hospitals news stories on Newser

Debt Collectors Go After Patients ... in the ER

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:08:05 CDT

One of the country's biggest medical debt collectors has reached a new low: sending employees into hospital emergency rooms to "encourage" patients to pay past medical debts before receiving treatment. The Minnesota attorney general is investigating Accretive Health's practices; its debt collectors are allegedly instructed to all but pose as...

Hospitals Open Special ERs for Elderly

Kevin Spak — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:30:05 CDT

America is getting older, and the elderly account for 15% to 20% of emergency room visits, so hospitals have come up with a new way to cater to them: the geriatric ER. Dozens of these facilities are opening across the country, the New York Times reports, looking more like soothing...

More People Going to ER for ... Toothaches

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:41:37 CST

More and more people are showing up to the emergency room to deal with teeth problems. According to a new report, more than 800,000 people in 2009 alone bolted straight to the ER with dental troubles such as toothaches that could have been avoided with proper care. Part of...

Dirty Medical Instruments a Rising Threat

Dustin Lushing — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 07:01:32 CST

A disturbing and dangerous trend is growing in hospitals, according to a report from the Center of Public Integrity : the use of dirty instruments leading to serious infections. The problem is showing up with "alarming regularity" and could be linked to the difficulty in cleaning modern surgical tools and the...

How to Give Birth Like a Celebrity

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:07:13 CST

The feverishly publicized arrival of celebri-baby Blue Ivy to Jay-Z and Beyonce has revealed the ultra-luxe treatment in hospitals that a A-list celebs can attain. ( Rumor has it that an entire wing of Manhattan's Lenox Hill hospital was sealed off for the couple). Private birthing in style and comfort...

Meant to Soothe, Hospital Water Walls Spread Danger

Rob Quinn — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:36:36 CST

Getting too close to a water wall or other decorative water fountain in a hospital can turn you into a patient, especially if you have underlying health problems, a new study warns. Researchers focused on a hospital in Wisconsin, where a water wall in the lobby was linked to an...

Wrong Patient Gets Kidney at USC Hospital

Rob Quinn — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 06:22:00 CST

USC University Hospital put its kidney transplant program on hold last month after it somehow managed to transplant a kidney into the wrong patient. Luckily for all concerned, the kidney happened to be an acceptable match for the patient, and he survived what could have been a deadly error, the...

More Hospitals Refuse to Hire Smokers

Matt Cantor — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 11:32:13 CST

A new trend in hospital jobs: Smokers need not apply. In what some call “tobacco-free hiring,” medical businesses are refusing employment to smokers, insisting on blood tests for nicotine along with applications, the New York Times reports. The policy—which, the Times notes, treats a legal habit like an illegal...