One in 10 older U.S. adults has dementia, new national data show
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 25, 2022
Ten percent of U.S. seniors have dementia and another 22% have cognitive impairment, finds the first such national study in two decades.
Top concern of post-acute patients is staff competence, small study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 14, 2022
Staff competence and professionalism lend confidence that restored health and independence are in sight, patients told investigators.
Study: Residents received more mental health-related prescriptions during pandemic
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 10, 2022
Long-stay nursing home residents were more depressed during the pandemic and also treated more often with drugs that work on the central nervous system, according to a study across Michigan facilities.
Brain changes after COVID ‘real’ and prevalent, researchers tell clinicians
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 16, 2022
New evidence shows that COVID-19 can have long-term, adverse impacts on brain health — even after mild illness. Clinicians should take note, experts say.
Half of healthcare workers in VA study worked while ill with COVID-19: study
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 12, 2023
Nearly 50% of workers in a Veterans’ Affairs healthcare system, including long-term care units, continued working despite having symptoms of COVID-19, researchers have found.
Floor swabs an early warning sign of COVID-19 outbreaks, researchers say
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 16, 2023
A 14-month program in 10 long-term care facilities has found that floor swabs accurately detect a COVID-19 outbreak days before it is identified by staff members.
SNFs kept up ‘remarkable’ level of rehab during pandemic, Harvard study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 06, 2023
Despite caring for a sicker patient population and higher staff turnover, skilled nursing facilities provided post-acute rehabilitation services with only a modest decline in intensity, investigators say.
VA’s narrative medicine program improves senior patient care, docs’ study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 25, 2023
Physicians said that the practice of narrative medicine changed how they framed patient decisions and helped them to guide seniors toward appropriate care.
Medicare costs could rise by $5B annually with expanded Alzheimer’s drug coverage: study
By
Alicia Lasek
May 12, 2023
Medicare costs could rise by $2 to $5 billion a year if CMS expands its coverage for newly approved Alzheimer’s disease drug Leqembi (lecanemab), investigators say.
Medicare’s outpatient knee replacement policy tied to more surgeries, less access: study
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 06, 2023
Medicare’s 2018 policy change supporting outpatient total knee replacement may have led to more surgeries and higher costs, while unintentionally limiting access to older, Black and female patients,...