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What you need to know about HSAs
Chris Browning explains what a health savings account is and how you can sign up for one.
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Houston hospital says doctor made patients ineligible for liver transplants by manipulating database
A Houston hospital has halted its liver and kidney transplant programs after it says a doctor manipulated a database for liver transplant patients, making them ineligible to receive a new organ.
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Receiver named for Mission Hill nursing home facing closure
Dignity Alliance Massachusetts on Wednesday night shared a Superior Court ruling in which Judge Katie Rayburn concluded an emergency exists at the Edgar P. Benjamin Healthcare Center facility and that a temporary receiver “is necessary to preserve the health, safety, and well-being of the residents.”
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Boston Medical Center launches home hospital program
Boston Medical Center is the latest Massachusetts health system to begin offering hospital-level care in patients’ homes.
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Senate investigating whether ER care has been harmed by growing role of private-equity firms
An inquiry by the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee into ER care centers on three of the nation’s largest private-equity firms.
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Some rural hospitals are removing all inpatient beds, leading to confusion and no margin for error
Rural emergency hospitals are starting to gain a small foothold in the United States.
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Foxborough paramedics using AI-assisted ultrasounds to better assess patients' injuries
The Foxborough Fire Department is embracing the future. Nearly 40 paramedics will now be using artificial intelligence to assess patients’ internal injuries while en route to the hospital. “We’re just getting used to using this new system, so it’ll take some practice,” said Ryan Foley, a Foxborough firefighter and paramedic. According to Foley, their ultrasound technology will use AI...
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Insurer delays and denials hamper patients seeking at-home breathing machines
Doctors around the country say insurers are making it harder to get coverage for home ventilators that patients with serious illnesses need as their lungs fail. They say patients often must struggle first with less-effective — and cheaper — devices before some plans will pay for noninvasive ventilators.
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Mass. needs more health care workers — can virtual reality help train them?
While new jobs data released Friday put the Massachusetts unemployment rate at an ultra-low 3%, the demand for workers in health care is surging to incredibly high levels. The health care sector had 49,030 job openings as of January 2024, according to the state’s Labor and Workforce Development Office, with demand for nursing especially strong — 17,627 job postings were…
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A popular asthma medication was discontinued, leaving patients scrambling for alternatives
Flovent, a popular inhaler that has been used to treat asthma for the last 25 years, is disappearing from pharmacy shelves, leaving patients and doctors scrambling to find the medication they need in order to breathe. The drug company, GlaxoSmithKline, discontinued the medication at the end of December. Keyes Drug store in Newton got their final shipment at the…
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Steward's financial woes are impacting patient care, workers say
The clock is ticking for Steward Health Care now that Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is giving the financially troubled company an ultimatum. She wants the CEO to produce financial records by Friday or get out of the hospital business in the state. Steward Health Care owns nine hospitals in Massachusetts. Congressman Stephen Lynch toured two of them on Wednesday and…
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Lawsuit against Worcester pregnancy crisis center can move forward, judge rules
The high-profile lawsuit against a pregnancy crisis center in Worcester has taken a step forward. Clearway Clinic had asked the judge to throw the case out, but it’s been denied. Clearway is a pregnancy resource center in Worcester that’s been accused of misleading a pregnant woman who was seeking medical advice. Clearway had argued that since it’s a nonprofit,...
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Mass. hospitals ‘really struggling,' State House chair says
While all eyes are on the financial distress reported at Steward Health Care, a top House Democrat said Wednesday that the system is not alone and that other hospitals across Massachusetts are “really struggling.” During a policy breakfast at a Boston hotel, Health Care Financing Committee Co-chair Rep. John Lawn told biopharmaceutical and health care industry leaders that ensuring constituents…
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Steward Health Care plans to close hospital in Stoughton over financial losses
A long-term care and rehabilitation hospital intends to shut down due to multi-million-dollar losses, making Stoughton the latest community to lose a health care facility as part of a growing trend throughout the commonwealth. Dallas-based Steward Health Care, which describes itself as the largest owner of community-based hospitals in Massachusetts and fourth biggest private employer, plans to close its New…
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Patients at Mass. hospital may have been exposed to hepatitis, HIV
Nearly 450 patients at Salem Hospital may have been exposed to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV due to bad practices when administering IV medications, hospital officials said Wednesday. A spokesperson for the Mass General Brigham system, which owns Salem Hospital, said they were first made aware of the issue earlier this year and said the practice has been corrected….
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3 critically hurt in Lewiston mass shootings now in stable condition at hospital
All three patients who were taken in critical condition from the Lewiston mass shootings to a Maine hospital have now been upgraded to stable condition. The last of the patients was upgraded from critical condition, Central Maine Medical Center said Sunday. “We are grateful that these patients continue to improve and get well,” said John Alexander, chief medical officer at…
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Mass. nurses detail ‘violent attacks' in bid for workplace protections
Registered nurse Laura Robishaw was removing a patient’s IV when he punched her in the left side of her face, fracturing her orbital and nasal bones. After a surgery, she was back at work a week later. Susan Landers, a nurse of 30 years, decided to leave the industry she worked in for three decades after she was strangled on…
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Rural hospitals are closing maternity wards. People are seeking options to give birth closer to home
Fewer than half of rural hospitals have labor and delivery units and the number keeps dropping. It’s forcing pregnant women to travel longer distances for care.
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Supply problems and insurance issues make popular weight-loss drugs hard to get
Supply problems and insurance complications have made it difficult for many patients to start and stay on new prescription medications used to treat obesity.
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Nurses at Dana-Farber's Merrimack Valley location plan one-day strike
Registered nurses at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – Merrimack Valley are planning a one-day strike in late September as the union attempts to negotiate a contract. Nurses plan to picket in front of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute during regular clinic hours on Sept. 27. The strike is prepared to last for 24 hours, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association. Dana-Farber Cancer…