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A shortage of primary care providers is driving more people to seek routine care in emergency settings. In Rhode Island, safety-net clinics are under pressure as clinicians retire or burn out, and patients say it鈥檚 harder to find care as they lose connections to familiar doctors.
Hospitals are increasingly stretching a velvet rope, offering 鈥渃oncierge service鈥 to an affluent clientele. Critics say the practice exacerbates primary care shortages.
Under pressure from increased demand, consolidation, and changing patient expectations, the model of care no longer means visiting the same doctor for decades.
The FDA and some oncologists have resisted efforts to require a quick, cheap gene test that could prevent thousands of deaths from a bad reaction to a common cancer drug.
The pain and trauma from repeated needle sticks leads some kids to hold on to needle phobia into adulthood. Research shows the biggest source of pain for children in the health care system is needles. But one doctor thinks he has a solution and is putting it into practice at two children鈥檚 hospitals in Northern California.
Demand for help monitoring patients鈥 vital signs remotely has taken off since a Medicare change in 2019. Dozens of companies now push the service to help overburdened primary care doctors 鈥 and as a revenue stream. But some policy experts say its growth has outpaced oversight and evidence of effectiveness.
A new California law allows trained physician assistants, also called physician associates, to perform first-trimester abortions without the presence of a supervising doctor. The legislation is part of a broader effort by the state to expand access to abortion care, especially in rural areas. Some doctor groups are wary.
Politicians keep talking about fixing primary care shortages. But flawed national data leaves big holes in how to evaluate which policies are effective.
Thousands of people are still dying of covid, but government has mostly handed over responsibility to the people to weather the seasonal surges with their own strategies.
More than a third of older adults have a disability. Many find it difficult to get the medical care they need. New federal regulations would address that problem.
Even in states where laws protect minors鈥 access to gender-affirming care, malpractice insurance premiums are keeping small and independent clinics from treating patients.
The Medical Board of California, which licenses MDs, is developing a program to evaluate, treat, and monitor doctors with alcohol and drug problems. But there is sharp disagreement over whether those who might volunteer for the program should be subject to public disclosure and over how much participants should pay.
Family medicine doctors already deliver most of rural America's babies, and efforts to train more in obstetrics care are seen as a way to cope with labor and delivery unit closures.
A majority of medical schools now offer dual MD-MBA programs, compared with just a quarter two decades ago. The number of medical students seeking a business degree has nearly tripled. This begs the question: Whom will these doctors serve more, patients or shareholders?
Some hospitals and physician groups are rejecting Medicare Advantage plans over payment rates and coverage restrictions, causing turmoil for patients.
Despite the prevalence of autoimmune conditions, like the thyroid disease Hashimoto鈥檚, sometimes finding help can prove frustrating as well as expensive. There are often no definitive diagnostic tests, so patients may rack up big bills as they search for confirmation of their condition and for treatment options.
Many proposals have been floated about how to address the nation鈥檚 primary care problem. They range from training slots to medical school debt forgiveness but often sidestep comprehensive payment reform.
Treatments that don鈥檛 help patients, and may even harm them, are difficult to eliminate because they can be big sources of revenue.
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