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December 29, 2011 Surgeons make full-face transplants a reality for people with severely disfigured faces. Three such operations were performed successfully in Boston this year, a turning point in the field.

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December 27, 2011 KHNHospitals may be the only places in America that aren't crazy for iPads. Security issues and incompatibility with hospital systems are two big reasons why tablet computers haven't caught on. But some doctors and patients say they're great for explaining complex medical issues.

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December 15, 2011 Hospitals have financial incentives to avoid autopsies. And a decline in the number of postmortem examinations performed means lost opportunities for improving medical care and distortions in health care statistics.

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December 9, 2011 A ferocious fire at the largest hospital in Hartford, Conn., killed 16 people 50 years ago. The results of an investigation into the blaze led stricter fire codes and construction standards for hospitals across the country.

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December 8, 2011 KHNEfforts to cut federal spending are targeting a program that gives higher Medicare reimbursements to small hospitals in rural areas. Some observers say the program has gotten so big, it's propping up hospitals that are neither critical to a community nor isolated.

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November 23, 2011 Plumbers and emergency room doctors have plenty of business come Thanksgiving. An ER doctor has some useful tips for steering clear of her and her colleagues over the holiday.

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November 16, 2011 When a California hospital closes its emergency room, many residents may feel the effect. And according to a new report, hospitals whose patients tend to be black or on Medicaid are more likely to shut down their ERs than others.

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November 15, 2011 A survey finds 42 percent of hospitals offer at least one type of complementary or alternative medicine treatment. Those hospitals that offer the options cite patient demand as the top reason. Clinical effectiveness is the No. 2 reason.

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November 8, 2011 KHNPatients in those places gave some of the lowest evaluations of their hospital stays, Medicare data show. The surveys asked patients how well their doctors and nurses communicated, whether their pain was always handled welland whether their rooms were clean and quiet.

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October 19, 2011 A decline in the admission of Medicare patients to hospitals for treatment of heart failure saves at least $4.1 billion a year, a new study finds. Better treatment of coronary artery disease and high blood pressure may help explain the decline.

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September 26, 2011 Most big children's hospitals are nonprofits, but you wouldn't know that looking at the bottom lines of many of them. They're pouring billions of dollars into new buildings, adding beds and equipment and staff at the same time Washington, the states and employers grapple with health care spending.

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August 24, 2011 KHNThe latest Medicare data show that doctors frequently order MRI scans for patients with back pain before trying recommended treatments such as physical therapy.

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August 23, 2011 In just five years hospitals and doctors across the country have made remarkable progress in speeding up treatment. The median time for patients to get a potentially life-saving treatment dropped to 64 minutes in 2010 from 96 minutes in 2005.

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