In today’s health care environment, so much attention is paid to preventing and eradicating disease to improve health outcomes. But for patients facing terminal illness or life-limiting conditions, accessing quality care can be a frightening and lonely challenge. That’s where hospice comes in as an option for more and more people.…more.
How are patient-focused organizations making tangible advances in creating life-saving and life-enhancing therapeutic innovations? The experiences of at least two foundations show that collaboration with stakeholders across industries – private, government, academia, insurers and clinicians – is a good place to start. One example of success is JDRF (formerly the…more.
For the first time in nearly a decade, the number of 19-25 year-olds gaining access to health insurance is on the rise, according to the Commonwealth Fund 2012 Biennial Health Insurance Survey. Researchers point to a provision in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA), which allows young adults…more.
“Drugs don’t work in patients who don’t take them.” – C. Everett Koop, former Surgeon General It was an idea born of near tragedy: an elderly, diabetic father who double-dosed on his insulin therapy and suffered a medical emergency. His two sons realized that if they were more involved in…more.
When Danielle Deines crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, she had no idea her unique medical training as Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine would make a real difference in the life-and-death events that would soon unfold. A 2012 graduate of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine…more.
We’re taking a departure today from our coverage of what works in American health care to ask for your help. Patients want us to re-open our Breast Cancer Fund at HealthWell, but we can’t successfully do that until we identify several key companies or organizations to partner with us in…more.
To help stem the tide and high cost of persisting disparities in U.S. health care, providers are leveraging Community Health Workers (CHWs) as critical players in improving health outcomes by successfully linking “vulnerable” patient populations to better care. Living in the communities where they work, CHWs understand what is meaningful…more.
Central-line catheters are lifesavers. They’re used in hospitals to deliver therapy where needed and when needed for patients with a wide range of conditions. Unfortunately, central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) result in thousands of deaths each year and billions of dollars in added costs to the U.S. health care system,…more.
Telehealth solutions are making significant inroads to reverse high health care expenditures and reduce noncompliance with prescription therapies – issues that especially impact those living with chronic disease. By engaging patients in health education through classes, patient portals, real-time patient-provider consultations, online discussion forums and more, telehealth strategies empower providers…more.
Pardee Memorial Hospital in Hendersonville, N.C., shaved nearly $405,000 from its Emergency Room (ER) expenses over a one-year period thanks to an integrated program that its founder calls a “patient-centered medical home on steroids.” The program, Bridges to Health, helped its uninsured participants reduce their ER visits from an average…more.