Hospitals

Health & Safety

How Feds Decide On Remdesivir Shipments To States Remains Mysterious

6:10pm August 19, 2020

by Sydney Lupkin

The federal government is in charge of distributing one of the few treatment options for COVID-19: the antiviral drug remdesivir. But how are decisions made about which states need it most?

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Cone Health Plans Merger With Virginia-Based Health Care System

4:48pm August 12, 2020

by Keri Brown

Cone Health is planning to merge with Sentara, a larger health care system based in Norfolk, Virginia.

Izzy Benasso injured her knee while playing tennis with her father Steve Benasso in Denver. After the college student had knee surgery to repair the injury, her dad noticed her medical bills included a separate one from a surgical assistant for $1,167.

The Knee Surgeon Was In-Network. The Surgical Assistant Wasn't, And Billed $1,167

6:46pm July 22, 2020

by Markian Hawryluk

A college student's bill for outpatient knee surgery is a whopper — $96K — but the most mysterious part is a $1,167 charge from a health care provider she didn't even know was in the operating room.

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Dr. Lee Norman, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, discussed the resurgence in coronavirus cases in the state this week. The state hospital association fears there will be delays in getting coronavirus data under new federal rul

With CDC Sidelined, Some States Lose Access To Timely COVID-19 Hospital Data

10:00pm July 17, 2020

by Alex Smith

Health and hospital officials in two states report that a Trump administration change to how pandemic data is collected has left them unable to access vital information.

It wasn't easy in early March to get a test in the U.S. confirming you had the coronavirus — scarce availability of tests meant patients had to meet strict criteria linked to a narrow set of symptoms and particular travel history.

Early Coronavirus Testing Restrictions Led To Some Big ER Bills

3:40pm July 06, 2020

by Julie Appleby

People with COVID-19 symptoms in March and April were often billed for expensive scans and bloodwork because they didn't qualify back then for a confirmatory coronavirus test. Some are crying foul.

Dr. Danielle Ofri, author of When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error, says medical mistakes are likely to increase as resource-strapped hospitals treat a rapid influx of COVID-19 patients.

A Doctor Confronts Medical Errors — And Flaws In The System That Create Mistakes

3:11pm June 30, 2020

by Dave Davies

Dr. Danielle Ofri says medical errors are more common than most people realize: "If we don't talk about the emotions that keep doctors and nurses from speaking up, we'll never solve this problem."

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Routine physical exams once involved fewer gloves, masks and other safety measures. Today, doctors' offices and hospitals are taking many more precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Is It Safe Yet To Get Your Physical Or A Dental Checkup?

12:36pm June 03, 2020

by Alan Yu

Most preventive medical care that can't be handled via telehealth has taken a back seat in recent months, but that's starting to change. Here's what to ask when you schedule an in-person appointment.

With physician offices not seeing patients with COVID-19 symptoms in April, Timothy Regan said he had little choice when Denver Health directed him first to its urgent care facility and then to its emergency room. "I felt bad, but I had been dealing with

Health & Safety

ER Visit For COVID-19 Symptoms Stuck Man With A $3,278 Bill

5:13pm May 26, 2020

by Phil Galewitz

A dad in Denver tried to do everything right when COVID-19 symptoms surfaced. But he got a surprising bill from his insurer, which had waived cost sharing for treatment of the coronavirus infection.

Dr. Max Lazarus, a medical resident at a hospital on Long Island, N.Y., is one of some 130,000 medical residents in the U.S., many of whom have found themselves on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health & Safety

Doctors In Training Learn Hard Lessons During The Pandemic

9:13pm May 18, 2020

by Will Stone

There are some 130,000 medical residents in the U.S., and many are pulling long shifts in emergency departments and ICUs treating patients infected with the coronavirus.

Despite many barriers, a young medical residents learns new ways to comfort his ill hospital patients.

Health & Safety

My Bedside Manner Got Worse During The Pandemic. Here's How I Improved

7:00am May 16, 2020

by Shahdabul Faraz

A young medical resident learns new ways to reach and comfort his ill hospital patients — despite protective barriers that keep them far apart. He starts by turning down the noise.