Dive Brief: A new study in JAMA Network Open finds that Medicare patients with heart failure or pneumonia likely had more costs associated with the hospital where they were receiving treatment than their acuity. The researchers randomly studied 1.22 million patients discharged between July 2013 and June 2016, and further isolated them to 1,615 patient… Read More »
Each year, health systems perform nearly 6 billion lab tests in the United States at an annual cost of almost $ 70 billion; approximately 30-50% of these tests are not medically necessary, according to the International Journal of Clinical Chemistry. THE PROBLEM Likewise, nearly 21 million blood products are transfused annually at a cost of… Read More »
UC San Francisco and the Doctors Company are collaborating on a new $ 1 million initiative to explore how artificial intelligence can improve care delivery and patient safety. WHY IT MATTERSThe Doctors Company, a physician-run provider of medical malpractice insurance, will work with UCSF researchers on the development of evidence-based patient safety practices, officials said… Read More »
January 03, 2019 This article originally appeared here. Share this content: Rhabdomyolysis is characterized by breakdown of muscle tissue A recently published case report describes the case of a 29-year-old male patient with influenza-induced rhabdomyolysis and highlights the need to assess creatinine kinase (CK) levels of patients hospitalized with influenza. The patient, who had a… Read More »
This story is part of a partnership that includes WBUR, NPR and Kaiser Health News. This story can be republished for free (details). Kristina Cunningham was in stable condition on an evening in June, when EMTs lifted her gurney into a medical flight, bound for Boston. The 34-year-old couldn’t use her right arm or speak… Read More »
A man undergoing treatment for heart failure coughed up an enormous, intact blood clot that formed a perfect cast of the air passageways of his lung. The completeness of the clot, once unfolded onto blue medical cloth, astounded doctors; they could trace the three branches of the upper lobe of the lung, the two branches… Read More »