Infections are all-too-common in nursing homes. And all-too-often facilities treat these conditions with large doses of antibiotics. Now the Obama Administration has announced a major initiative aimed at dramatically reducing the use of these drugs. And the effort has the potential to fundamentally change the way nursing homes operate—and the way residents receive care. Today, antibiotic use is routine in nursing facilities. [...]
If you are 65 or older and living in America, your chances of getting Ebola are vanishingly small. You are far more likely to contract—and die from—everyday infectious diseases such as flu, a variety of stomach viruses, or common bacteria such as C. difficile (c. dif.) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These common infectious diseases are responsible for one-third of [...]
Nearly 18 million older adults, or nearly half of everyone 65 and older, report that they need some assistance with routine daily activities. That’s significantly more than generally believed and suggests that the burden on families and the overall care system may be much greater than previously thought. According to a new study by Vicki Freedman of the University of [...]
Medicare, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, needs to be fixed. But if backers of reform frame that change primarily as a way to reduce federal spending, they are doomed to fail. The other day, former Republican senator Judd Gregg wrote a guest column in The Hill newspaper about a gathering of policy wonks at Dartmouth College aimed at reforming [...]
In a recent article in The Atlantic, entitled “Why I Hope to Die at 75,” Ezekiel Emmanuel makes the following provocative argument: I am not interested in living beyond age 75 since I am likely to suffer from functional limitations and will no longer be able to contribute much to society. I will not accept curative medical treatment, only comfort [...]
Imagine being able to receive fully integrated medical, social, and spiritual care in your own home. Nursing care is available 24/7. Home health aides provide basic personal assistance. Care is person-centered and focused on the specific needs of each patient. And for people with incurable chronic conditions, it focuses on managing symptoms, including pain, thus vastly improving their quality of [...]
Hospice is facing unprecedented public criticism. In recent months, The Washington Post has published at least four highly critical articles, alleging widespread instances of poor care and fraud. In June, The Huffington Post published a long investigative piece largely targeting the practices of the for-profit hospice operator Vitas Healthcare Corp. What’s this about? How did a movement aimed at comforting the [...]
The Obama Administration has announced its preliminary plans for the next White House Conference on Aging, which would be held next year. It would be the first such conference in a decade and could be quite valuable, given the rapid aging of the U.S. population and vast changes in the medical and long-term care environment since the last session. 2015 [...]
This week, The New York Times published an investigative report by Katie Thomas on Medicare’s five-star rating system for nursing homes. Among its findings: Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare tool relies largely on self-reported data by the facilities themselves and is thus unreliable. On one hand, this is a bit odd, since Medicare’s website explicitly describes these very shortcomings. On the [...]
When we think about the health of frail older adults, severe, high-profile illnesses such as dementia, heart disease, cancer, and debilitating arthritis come to mind. But for many seniors, small things can turn a manageable chronic condition into an acute medical crisis. One is malnutrition. Spend a little time in a hospital emergency department and you’ll be shocked at how [...]