Good doctor-patient communication is a key to improving the quality of your care, the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research says. and so the agency is providing free tools online for patients and providers to get the conversation started.
In a new book, oncologist and New Yorker writer Jerome Groopman and his wife, endocrinologist Pamela Hartzband, encourage consumers to chart their own path when looking at treatment decisions.
Your Medical Mind offers a well-sourced, approachable account of the challenges we and our clinicians face when we are truly engaged in making medical decisions together.
Patient navigator help with barriers to equal care such as financial and insurance issues, cultural and language differences and communication.
Many patients cannot understand their health providers advice or the labels on their prescriptions, leading to higher rates of hospital readmission, expensive and unnecessary complications, and even death–all at an estimated annual cost of $238 billion.
As part of a continuing series of “Ad Audits” Kaiser Health News reporter Jordan Rau dissects TV ads targeting health reform. In today’s audit, Rau looks at ads being run by Families USA and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Ad Audit: Health Reform Testimonials By Jordan Rau – Kaiser Health News July 10, [...]
By Austin Jenkins, NPR News This story comes from our partner National Public Radio Deborah Llavanes is one of a growing number of middle-income Americans who, because of the recession, have lost their jobs and their health coverage. For the first time in her life, Llavanes is turning to a community health clinic for her [...]
Hospitals, After Agreeing to Cuts, Push Ahead With a Full Agenda By Eric Pianin and Phil Galewitz – Kaiser Health News July 08, 2009 With the Obama administration’s help, hospitals are moving aggressively to resolve their biggest objections to legislative proposals to overhaul the health system. The deal announced today by Vice-President Biden — an [...]
Hot-Button Health Issue: Is Medicaid or Private Insurance Better for the Poor Uninsured? By Mary Agnes Carey – Kaiser Health News July 1, 2009 Medicaid’s role in health reform is emerging as a flash point, exposing policy and political rifts not only between the two parties but also among Democrats themselves. As part of efforts [...]
By Joanne Kenen June 30, 2009 This story is a collaboration between Kaiser Health News and The Washington Post. Doctors call them frequent fliers. They are the patients who leave the hospital, only to boomerang back days or weeks later. They have become a front-burner challenge not only for hospitals and doctors but also for [...]
“It took 2 years of questions and followup before actress and health advocate Fran Drescher learned she had uterine cancer,” writes Dr. Carolyn Clancy, director of the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in her new column. “Today,” she writes, “Ms. Drescher is an 8-year cancer survivor, due in large part to her asking [...]
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Seattle Times Health News
Experts divided over recommendation to screen children for cholesterol
Some clinicians say universal screening is an important tool to help identify children who are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol and to pinpoint others who could benefit from treatment. Others express concerns that screening may do more harm than good.
People in state high-risk insurance plans often feel left behind
The federal health law set up new plans that are cheaper and more comprehensive than the older ones run by states but consumers need to go without insurance for six months to qualify.
Peeking in on your doctor’s notes
Although federal law guarantees patients the right to examine and get copies of their medical records, providers haven’t always made it easy to do so. But the movement to give patients direct access to their health information has picked up steam, and policymakers have encouraged it as a way to empower patients to help manage their health and their medical care.
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