The Leapfrog group released its latest safety scorecard for 2,619 American hospitals and most have seen an improvement since the initial scorecard the group published in June.  The group calculates the score using publicly available data about 11 outcome measures and 15 process measures including the frequency of blood line infections, falls, bedsores and consistency … Read more

This New York Times article explores the effects of telling patients that the treatments aren’t working and that death is imminent. A difficult conversation indeed, but who fares better, the informed or the uniformed? We would love to hear comments from health care professionals and those who have gone through this with a loved one. … Read more

By Mary Lynn Pannen, RN, BSN, CCM President, Sound Options, Inc. Let’s face it; older adults want to stay at home as they age. When challenged with a crisis or just normal aging deterioration, family members often do not know where to go or where to start planning the care for an aging parent. This … Read more

Another example of how our retirement system is fragmented (communication between primary care physicians and specialists they refer to have poor communication.) The biggest frustration for most consumers of medical services is the fragmented system that we call the health care system. What is even more striking is that there is just about no expectation … Read more

High costs of medical care are a concern to everyone. But most to those who have to pay privately because they do not have insurance coverage. Can you negotiate prices? Here is sage advice from a practicing physician.