Category: Hospitals
Analysis: Pulling Back Curtain On Hospital Prices Adds New Wrinkle In Cost Control
For years, these prices have been a tightly guarded industrial secret. When pressed to release them, hospitals have argued that they are proprietary information.
Hospitals Check To See If Patients Are Donor-Worthy — Not Their Organs, But Pockets
Hospitals conduct nightly wealth screenings — using software that culls public data such as property records, and contributions charities.
Prices vary wildly from hospital to hospital
The price of a liter of basic saline solution ranged from $56 to $383, nearly seven times as much. A brain MRI with contrast ranged from $3,200 to $8,800.
Depression in First-Year Doctors Depends on Where They Train
Rates were highest in programs whose trainees reported the longest hours, the least helpful faculty feedback, and the least valuable inpatient training programs.
Rural Hospitals in Greater Jeopardy in Non-Medicaid Expansion States
Nearly a hundred rural hospitals in the United States have closed since 2010. Another 600-plus rural hospitals are at risk of closing,
How much will that operation cost?
Hospitals now must to post their prices online. But what is popping up on hospital websites is a dog’s breakfast of codes, abbreviations and dollar signs.
World-famous cancer center’s season of turmoil
Cancer centers grapple with conflict of interests among their leadership, researchers and physicians.
Taking Surprise Medical Bills To Court
Joaquin Lopez had emergency gallbladder surgery after rushing to an ER last year. He has been haggling with the hospital over what he owes ever since.
One Breast Implant, Two Prices. It Depends on Who’s Paying.
Breast implants pricing gives a glimpse into how hospitals mark up prices of medical devices to boost their bottom lines.
Why is so hard to get your medical records?
Medical records can be hard for patients to get, even in this digital information age. But they shouldn’t be.
The $109K Heart Attack Bill Is Down To $332. What About Other Surprise Bills?
Hospital that charged a teacher $108,951 for heart attack care slashed the bill to $332.29 — after news stories appeared about its surprise ‘balance’ billing.
Building a better ‘code blue’
We found that some top hospitals had teams with members dedicated to responding to cardiac arrests around the clock. In others, team members had to drop their regular duties to response to codes.
Hospitals Battle For Control Over Fast-Growing Heart-Valve Procedure
“It’s all about the money,” says one surgeon of the battle over which hospitals can perform transcatheter aortic valve replacement, also known as TAVR.
Why Taking Care In Discharging A Hospital Patient Matters
Patients want to feel prepared to look after themselves when they leave the hospital.
Washington launches online tool that lets patients compare prices for medical procedures
Using the tool is as easy as searching by procedure or treatment and entering a ZIP code to compare costs.