New York Times reporter Eduardo Porter speaks with Prof. Paul Osterman about his new book, which examines the need for better home health care in the U.S. Porter writes that in his book, Osterman suggests that improving home health care jobs, “could actually improve the quality and efficiency of the entire health care system.”
Scientific American reporter Lindsay Brownell writes that MIT researchers have developed a technique to enlarge pathology samples. “Not only are expanded samples easier to see because they are larger and more transparent, fluorescent tags and other labels can also be added to track individual molecules of interest.”
New York Times reporter Austin Frakt writes that MIT researchers have found that hospitals that spend more on emergency care had better patient outcomes. “Hospitals that score well on patient satisfaction, follow good processes of care and record lower hospital mortality rates,” says Prof. Joseph Doyle, “do seem to keep patients alive and out of the hospital longer.”
Prof. Jonathan Gruber writes for The Washington Post that the Senate’s health care bill could make the opioid epidemic worse by proposing a, “rollback of the Medicaid expansions that had finally slowed the rapid growth of this devastating problem.”
Avantika Chilkoti of The New York Times assesses news coverage of the health care debate using Media Cloud, a platform that tracks online stories developed in part by researchers from the MIT Center for Civic Media. Since May, news about Russia and former FBI director James Comey “outstripped coverage of the health care bill on 30 of 67 days,” writes Chilkoti.
WBUR’s Rachel Zimmerman reports that Rendever, a startup launched by MIT graduates, has been awarded $40,000 by Pulse@MassChallenge, an accelerator aimed at supporting digital health startups. Rendever developed a virtual reality platform that aims to reduce social isolation and improve mental health, “through technology that allows seniors to relive and remember personal and family experiences and explore new environments.”
Writing for The New York Times, Prof. Christopher Warshaw discusses his research, which shows there is not one state where the majority of residents support the American Health Care Act. “Across all the states that voted for President Trump last year, we estimate that support for the A.H.C.A. is rarely over 35 percent."
In an article for The New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Gruber writes that proposed cuts to Medicaid will impact a large number of Americans, as the program provides financial resources for elderly and disabled adults. “Nearly two-thirds of [Medicaid] spending is focused on older and disabled adults — primarily through spending on long-term care services such as nursing homes.”
FOX 25’s Bob Dumas reports on a study by MIT Medical that shows most parents could successfully perform strep tests at home. David Diamond, associate medical director of MIT Medical, explains that in the healthcare field, “we are empowering patients to help us take care of their health,” adding that this test, “would be yet another advance in this regard.”
In this Bloomberg video, MIT professor Jonathan Gruber discusses the discrimination in health insurance that increases costs for sick consumers. “For the very healthiest people premiums have gone up a lot, and that’s because they were essentially benefiting from discrimination and they no longer get to,” explains Prof. Gruber.
Wall Street Journal reporter James Hagerty writes about the life and legacy of Henri Termeer, a life member of the MIT Corporation known for his work as a pioneering leader in the field of biotechnology.
Xconomy reporter Ben Fidler writes about the life and legacy of Henri Termeer, a life member of the MIT Corporation who died at age 71. Institute Prof. Phillip Sharp explains that Termeer was, “a transformational leader in biotechnology of orphan diseases. Many children now have hope of a healthy life because of his vision and 40 years of creative business leadership.”
Henri Termeer, a life member of the MIT Corporation who was known as one of the founding fathers of the biotech industry, died at age 71, write Robert Weisman and Bryan Marquard for The Boston Globe. Termeer was, “a key leader in the biotech revolution that placed Massachusetts at the nexus of cutting-edge research and development.”
The New York Times' David Leonhardt writes about a study by Prof. Amy Finkelstein showing that as health care premiums rise, low-income families increasingly forgo insurance and use emergency care. Leonhardt explains that emergency care, “tends to be expensive, raising costs for other patients, and it’s often not as good as preventive care.”
Boston Magazine reporter Jamie Ducharme writes that CSAIL researchers have developed a device that can measure walking speed using wireless signals. The device can “also measure stride length, which may come in handy when studying conditions that are characterized by small steps, such as Parkinson’s disease.”