Kaiser Health News

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Telemedicine visit with Kaiser Permanente. | COURTESY OF KAISER PERMANENTE NORTHWEST

Pandemic Made Telemedicine An Instant Hit. Patients And Providers Feel The Growing Pains.

Health systems, clinics and private practices pivoted swiftly to telemedicine when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but video services were not prepared for a titanic influx of users.

Jul 26, 2021

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Smoke from wildfires burning through bone dry forests and grasslands in the West covered the city of Helena, Montana on Sunday./Matt Volz/Kaiser Health News)

Wildfire Smoke Drives People In Low-Vaccinated Areas Indoors, Raising Outbreak Fears

Smoke and heat in the West are driving people to seek refuge at libraries, movie theaters, museums and other indoor venues.

Jul 22, 2021

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JAROSŁAW KWOCZAŁA/PIXABAY

Facing Killer Heat, ERs Use Body Bags To Save Lives

As more heatstroke patients arrived at hospitals in Washington, doctors used human body bags filled with ice and water to quickly immerse and cool several elderly people.

Jul 22, 2021

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FRITZ LIEDTKE/OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY

Analysis: Necessary Or Not, COVID Booster Shots Are Probably On The Horizon

Booster shots are likely to be here before long because of the outdated, 60-year-old basic standard the Food and Drug Administration uses to authorize medicines for sale.

Jul 21, 2021

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Damon Diessner lost 200 pounds on a diabetes prevention program in Redmond, Washington./Laurie McKenzie

Though Millions Are At Risk For Diabetes, Medicare Struggles To Expand Prevention Program

Only 3,600 of an estimated 16 million Medicare beneficiaries eligible for a two-year diabetes prevention program have actually signed up since Medicare started covering the program in 2018.

Jul 21, 2021

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Miché Aaron struggled in the doctoral program until she was diagnosed with ADHD but is now thriving academically./Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University

With A Diagnosis At Last, Black Women With ADHD Start Healing

Already subject to unique discrimination at the intersection of gender and race, Black women with ADHD often remain undiagnosed because their symptoms are mischaracterized.

Jul 20, 2021

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Biden’s Executive Order Includes Drug Pricing. But Will It Do Enough?

KHN teamed up with PolitiFact to analyze Biden’s campaign promises, but experts say the jury is still out on how meaningful these efforts will be.

Jul 19, 2021

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LYNNE TERRY/THE LUND REPORT

Hospital ‘Trauma Centers’ Charge Enormous Fees To Treat Minor Injuries and Send People Home

Tens of thousands of times a year, hospitals charge enormously expensive trauma alert fees for injuries so minor the patient is never admitted.

Jul 19, 2021

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U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. | LOUIS VELAZQUEZ/UNSPLASH

Senate Democrats’ Plan Boosts Spending On Medicare, ACA Subsidies, Long-Term Care

The $3.5 trillion budget plan would be the largest infusion into the American health care system since 2010, but its passage may be difficult.

Jul 15, 2021

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Doctors Weigh Pros and Cons of Prescribing Hot-Button Alzheimer’s Drug

Cognitive decline varies widely among people who have started experiencing memory and thinking problems or who are in the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s — the patients who received Aduhelm.

Jul 13, 2021