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Surgeons are rethinking the old notions of "informed consent." With older patients especially, a push is on to talk candidly about what a surgery will do, its risks and how it will affect their quality of life.
Capitalizing on the growing popularity of genetic testing — and fears of terminal illness — scammers are persuading seniors to hand over cheek swabs with their DNA, not knowing it may lead to identity theft and Medicare fraud.
Geriatricians are outraged over a new requirement to pay for training in order to administer the MoCA test, a widely used tool to screen for cognitive problems. The test’s creator said he was worried about accuracy and liability.
More than 400,000 U.S. workers have retired in foreign countries and their ranks are rising. But Medicare doesn’t cover most expenses overseas, so these expats will need to confront the cost of finding alternative insurance.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don't have to.
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
A wide variety of medications used to treat allergies, insomnia, leaky bladders, diarrhea, dizziness, motion sickness, asthma, Parkinson’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and psychiatric disorders can interfere with cognition in older patients.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don't have to.
Doctors should assess older adults for the risk of falling, come up with individualized plans and refer seniors to physical therapists, occupational therapists and evidence-based programs.
Running counter to the efforts of suicide prevention experts and many religious and social norms, some seniors are quietly exploring the option of turning to suicide when they feel they've lived long enough.
California lawmakers spent big on Medi-Cal in the 2019-20 state budget, voting to cover more older residents and people with disabilities, restore benefits cut during the recession and open the program to eligible young adults who are in the country illegally.Â
Regenexx, which runs a string of clinics, says stem cell injections can save employers a lot of money, but critics say there’s no proof.
As people advance in age, the expectations for what constitutes good health change. People focus on positive emotions and satisfaction with life, while physical ailments play a less important role.
It’s never easy to tell a patient about a terminal illness, but a longtime doctor whose own diagnosis was botched says physicians must do better.
Boomers are aging reluctantly but, for the most part, gracefully. Many even have found the secret to shaving a decade or more off their physical age.
Some Veterans Affairs hospitals around the country use writers to record patients' life stories, then place a short biography in each vet’s medical record. The My Life, My Story program gives clinicians another way to get to know their patients.
The problem affects private drug policies and Medicare Advantage plans that provide both medical and drug coverage and substitute for traditional government-run Medicare. It could leave plan members without coverage.
In reaction to an investigation by Kaiser Health News and the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois legislature has passed a new law to impose fines on nursing homes that fail to meet minimum staffing requirements.
A frank conversation with geriatrician and author Dr. Louise Aronson about medicine’s biased treatment of older adults and what needs to change.
For a generation of LGBTQ people who lived through unprecedented social change, getting older poses new challenges — lack of services, discrimination, neglect and even abuse.
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