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Patients burdened by administrative hassles that delay care, survey shows
Navigating the labyrinthine U.S. healthcare system is so challenging for patients that it leads to delayed or foregone medical care, new research shows. Twenty-five percent of insured, working age adults have either postponed or gone without necessary healthcare because of administrative obstacles, according to a study published in the journal Health Services Research Thursday. Nearly three-quarters of patients reported undertaking tasks like scheduling appointments, seeking health information, obtaining prior authorizations and resolving problems with bills and premiums. The researchers used data from the Urban Institute’s March 2019 Health Reform Monitoring Survey. “Over time we’ve increased the role of the consumer … Read more
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Gundersen Health System expanding COVID treatment to support influx of patients
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WEAU) – A rapid rise in hospitalizations is causing Gundersen Health System to expand the scope of its COVID treatment. The hospital announced Friday that an overflow of patients from its COVID unit are now being cared for within individual rooms in a second area. A third area is also being used as a negative pressure unit. Operations Vice President Mike McKee says Gundersen has seen a steady increase in COVID patients since the beginning of August, but the last two weeks the hospital has been treating between 25-35 people. In addition, McKee adds that anywhere from … Read more
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Florida hospitals overwhelmed by surge in COVID patients
Hospitals are overwhelmed by the surge in COVID patients infected with the delta variant. Kyle Green AP In the year and a half since its savage debut in the United States, the coronavirus pandemic has stretched our healthcare system nearly to the breaking point. Florida has a workforce shortage that started well before the pandemic and accelerated in the past 18 months because of it. Hospitals are contending with burnout among physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and support staff. What we’re seeing right now in the United States is a healthcare system that is not only stressed to the brink in … Read more
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Rapid City health system ‘extremely busy’ with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A health system at the epicenter of the growing South Dakota COVID-19 surge says it is dealing with a flood of COVID-19 patients by shifting staff and crafting makeshift intensive care rooms. Monument Health of Rapid City, South Dakota, issued a statement Friday, Aug. 27, saying it’s “extremely busy” as it deals with the surge. The health system in the Black Hills, which recently hosted the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, is treating 78 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. That’s nearly twice the number from a week ago and significantly higher than the five patients hospitalized with the virus a … Read more
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Newman Therapy Services patients see health professionals in new location
EMPORIA, Kan. (WIBW) – Newman Therapy Services patients have begun to see their healthcare professionals in a new location. Newman Regional Health says it has officially moved its Therapy Services, an outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy facility. On Monday, Aug. 23, patients started to be seen at the new location onsite at Newman Regional Health, 1201 W. 12th Ave., with entry through Entrance G. This is the old emergency room entrance on the southeast side of the hospital. According to Newman, the relocation and renovation project was funded by a 2020 fundraising campaign, as well as bond funds and … Read more
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Lack of mental health professionals causes dearth of care for patients
What one mental health professional called a “public health crisis” means people needing help can often wait weeks because of the shortage of professionals in Arkansas. Quinyatta Mumford, section chief of the office of rural health and primary care for the Arkansas Department of Health, estimates the state needs about 67 more psychiatrists to cover patients. “Getting practitioners to practice in rural areas can sometimes be a challenge,” Mumford said. Mumford recommended that the state increase the number of incentives to encourage people to work in rural parts of Arkansas. Those incentives could include grants or loan-repayment programs. “The shortage … Read more