Read today’s Kaiser Health News
In other news:
Key patient experience insights for 2025 [From PressGaney]: Key patient experience insights for 2025
Experience is improving—but not for all. Since 2019, “Likelihood to Recommend” (LTR) scores have risen by +2.8 points in medical practices, +1.7 in ambulatory surgery centers, and +0.5 in emergency departments. Inpatient scores, however, remain down 2.2 points compared to pre-pandemic levels, despite a modest +0.9 rebound year over year.
Teamwork is closely linked to trust. Teamwork has become a leading predictor of inpatient experience. Patients are significantly more likely to recommend hospitals when they perceive care teams working in sync.
Safety must be seen and felt. When patients report feeling “very safe,” LTR scores soar to 85.3. Without that perception, scores plummet to 34.6.
Equity gaps remain—and matter. Disparities by race, age, setting, and admission type persist. Yet hospitals with the least variation across racial and ethnic groups are 2.8x more likely to achieve top-tier patient loyalty.
Unplanned admissions create complexity. Patients admitted unexpectedly report 16% lower LTR scores than those with planned stays, highlighting the need for clear communication and coordinated transitions.
Experience is one continuous journey. Patients don’t separate digital, clinical, and post-care touchpoints. Aligning patient, consumer, safety, and employee strategies is key to delivering seamless, human-centered care.
About hospitals and healthcare systems
20 academic health systems acquiring hospitals FYI
About the public’s health
You Might Inhale 68,000 Microplastics Per Day : Key Takeaways
New research suggests that folks breathe in 100 times more microplastics than had been previously assumed
The finding comes after researchers tracked the tiniest particles 1 to 10 micrometers in diameter
The health effects of these pollutants is unclear, although they are found in many human tissue types
About healthcare IT
Predicting Missed Appointments in Primary Care: A Personalized Machine Learning Approach Machine learning can predict with a high degree of certainty who will miss appointments: “No bias against patient characteristics was detected. Schedule lead time was identified as the most important predictor of missed appointments.” This study lends factual reasoning for appointment reminders.
About healthcare personnel
Foreign-Born Workers Made Up Half The Increase In The Direct Care Workforce In Home And Community Settings, 2012–22: We found that foreign-born direct care workers have increasingly filled workforce gaps, particularly in the home and community-based services (HCBS) sector. The HCBS workforce grew by more than 24 percent during the period 2012–22, while the institutional workforce declined by 23 percent; this decline was primarily due to the exodus of native-born workers. Foreign-born workers accounted for approximately half of the increase in the direct care workforce in HCBS settings during this period. To address continued workforce shortages in LTSS and meet the demand for HCBS, policy makers should consider immigration reforms to support a sustainable supply of foreign-born workers, investments in training and career pathways, and improvements in job quality through higher wages and opportunities for career advancement.
State of the healthcare workforce: 5 things to know: Healthcare gained 55,400 jobs in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is above the average monthly increase of 42,000 jobs over the previous 12 months.
Here are four other things to know from the latest BLS jobs report, released Aug. 1:
1. July job growth occurred in hospitals and ambulatory healthcare services, which added 16,000 and 33,600 jobs, respectively.
2. Within ambulatory healthcare services, physician offices added 6,700 jobs in July, while home healthcare services added 14,400.
3. Job growth also occurred in nursing and residential care facilities, which added 5,800 jobs in July.
4. Overall, the U.S. added 73,000 jobs across industries in July, including gains in healthcare.