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Hospitals increasingly team up with lending institutions to offer low- or no-interest loans to patients to make sure their bills get paid. But critics say the complexity of hospital pricing means consumers should be cautious.
An onslaught of fires, shootings and storms across the country last year tested hospital readiness. Now, leaders are using their experiences to address shortcomings that surfaced amid the chaos.
Experts provide tips for older patients and their caregivers to cope with the physical and mental declines associated with emergency room visits.
Emergency room doctors are seeing a growing number of marijuana users with a mysterious condition that causes extreme vomiting and abdominal pain.
Fire almost destroyed one of two acute care facilities in Ventura County — wiping out most of the region’s inpatient capacity. In California and nationally, such hospitals are strained by demand — and disasters.
Public outrage over surprise medical bills prompted 21 states to pass consumer protection laws. But these laws largely ignore ambulance rides, which can leave patients stuck with hundreds or even thousands of dollars in bills.
What to do if you get hit by an exorbitant ambulance bill — and how to avoid them in the first place.
They say it will help reduce unnecessary ER visits and ensure better follow-up care. It’s also good P.R., and helps them meet their obligations to provide benefits to the community in exchange for significant tax breaks.
ICU nurse Julayne Smithson had only a few minutes to grab some things from her recently purchased home a block from the Santa Rosa hospital. Then she rushed back to help evacuate patients and has scarcely stopped working since.
The ferocious fires in Northern California underscore the vulnerability of seniors and disabled people whose mobility is limited. Experts recommend basic precautions.
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Hospitals view adding trauma care as a potential profit tool, but experts say having more centers does not necessarily improve the system’s ability to respond to a mass casualty event.
After weathering the catastrophe in New Orleans 12 years ago, Dr. Ruth Berggren moved to Texas, where she again finds herself in the center of a hurricane crisis. In a Q&A, she draws parallels between the harrowing events and pinpoints risks in Harvey’s aftermath.
An emergency department at New York-Presbyterian Hospital trains staff to recognize signs of elder abuse and help victims.
Hospital use of two popular heart medicines, nitroprusside and isoproterenol, dramatically dropped after the prices for both soared.
Response times for emergency medical service units are about twice as long in rural areas as in urban areas, researchers say, underscoring the need for trained lay people to provide first aid until professional help arrives.
Despite a culture clash and lack of time and training, ER doctors see how palliative care averts suffering for elderly patients with serious illnesses.
Hospitals and oncology practices are setting up urgent care services aimed specifically at cancer patients to help keep them out of the hospital.
Doctors are beginning to pay attention to injuries, such as brain damage or kidney failure, that can afflict people who survive an overdose.
In a region where bears outnumber people, a small medical facility sets a modern example for rural hospitals on life support.
Hospice groups are teaming up with specially trained paramedics to deal with common problems that worried patients or families incorrectly think need hospital care.
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