Expanded hospice improves care but raises Medicare costs

Hospice expanded rapidly in the United States during the 2000s, improving quality of care. End-of-life medical costs were reduced, but the increased cost of hospice care itself outpaced those savings and led to higher net Medicare costs among nursing home residents. Longer lengths of stay in hospice are a major driver of those costs, experts say.

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Frequent users of emergency care more than twice as likely to die or be admitted

Frequent users of emergency care are more than twice as likely as infrequent users to die, be admitted to hospital, or require other outpatient treatment, concludes an analysis of the available evidence.

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Analysis compares California exchange, commercial health insurance hospital networks

The suspicion that the federal Affordable Care Act reduces options for patients to choose their health care providers proves to be true, according to a new study. However, the quality of hospitals in insurance exchange networks was as good or better than those in commercial insurance networks.

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Reasons why survival rates of extremely premature infants differ by hospital

Extremely premature infants born at 22 to 25 weeks of gestation have low rates of survival, and many of those infants who live have severe or moderate neurodevelopmental impairments. Thus, clinicians and families face the extremely difficult decision to either provide active, potentially lifesaving treatment at birth, or just provide comfort care. Between-hospital variations in active treatment explain much of the difference in survival rates seen in infants born at 22 to 24 weeks of gestation, a study shows.

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Underappreciated cause of bowel obstruction should be included in surgical assessments

Each year, more than 10 million Americans seek medical attention, often in emergency situations, for symptoms of intestinal blockages. Researchers have identified an abnormal form of small bowel twisting (or volvulus) that may cause these painful obstructions. In contrast to other causes of bowel obstruction that are treated with bowel rest, these require immediate surgical care.

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Parents' decision-making in HPV vaccination of daughters

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a leading cause of sexually transmitted diseases, with more than 70% of sexually active people getting the virus at least once in their lifetimes. Persistent infection with some HPV strains can lead to cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women, as well as to head-and-neck and other types of cancer and anogenital warts in both men and women.

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The 20-Minute Total-Body Cardio Workout

When it comes to cardio, sometimes it seems like we’re stuck between a rock (the treadmill) and a hard place (spin class). Both are effective, but both can get boring, fast. Fortunately, there’s a better way to burn calories without even stepping foot in a gym.

Say hello to high-intensity bodyweight exercises. In this 20-minute video, Dana McCaw, certified trainer and Grokker expert, shows you how to perform a variety of exercises that work your entire body, burn major calories, and make you break a serious sweat—without any weights or equipment. You’ll start with a quick lower-body warm-up before moving into two rounds of five heart-pumping moves, from front lunges to lateral hops, that target evey muscle in your body, from legs to abs to back. Ready to feel the burn? Just press play.

Here’s the full recap:

3-Minute Warm-Up

1. Air squats
2. Walk-outs
3. Front lunges

Workout

Complete 2 rounds of the following moves, performing 15 reps in round 1 and 25 reps in round 2:

1. Alternating front lunges
2. Dancing crab
3. Skaters
4. Side planks
5. Lateral hops

Interested in more short and effective home workouts? Find thousands more on Grokker, the one-stop online resource for wellness. Grokker sifts through thousands of videos on the web, constantly filtering and aggregating the best cooking, yoga, and fitness videos available so you don’t have to.

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