Virtual Doctor Visits Are Getting More Popular, But Questions Remain About Who Pays

Provisions within the federal budget law Congress passed this year expands the use of telemedicine, which could go mainstream within 5 to 10 years. Read more

Study: More Practices Employing Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants 

According to a study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, more practices are employing nurse practitioners or physician assistants. Read more

As clinicians, we think daily about problems and their solutions. If a patient is having trouble breathing, we go through a series of steps to diagnose and treat the problem. If a patient has a wound, we go through the proper steps to clean and heal it. But what happens when the problem is that the patient can't get to you for the right treatment? Again, you find a solution.

When visiting a doctor becomes a transportation hassle, patients begin to miss visits. This leads to untreated symptoms, which are costly for medical institutions losing potential revenue. Currently, if senior patients don't have the ability to drive themselves, they must call upon one of several alternatives:

With Room Service and More, Hospitals Borrow From Hotels

At the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital outside Detroit, patients arrive to uniformed valets and professional greeters. Read More   

Remote Heart Monitoring Can Help Detect Emergencies

Instead of having heart monitors with noisy alarms near patients' beds in the hospital, it might be better to have off-site technicians do the heart monitoring remotely, a recent study suggests. Read More  

The Night Doctor is in: Why 'Nocturnalists' Are Replacing Some On-Call Physicians

More hospitals are hiring experienced "nocturnalists" to improve patient safety and prevent calls to tired on-call physicians, according to an article in the Boston Globe. Read More  

Healthcare Hiring Momentum Leads to another 38,500 Jobs in June

Healthcare added 38,500 jobs in June and a total of 234,600 jobs in the first six months of 2016, according to initial seasonally adjusted figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Read More  

Family Caregivers Become More Crucial as Elderly Population Grows

Strain on family caregivers is alarming many lawmakers and social-service providers. Read More   

Anti-depressants Carry Much Higher Fall Risk than Anti-psychotics, Study Finds

Nursing home residents with dementia who take antidepressants are at significantly higher risk of falls and fractures than those on anti-psychotics, new research shows. Read More  

Nursing Homes Starting to Offer More Individualized Menus

On a recent Thursday, the staff at Sunny Vista Living Center in Colorado Springs bustled in the kitchen.  

AHRQ Reports Continued Gains in Health Care Quality

Health care quality is improving overall, especially in hospitals, and more people have health care coverage and a usual source of medical care since the Affordable Care Act took effect, according to a new report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Read more.  

 "We must distinguish ourselves on the quality of CARE we provide, the FUNCTION we restore or maintain, the COMPASSION we show our patients and each other, and the PHYSICIAN we work with and support. Kindred must provide SERVICE and a patient experience that is second-to-none."  

This is the message Dr. Marc Rothman, Chief Medical Officer of Kindred Healthcare, conveys in his recent video addressing Kindred's company-wide commitment to improving the quality of the care they provide day in and day out.

AHA Issues Guide for Improving the Patient Experience through the Physical Environment

One way for hospitals to improve patient satisfaction is to focus on their physical environment, according to a new guide by the AHA's Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence initiative and American Society for Healthcare Engineering. Read More    

Hospitals Eye Community Health Workers to Cultivate Patients' Successes

Donnie Missouri, 58, doesn't have medical training. He started his health career in the linens department in Johns Hopkins Hospital. Read More

Do you know what to do if you receive a phishing e-mail or lose a mobile device? What types of events qualify as HIPAA violations? Reporting security and privacy events when they happen can significantly reduce their impact. Phishing e-mails can be blocked and mobile devices can be wiped. The exposure from misdirected faxes and other PHI disclosures can be limited if you act quickly. Do your part  to protect Kindred, your coworkers and our patients by being aware of threats and reporting them when you see them. 

Number of Seniors Who Need Personal Care Help Increasing, CDC Says

A "significantly" increasing number of adults over age 65 need help with personal care, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More