Cathy Kehler, a 50-something church worker who'd never had a serious illness, was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer last spring. Kehler's insurance, which has a $700-a-month premium, didn't cover all of her expenses and after three operations including a double mastectomy, her out-of-pocket expenses had soared to more than $8,000. Family and friends offered emotional support, along with obligatory flowers, well-wishing cards and the occasional dinner to make life easier. But what Kehler needed was financial help for the bills weighing heavily on her when she was at her weakest.
Some homeless people in Saratoga Springs said they had to stay in the hospital Tuesday night because the city's Code Blue shelter was closed. NEWS10 ABC obtained pictures from Saratoga homeless who said they were in Saratoga Hospital Tuesday night. They said the conditions were mild compared to other January nights, but it was raining and they needed shelter. "If you notice, it's kind of uncomfortable looking," Brian said. Brian was one of 12 people who slept in Saratoga Hospital's lobby. He said he had nowhere else to go. "What? Sleep on a sidewalk?" he positioned. "Freeze? Get wet? Get cold?"
As patients, many of us have picked up on the kind of tension that plagues doctors' offices and hospitals—the tension among doctors, nurses, and administrative staff. There are horror stories about bully doctors who punish any questioning of their authority with verbal abuse, a dynamic that can result in deadly medical mistakes. But even conscientious doctors, like White, can be bad managers, and miscommunications and dissatisfaction in a medical context are bad for doctors, nurses, and patients. A recent Mayo Clinic study found that poor supervision in a medical setting is associated with burnout—which is associated with medical errors and a lack of empathy with patients
The idea of a single-payer healthcare system has come back into prominence lately with the release of a single-payer healthcare proposal by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. But what would it mean for doctors?
At the Clinton Foundation's 2016 Health Matters Summit on Monday evening in La Quinta, Calif., Abdul El-Sayed, MD, the newly appointed executive director of public health for the city of Detroit, was asked about the one change he would bring to his community, if he were "king" of the city.
Donald Trump is calling for Medicare to be able to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices, a policy long backed by Democrats and opposed by Republicans. The Republican presidential candidate told a crowd in Farmington, N.H., Monday night that the policy would save billions of dollars before taking a shot at pharmaceutical companies, which strongly oppose the proposal. "We don't do it. Why? Because of the drug companies,” Trump said, according to The Associated Press. Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, as well as President Obama, have called for the same policy of letting Medicare negotiate prices, which it is currently banned from doing under the 2003 Medicare prescription drug law.