Tag: hospitals

Mayo Clinic Again Named Best Hospital in US for Gynecology

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, again this year ranked as the top hospital for gynecology, according to US News and World Report, which released its annual rankings today. The top five hospitals for gynecology were the same this year and were in the same order. In second place again this year was Memorial Sloan

Audio-Only Prenatal Care Not Tied to Worse Perinatal Outcomes

(Reuters Health) – Pregnant patients who were given the opportunity to have some of their prenatal appointments virtually, as audio-only visits, during the pandemic attended more of them than patients offered only in-person visits the prior year, a new study finds. Moreover, the analysis of data from more than 12,000 patients revealed no negative impact

Ontario Hospitals May Have to Withhold Care as COVID-19 Fills ICUs

TORONTO (Reuters) – Doctors in the Canadian province of Ontario may soon have to decide who can and cannot receive treatment in intensive care as the number of coronavirus infections sets records and patients are packed into hospitals still stretched from a December wave. Canada’s most populous province is canceling elective surgeries, admitting adults to

Risk Behavior Screenings for Youth Infrequent in Hospital Settings

(Reuters Health) – Youth risk behavior screening rates are low in hospital, emergency department, and urgent care settings, a scoping review suggests. Researchers examined data from 46 studies that focused on risk behavior screening rates and intervention tools for assessing and treating youth aged 10 to 25 years. Most of the studies looked at emergency

Liability Insurance Premiums Spike Across the US: AMA Report

Liability insurance premiums are rising at a rate not seen in nearly 20 years, according to a new report from the American Medical Association (AMA). While the report is based on premium increases that predated the COVID-19 pandemic, it cites experts who predict that the upward trend in insurance costs will continue. These forecasts come

Telerheumatology Will Thrive Post Pandemic

Telemedicine has had a profound effect upon the practice of rheumatology during the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to do so afterward, speakers predicted at the 2021 Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposium. “Telemedicine will change the way we do business. It already has,” observed Eric M. Ruderman, MD, professor of medicine (rheumatology) at Northwestern University in

Telerheumatology Will Thrive Post Pandemic

Telemedicine has had a profound effect upon the practice of rheumatology during the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to do so afterward, speakers predicted at the 2021 Rheumatology Winter Clinical Symposium. “Telemedicine will change the way we do business. It already has,” observed Eric M. Ruderman, MD, professor of medicine (rheumatology) at Northwestern University in

Tiger Woods Hospitalized After Wreck in Los Angeles

Professional golfer Tiger Woods has multiple injuries to his legs after a Tuesday morning one-vehicle wreck in Los Angeles, his agent, Mark Steinberg, told Golf Digest. Tiger Woods AP “He is currently in surgery,” Steinberg said, “and we thank you for your privacy and support.” Woods, 45, was the only occupant of a vehicle involved

Dubai orders hospitals to cancel surgeries amid virus surge

The government of Dubai on Wednesday ordered all hospitals to cancel nonessential surgeries for the next month as coronavirus infections surge to unprecedented heights in the United Arab Emirates. In a circular sent to government-run and private health centers across the emirate, Dubai’s Health Authority announced that starting Thursday medical operations “may be allowed to

California hospitals prepping for grim COVID-19 choices

California hospitals struggling with a skyrocketing coronavirus surge are trying to prepare for the possibility that they may have to ration care for lack of staff and beds—and hoping they don’t have to make that choice. The state avoided surging cases for months, but now the virus is raging out of control there and across

Private health insurers paid hospitals 247% of what Medicare would

Prices paid to hospitals nationally during 2018 by privately insured patients averaged 247% of what Medicare would have paid, with wide variation in prices among states, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Some states (Arkansas, Michigan and Rhode Island) had relative prices under 200% of Medicare, while other states (Florida, Tennessee, Alaska, West Virginia

Can UV light help hospitals disinfect masks and gowns?

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, hospitals are finding themselves short of masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment (PPE). Some are doing what would previously have been unthinkable—disinfecting and reusing PPE. One way to do this is with ultraviolet (UV) light, which is already used to disinfect patient rooms and operating theatres. In theory, it

Best Children’s Hospitals 2019-20: Honor Roll and Overview

The annual U.S. News Best Children’s Hospitals rankings, now in their 13th year, offer guidance to parents seeking the best place for their very sick child. The top 50 medical centers are ranked in 10 specialties, including pediatric cardiology & heart surgery, pediatric cancer and pediatric orthopedics. In the 2019-20 rankings, 84 hospitals ranked among

Why hospitals underreport the number of patients they infect

Would hospitals lie? It’s an important question for patients, certainly, but also for insurers, regulators, and policymakers interested in containing medical costs. Mohsen Bayati of Stanford Graduate School of Business has examined a version of that question in recent research on how hospitals report infections for Medicare patients. “Before starting this project, I was reading

Hospitals may divert ambulances to avoid treating certain patients

Some hospitals may strategically divert ambulances to avoid treating low‐paying patients who are uninsured or who have Medicaid, according to a recent analysis. Charleen Hsuan, assistant professor of health policy and administration at Penn State, led a study that examined whether hospitals are more likely to temporarily close their emergency departments to ambulances—a process known

Infant walkers provide no benefit, cause much harm: Study

More than 230,000 children under 15 months of age were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments between 1990 and 2014 due to infant walker-related injuries, according to a new study today published in the journal Pediatrics. More than 6,500 of those were cases of skull fracture, according to the study, whose authors actively support the