https://medicalxpress.com/hospital-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Hospital medicine More hospitals across the U.S. are closing than opening, and urban hospitals are closing at the same rate as rural ones, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Further, the hospitals that close are more likely to be those serving socially vulnerable communities. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hospital-closures-rural-urban-areas.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:20:01 EDT news710690821 The early years of working life differ for newly qualified nurses and midwives working in hospitals and comparable graduates working in other sectors. Louise Schubert Paaske, a Ph.D. student in health economics at the Danish Centre for Health Economics (DaCHE) at the University of Southern Denmark, and her colleagues have used Danish national registers to follow the graduates' health trajectories over their first six years in employment. The study is published in the journal Communications Health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-newly-nurses-midwives-hospital-years.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:20:11 EDT news710607662 A powerful veterinary sedative, medetomidine, is increasingly appearing in street supplies of the already deadly opioid fentanyl, and the number of patients suffering from medetomidine withdrawal has quadrupled in recent years, according to a new analysis by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-severe-cases-medetomidine.html Tue, 29 Sep 2026 16:20:14 EDT news709912889 AI agents could reliably support diagnoses and clinical decision-making in the future—provided sensitive health data are protected and clinicians can assess the reliability of individual AI-generated results. Researchers at the Else Kröner Fresenius Center (EKFZ) for Digital Health at TU Dresden and Dresden University Hospital have developed an on-premises medical AI system that addresses both challenges. Their findings have been published in the journal Nature Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-stable-medical-ai-flag-clinicians.html Tue, 15 Sep 2026 18:20:05 EDT news708706021 A large-scale, quality improvement program developed in collaboration with infection prevention experts at the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality was associated with a 65% reduction in hospital-onset bloodstream infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among participating hospital units. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-nationwide-safety-reduction-hospital-onset.html Mon, 14 Sep 2026 15:40:11 EDT news708614161 Relying on a urinary catheter is a standard part of medical care for hundreds of thousands of patients each year. Unfortunately, the device carries the risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), for which bacteria are widely recognized as the primary cause. And yet, many patients face a growing threat from another pathogen: a fungus, Candida albicans. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-candida-urinary-catheters-contamination-patient.html Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:40:03 EDT news707141101 Patients diagnosed with conditions after an emergency hospital admission or an emergency room visit face a higher risk of death than those diagnosed in nonemergency settings, according to a large population-based study by Emma Whitfield and colleagues from University College London, UK, published in PLOS Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-emergency-linked-poorer-outcomes-wide.html Tue, 25 Aug 2026 14:00:08 EDT news706786621 At the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine was hit with a 40% surge in demand for blood for its civilians and military personnel. Despite damaged health care facilities, supply chain disruptions and population displacement, the country maintained a self-sufficient blood supply by centralizing operations and expanding donor recruitment, according to a new international study that included scientists from Northwestern University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ukraine-wartime-blood.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:20:05 EDT news706293541 A new nationwide study finds antiviral treatment is linked to fewer intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and shorter hospital stays for children hospitalized with influenza. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-largest-real-world-early-flu.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:20:08 EDT news705582301 A University of Colorado Anschutz-led clinical trial has found an automated oxygen delivery system helped hospitalized patients spend significantly more time in their target oxygen range compared with standard care, while also reducing exposure to both low and high oxygen levels. Patients in the automated group spent 85% of their time in the target oxygen range compared with 63% in the standard care group. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-clinical-trial-ai-oxygen-delivery.html Mon, 03 Aug 2026 13:00:03 EDT news704965073 If it feels harder to keep the same doctor, you're not imagining it. Health care leaders say retirements, burnout and changing workforce expectations are making it complicated to keep experienced clinicians in place. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-doctors.html Fri, 31 Jul 2026 13:40:03 EDT news704723581 Researchers from RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School found that an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled early warning system helped identify hospitalized patients at risk of rapid clinical decline sooner, contributing to fewer deaths among high-risk patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-ai-tool-patient-deterioration-earlier.html Wed, 29 Jul 2026 10:00:01 EDT news704471341