December 4, 2023
(New York Times) – Frank Lee’s search for trustworthy home health aides — an experience that millions of American families face — has often been exhausting and infuriating, but he has persisted. He didn’t entirely trust the care his wife … Read More
December 1, 2023
(Axios) – Doctors specializing in care for older adults are increasingly in demand as the country ages — but America’s newer physicians aren’t that interested in geriatric medicine. Driving the news: Less than half of 348 post-residency fellowships for geriatric … Read More
November 30, 2023
(MIT Technology Review) – Money can’t buy happiness, but X Prize founder Peter Diamandis hopes it might be able to buy better health. Today the X Prize Foundation, which funds global competitions to spark development of breakthrough technologies, announced a … Read More
November 27, 2023
(STAT News) – Today, our nation faces a meteoric rise in metabolic disease that is showing up in end-of-life care in a devastating way. The increasing prevalence of metabolic disease combined with an aging population and a critical shortage of … Read More
November 27, 2023
(Vox) – The country is inching toward universal coverage. If everybody who qualified for either the ACA’s financial assistance or its Medicaid expansion were successfully enrolled in the program, we would get closer still: More than half of the uninsured … Read More
November 20, 2023
(Ars Technica) – UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurance company in the US, is allegedly using a deeply flawed AI algorithm to override doctors’ judgments and wrongfully deny critical health coverage to elderly patients. This has resulted in patients being kicked … Read More
November 14, 2023
(New York Times) – The United States has no coherent system of long-term care, mostly a patchwork. The private market where a minuscule portion of families buy long-term care insurance has shriveled, reduced over years of giant rate hikes by … Read More
November 14, 2023
(STAT News) – The nation’s largest health insurance company pressured its medical staff to cut off payments for seriously ill patients in lockstep with a computer algorithm’s calculations, denying rehabilitation care for older and disabled Americans as profits soared, a … Read More
November 8, 2023
(CNN) – Older adults who don’t smoke tobacco but do use marijuana were at higher risk of both heart attack and stroke when hospitalized, while people who use marijuana daily were 34% more likely to develop heart failure, according to … Read More
November 7, 2023
(Washington Post) – Longevity has become an industry, a subject of bestsellers, podcasts and newsletters. But is a life meted out in metrics, often for a price, worth it? (Read More)
October 27, 2023
(NPR) – It’s a part of getting older that many people worry about: The increased chance of developing diseases like Alzheimer’s that cause dementia. In wealthy countries, getting an early diagnosis can at least help a person’s family understand and … Read More
October 27, 2023
(CNN) – Vaccines for Covid-19 and influenza may slightly increase the risk of strokes caused by blood clots in the brains of seniors, particularly when the two vaccines are given at the same time and when they are given to … Read More
October 27, 2023
(KFF Health News) – Given Alzheimer’s is among the most feared of all medical conditions, along with cancer, this could be a sizable market, indeed. Nearly 7 million older adults in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to … Read More
October 26, 2023
(STAT News) – Adult immunization rates are perennially suboptimal. Fewer than half of adults in the U.S. get a flu shot. Only about 1 in 5 adults got a Covid booster in 2022; even among the highest-risk group, adults 65 … Read More
October 18, 2023
Ethics, Medicine, and Public Health (vol. 29, 2023) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Social Robots in Care Homes in French-Speaking Switzerland: A Qualitative and Reflective Study” by S. Perruchoud, et al.
October 17, 2023
Public Health Ethics (vol. 16, no. 2, 2023) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Pharmaceutical Pollution from Human Use and the Polluter Pays Principle” by Erik Malmqvist, et al. “From Sanitation Science to Geroscience: Public Health Must Transcend … Read More
September 15, 2023
(CNN) – “Previous studies have found that individuals with more purpose are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias,” she said in an email. “Here we look at the relation between purpose and cognitive impairment in the other … Read More
September 11, 2023
(The Verge) – Sony is launching a new sustainability program to ensure that even robot dogs are for life, and not just for Christmas. Five years after releasing the ERS-1000 Aibo — a reboot of its popular line of “autonomous … Read More
September 8, 2023
The New England Journal of Medicine (vol. 389, no. 7, 2023) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Fossil-Fuel Pollution and Climate Change: Reducing Health Care’s Climate Impact — Mission Critical or Extra Credit?” by A.S. Rabin and E.G. … Read More
September 7, 2023
(Wall Street Journal) – Americans have developed a laxative habit. Surging demand is contributing to a shortage of polyethylene glycol 3350, the generic name for laxatives like Miralax and Glycolax, gastroenterologists and suppliers say. Consumers are noticing emptier shelves in … Read More
September 6, 2023
(USA Today) – Sharon Stakofsky-Davis and Denice Lombard both carry 90-something-year-old kidneys in their 60-something-year-old bodies. They are outliers in more than just the obvious ways. Both women received kidneys from their respective fathers when they were young teenagers, after … Read More
September 5, 2023
(New York Times) – The dozens of symptoms collectively known as long Covid, or post-Covid, can sideline anyone who has been infected. But they take a particular toll on some older patients, who may be more prone to certain forms … Read More
September 1, 2023
(Scientific American) – Some forms of dementia can trigger behaviors that society classifies as criminal. It’s not that these conditions create an intention to violate the law—most dementia-related violations are not what neurologists call “instrumental behaviors,” which are calculated in … Read More
September 1, 2023
(Wall Street Journal) – Biden administration officials said the first-ever national staffing rule would require nursing homes that participate in Medicare and Medicaid to provide a minimum of 0.55 hours of care from a registered nurse per resident a day, … Read More
August 31, 2023
(Associated Press) – Over 14 million people are expected to check into airports nationwide for Labor Day weekend and, inevitably, some will be travelers with dementia or another cognitive impairment. Nearly a dozen airports — from Phoenix to Kansas City, … Read More
