridge the financial, cultural and geographic barriers that contribute to the nation’s deep health care disparities. Continue reading
If you are joining us for Health Journalism 2019 in Baltimore in a few weeks, be sure to arrive in time to attend the Thursday morning workshop on reporting on medical studies.
For those not attending any field trips, you have the opportunity to come and hear from two new speakers this year who will expand our discussion of medical research coverage to cost effectiveness, policy and patient-centered outcomes studies, plus some extra diving into understanding those intimidating biostats in studies! Continue reading