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How labor ward culture can increase C-sections
Rates of cesarean deliveries in the U.S. have remained stubbornly high over the past decade, making up close to a third of all births, and cesarean rates vary widely from hospital to hospital. Recent studies suggest that staff…
Incentive program spurred hospital electronic health record systems
An incentive program established under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 was a key factor that drove American hospitals to adopt electronic medical record systems, according to a study co-authored by…
Hospital management practices may put women at risk for C-sections, complications during childbirth
For immediate release: July 11, 2017 Boston, MA ─ The way certain hospital labor and delivery units are managed may put healthy women at greater risk for cesarean deliveries and hemorrhage, according to a new study from Harvard…
The impact of a single opioid prescription
In this week’s podcast we explore how doctors’ prescribing habits may be fueling the nation’s opioid epidemic—and what can be done to change that.
Expensive hospital care doesn’t buy better health
Patients who receive expensive care in the hospital are readmitted and die at similar rates to patients whose doctors order fewer or less expensive tests and procedures, according to a new study by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan…
Electronic system lowers wait times for access to specialists
For immediate release: March 6, 2017 Boston, MA – Low-income patients served by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) waited significantly less time to receive specialty care after DHS implemented an electronic system aimed at…
Physicians’ opioid prescribing patterns linked to patients’ risk for long-term drug use
For immediate release: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 At a glance: New research shows great variation among clinicians’ opioid prescribing practices and links physician prescription patterns to patients’ risk for subsequent long-term opioid use. Being treated by an emergency…
Cardiovascular disease-related hospital admissions jump on second day after major snowfall
For immediate release: Monday, January 30, 2017 Boston, MA – Hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases decline on days with major snowfalls compared to days with no snowfall, but they jump by 23% two days later, according to a…
Comparing procedure costs impacts patients’ health facility choice
Consumers who used a health insurance plan’s cost-comparison tool to find out sleep study costs and imaging costs chose medical facilities that charged lower prices for the procedures, according to a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health…
Atul Gawande on surgery, writing, health policy—and more
Surgeon, writer, and public health researcher Atul Gawande recently spoke on “The Ezra Klein Show,” a podcast on Vox, about how all the different parts of his work come together into one single engine for making change. Gawande…