Trump Administration Clears Way To Require Work For Some Medicaid Enrollees
Adding a work requirement to Medicaid would mark one of the biggest changes to the program since its inception in 1966. It is likely to prompt a lawsuit from patient advocacy groups, which claim the requirement is inconsistent with Medicaid’s objectives and would require an act of Congress.
5 Takeaways from Alex Azar’s Confirmation Hearing
Trump’s nominee to lead HHS was in the hot seat, answering questions about lowering drug prices, Medicare expansion, and his private-sector work.
The Joint Commission Releases 2018 Patient Safety Goals
The Joint Commission has released a list of its 2018 Ambulatory Health Care National Patient Safety Goals.
An Opioid Remedy That Works: Treat Pain And Addiction At The Same Time
In 2016, a record 912 people died from an overdose in Colorado, according to data recently released by the state health department. Of those, 300 people died from an opioid overdose. Opioid use often leads to an addiction to heroin, which claimed another 228 lives last year in the state. Those two causes together now rival the number of deaths from car accidents in the state.
Terrifying Brush with Death Drives Doctor to Fight for Patients
The searing abdominal pain came on suddenly while Dr. Rana Awdish was having dinner with a friend. Soon she was lying in the back seat of the car racing to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where Awdish was completing a fellowship in critical care.
CMS: Providers Can Text, Just Not Medical Orders
CMS is clearing up recent confusion on what medical providers can text each other. The agency confirmed care team members are allowed to text patient information over a secure messaging app. However, texting medical orders is still verboten.
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.
Infection Lapses Rampant in Nursing Homes But Punishment is Rare
Basic steps to prevent infections — such as washing hands, isolating contagious patients and keeping ill nurses and aides from coming to work — are routinely ignored in the nation’s nursing homes, endangering residents and spreading hazardous germs.
Doing More Harm Than Good? Epidemic of Screening Burdens Nation’s Older Patients
“In patients well into their 80s, with other chronic conditions, it’s highly unlikely that they will receive any benefit from screening,” says Dr. Cary Gross.
CDC Word Ban Gets Panned
Medical societies decry what they saw as anti-science attitude.