A test that can be done using a blood plasma sample containing cell-free (cf)DNA can predict whether a pregnant woman will have a preterm birth or not to a good degree of accuracy.
Every healthcare provider, pharmacist and patient in the U.S. dreads saying or hearing the words, "You'll need prior authorization for that." Prior authorization is a bottleneck that slows down care, frustrates staff, and leaves patients waiting.
Using electronic health record data to measure how frequently someone changes their residential address may be an effective tool to screen for patients who may be experiencing homelessness, according to a Northwestern Medicine study.
Experts warn the boarding issue will worsen as the number of people 65 and older in the U.S. with dementia grows in the coming decades. Hospital bed capacity in the U.S. may not keep up. Between 2003 and 2023, the number of staffed hospital beds was static, even as emergency department visits shot up 30% to 40% over that same period.
Immunization programs nationwide have been left brittle by years of stagnant funding by federal, state and local governments. In Texas and elsewhere, this helped set the stage for the measles outbreak and fueled its spread. Now cuts to federal funding threaten efforts to prevent more cases and outbreaks.