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AI can detect breast cancer risk before humans. Why it may take hospitals a while to adopt the tech
‘Avenue of Hope’: New Treatment Being Tested in Worcester Shows Promise for Postpartum Depression
For some women, postpartum depression can cast a long shadow over what they thought would be the happiest time of their life. “I should be happy, why am I not happy?”, said Shalea Niles of Dorchester as she described how she felt after the birth of her third child. “It...
Here’s How To Fix Primary Care for the Highest-Need Patients
Massachusetts health care, often praised for its excellence, is experiencing systemic strain. Our primary care infrastructure is falling woefully short, with many people unable to access a provider.
Mass. physician assistants want more autonomy in providing health care. Why it matters
Facing a statewide health care workforce shortage, advocates for physician assistants spoke last week at the State House to support legislation that eliminates restrictive supervision requirements, as they aim to expand care access in underserved areas.
Care delivery changes reshaping hospital landscape
The splintering of Steward Health Care last year resulted in the transfer of six hospital campuses, the closure of two others, and a reshaping of the state's health care world. That might be just the start of a rethinking of the role hospitals can play in Massachusetts, Health and Human Services...
I grew up working in hospitals. I love hospitals. I hate to see them close. The sad fact is, across our country, there are 1,300 critical access hospitals -- there's one in Massachusetts, in Athol -- and a third of those hospitals were projected to close.
Kate Walsh | Health and Human Services Secretary
Ticking Clock for Home Care
Hospital at home programs have been a bright spot in the healthcare landscape for the past several years. They allow patients to receive inpatient-level care at their homes instead of a traditional hospital. Once a rarity, they’ve popped up across the country as a way to lighten the burden on brick...
[Expiration of the waiver would be a] huge step backwards in terms of our capacity challenges in the state, in terms of health equity, in terms of how we care for rural populations in particular.
Constantinos Michaelidis, MD | Medical Director, Hospital at Home
Measles, myths and more: Fighting false claims in disease control
At first, it sounded like an isolated and tragic incident, but one perhaps too far away to cause any worries here in New England: an outbreak of measles in Texas, resulting in two deaths.
UMass Memorial Reaches Hospital-at-Home Milestone; Alper Reflects on Program’s Keys to Success
At a time when health systems are under increasing pressure to improve care delivery models, UMass Memorial Health has reached a significant milestone in its Hospital-at-Home program, admitting its 3,000th patient. This initiative, spearheaded by Dr. Eric Alper, Senior Vice President, Chief Quality...
We were at a point where our hospitals didn’t have enough space for the people that needed to be there. By moving acute-level care into the home, we believed we could provide safe, effective treatment while reducing the burden on our facilities.
Eric Alper, MD | Senior Vice President, Chief Quality Officer, and Chief Clinical Informatics Officer
The Challenges of Chronic Cough
Chronic cough remains a persistent challenge for clinicians and patients, given the wide range of potential causes and confusion regarding symptoms, according to experts.
One of the key features of chronic cough is its duration of 8 weeks or longer, which makes the cough less likely to be associated...
UMass Memorial Health allergist provides tips on how to prepare for allergy season
Just a week into spring and the weather still feels anything but. While many see the season as a time for fresh starts, it's not so pleasant for others, who battle itchy eyes and scratchy throats.
Dr. Stephen Krinzman says while the weather has been cold in recent days, pollen is starting to creep in...
'We had to:' UMass Memorial Health President and CEO says changes to healthcare were a 'must' to fight off COVID pandemic
COVID-19 brought on a lot of new challenges for people both in and out of healthcare. Things like mask wearing and social distancing became the norm. But surprising enough, the virus resulted in some positive changes. Changes to healthcare some never even imagined.
"Prior to COVID, we assumed that we...
Now we use video interpreters all the time. But we also now became much more comfortable delivering care through video. So now, we can have a paramedic go into the home through our mobile integrated health program, do labs, do a physical exam on the patient, put an iv in, deliver fluid, deliver medication.
Dr. Eric Dickson | President and CEO, UMass Memorial Health
Managing Mental Illness in Pregnancy and Postpartum: What to Know
For women with, or at a risk for, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or other psychiatric conditions, managing mental health during pregnancy and postpartum presents unique challenges. For physicians, understanding the latest research and clinical guidance is essential for managing these...
We have very clear data that tells us that if a pregnant or postpartum individual doesn’t get the treatment that they need, if they’re experiencing a mood or anxiety disorder, that can have a negative impact on themselves and on their babies.
Nancy Byatt, DO | Perinatal psychiatrist with the Women’s Mental Health at UMass Memorial Medical Center
Four concrete ways Massachusetts can lower health care costs
Massachusetts’ skyrocketing health care costs are an urgent problem for every resident. Every one of us will need medical care. And every one of us will pay for medical care, through doctors’ bills, health insurance, or taxes that fund Medicare and Medicaid.
Mother Delivers Daughter Early in Ambulance with Help from EMT Who Trained Baby's Firefighter Father
Kayla Alvarez was on the way to the hospital when her daughter Mariah decided to make an early arrival. Kayla Alvarez delivered her second daughter Mariah in an unlikely place thanks to the help of an unlikely friend. The 25-year-old Mass. mom was 38 weeks pregnant when she went into labor in the...
Physician assistants say they could help the primary care crisis. Will Mass. lawmakers agree?
The Massachusetts Association of PAs wants state legislators to make permanent COVID-era accommodations that eliminate the legal requirement for physician assistants to register a specific supervising physician with the state.
There’s more camaraderie between physicians and PAs, and less of that historical hierarchy. More and more, physicians are recognizing our value as partners in care and that has been incredibly validating.
Thea Nolan, Physician Assistant, Interventional Radiology