This is another in a series of conversations between Dr. Jarone Lee, a frontline critical care and emergency physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Paul Hattis, a senior fellow at the Lown Institute, a former commissioner of the Health Policy Commission, and co-host of CommonWealth’s Health or Consequences Codcast. […]
Hospitals
Posted inHealth Care
Hospitals lost money during COVID
IT MAY BE counterintuitive, but experts have long been saying that the public health emergency actually lowered the amount of money being spent on health care. The reason is that people have been deferring non-emergency care. So overall appointments for health care have decreased, even as providers are tasked with responding to COVID-19 and related […]
Posted inHealth Care
A report from the frontlines at MGH
DR. JARONE LEE, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, is very worried as predictions of infection rates run as high as 60 percent worldwide. “I am a critical care doctor so I do see the sickest folks. We are very worried on the ICU side,” he said on […]
Posted inThe Download
A report from the frontlines at MGH
Dr. Jarone Lee, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, is very worried as predictions of infection rates run as high as 60 percent worldwide. “I am a critical care doctor so I do see the sickest folks. We are very worried on the ICU side,” he said […]
Posted inUncategorized
Doctors: Immigration crackdown raising health care concerns
AT A LEGISLATIVE BRIEFING Wednesday hosted by lawmakers seeking passage of the Safe Communities Act, physicians, pediatricians, and domestic abuse prevention advocates shared anecdotes about undocumented immigrants refusing to seek medical care or report abuse because they fear being reported to federal immigration authorities. Fiona Danaher, a pediatrician at Massachusetts General Hospital, said that medical professionals are […]
Posted inHealth Care
Data breaches expose no-teeth regulations
Massachusetts General Hospital says it is trying to contact 9,900 individuals who were either patients or participants in neurological studies about a third-party privacy breach that occurred in June for a six-day period. Information accessed included medical record numbers, medical history, participant’s names, demographic information, and genetic information. Hospital representatives say law enforcement has been […]
Posted inThe Download
Data breaches expose no-teeth regulations
Massachusetts General Hospital says it is trying to contact 9,900 individuals who were either patients or participants in neurological studies about a third-party privacy breach that occurred in June for a six-day period. Information accessed included medical record numbers, medical history, participant’s names, demographic information, and genetic information. Hospital representatives say law enforcement has been […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. has hospital readmissions problem
THERE IS A great deal to celebrate in Massachusetts following the Health Policy Commission’s recent Cost Trends Hearing. The Commonwealth’s healthcare spending growth was well below the national average in 2017 – the lowest since the agency’s inception to help curb the total cost of care in the state. While it’s important to recognize these […]
Posted inOpinion
Yes on 3 is a healthy choice
ALL OF US know that accessing basic health care and emergency medical care treatment is essential to taking care of ourselves and our families. This November, voters will have a unique opportunity to uphold a Massachusetts state law that prohibits discrimination against transgender people in public accommodations, which includes hospitals and doctors’ offices. Voting Yes […]
Posted inOpinion
A missed healthcare opportunity
MASSACHUSETTS MISSED AN opportunity to address some of the most crucial healthcare challenges facing the state when the Legislature failed to reach agreement on a sweeping reform bill this session. It’s disappointing, particularly because the reforms thoughtfully formulated over the past several months are vital to many of our local communities, hospitals, workers, and patients. […]