OIG: Older Medicare recipients often harmed during hospital stays
May 13, 2022
Fully 25% of older American Medicare beneficiaries are at high risk of being harmed during acute care stays, according to the HHS Office of the Inspector General.
Boost rehab efforts to improve poor post-acute pneumonia outlook, clinicians say
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 18, 2020
Fully 90% of nursing home residents hospitalized for pneumonia experience severe disability or death within two months of discharge. Careful post-acute planning is especially crucial for these patients...
Older adults in cancer clinical trials don’t have more ER, observational visits, data shows
By
Kristen Fischer
Jun 05, 2024
Older people in clinical trials for cancer didn’t have significantly more emergency room or observational visits compared to those not in trials, but they underwent more hospitalizations, according to...
Surgery rates fall in elders; improved screening may be reason
By
Alicia Lasek
May 11, 2021
Despite an aging population and safer surgical procedures, the frequency of abdominal surgery is decreasing among older adults — particularly in those age 85 and older, according to researchers from...
Study: Sickest COVID-19 patients have 22 percent lower mortality with vaccination
By
Alicia Lasek
May 23, 2023
Vaccination for COVID-19 has reduced by 22% the number of COVID-19 deaths among hospitalized patients dependent on oxygen, according to a new study.
Don’t shelve rapid tests as COVID cases climb, advocates implore nursing homes
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 03, 2020
Industry advocates say it’s time for facility operators who have not made full use of rapid antigen tests to start doing so — before nursing home deaths begin to spike again. CMS must “take to...
COVID hospitalizations in Israel fall by 60 percent three weeks after vaccinations
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 26, 2021
In a study involving more than 50,000 patients, COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations appeared to begin falling sharply at about 18 days after a first vaccine dose, and by even more after the second.
New wave of flu cases, COVID-19 hospitalizations hits U.S., impacting seniors
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 06, 2022
Flu activity was the highest in a decade last week and hospitalizations for three respiratory viruses are straining healthcare systems, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on Monday.
Fracture location affects long-term outcomes in older adults, study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 31, 2020
Fractures closer to the body’s center raise older patients’ odds of hospitalization and premature death.
New CDC data: Vaccinated older adults have low chance of COVID hospitalization
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 09, 2021
The three FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in keeping the oldest adults out of the hospital, according to federal data released Friday.