There are lots of reasons many community hospitals and nursing homes are at risk of bankruptcy. One reason: Sometimes the very entities owning hospitals and nursing homes are purposely bankrupting them, pillaging them of their value to maximize the owners’ profits.
It is a type of self-dealing known as “related-party earnings,” and here is how it works. Read more here
Many people with chronic pain find themselves interacting with clinicians who do not seem to trust them. Why is it hard to establish a trusting relationship with your doctor? And what can you do about it? I have been on both sides of the exam table – as a physician caring for people with chronic…
Here’s a picture from the Kaiser Family Foundation from late last year, showing what people want done to improve the US healthcare system: Plenty of work to do!
I really like teaching Duke undergraduates. They are an ambitious and intelligent group. But sometimes their ambition and intelligence get in the way of creative thinking, especially in regards to careers. They all want to remain high achievers, so they know they must either become doctors, lawyers, investment bankers or business consultants. Not infrequently I…
A while back, I wrote a piece on the problems caused when hospitals don’t coordinate care in a way that promotes patient sleep. Now Shefali Luthra, a reporter at Kaiser Health News, has written a great piece, delving deeper into this issue. Here is the beginning of that story: Hospitals are reviewing their patient-sleep policies and…
Here is a nice story from a NC news station explaining the turmoil in the exchanges, with Aetna pulling out of many markets. Worth a quick read. North Carolina consumers buying broadly subsidized health insurance policies on the online marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act will have fewer options after a major insurer pulls…