NEW ORLEANS — Suicidal thoughts and actions are not rare among the elderly and seem to have diverse drivers, including physical disability, pain, and loneliness.
Change is always unsettling, and challenges await regarding new payment and delivery models, according to David Grabowski, PhD, professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. However, with change comes opportunity. Accountable care...
WASHINGTON — Although the line between an inadvertent billing mistake and intentional coding deception might be blurry, federal investigators are crystal clear about what drives them to exclude health providers from government health programs.
Medicare has relaxed some requirements of the Stark Law through its 2016 fee schedule and created new exceptions for compensation arrangements under the statute. The changes make it easier to recruit nonphysician employees, share rental space, and...
During the 2007 presidential election cycle, I remember being somewhat optimistic regarding the future of geriatric care in America. At that time, three of America's “oldest old” were showcased by men who vied to lead our nation. Barack Obama's...
Seven weeks into the 2015–2016 flu season, activity levels of influenza-like illness (ILI) are minimal in 49 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Dec. 12.
It started out as a pleasant, relaxing weekend outing. Larry Smith, MD, chief medical officer of Kindred Health, and his fiancée went to see “Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory” at a film festival. The documentary, which follows Dan Cohen,...
A couple retiring in 2015 at age 65 can expect to pay $245,000 in health care costs over their lifetimes, according to an estimate from Fidelity Investments.
More than a third of elderly, gravely ill hospital patients are tagged to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation even though they don't want the painful and usually futile measure, a new Canadian study concluded. Such overtreatment is most common in...
