Chicago, IL (AHN)-A study published in the journal Health Affairs finds that for-profit nursing homes and hospitals on average provide an inferior quality of care compared with their nonprofit counterparts.

Bradford Gray, a principal research associate at the Urban Institute-a nonprofit research group-and lead study author, says, "The overall pattern found differences between nonprofits and for-profits regarding cost, quality and accessibility

The Food and Drug Administration and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices launch a nationwide campaign to reduce the number of medication mix-ups and mistakes caused by unclear medical abbreviations.

FDA Acting Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., says in a statement, "Some abbreviations, symbols and dose designations are frequently misinterpreted and lead to mistakes that result in patient harm

A new Canadian study finds nursing home residents who undergo a program for monitoring and treating pneumonia are less likely to need emergency-room treatment.

HealthDay News reports a program that had specially trained nurses monitor and guide the treatment of patients with pneumonia and other respiratory tract infections more than halved the rate of hospitalization

Persistent depression may indicate future nursing home admission for seniors, new research shows.

Researchers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Baltimore and George Washington University in Washington, D.C. surveyed seniors to investigate the link between depression and nursing home admission. A total of 13,261 of the 141,000 seniors surveyed said they had "felt sad or depressed much of the time" during the last year. At the end of the study period, 13 percent of them were living in nursing homes

Researchers have found that a liquid protein supplement may help heal the bedsores.

Bedsores or pressure ulcers occur when sustained pressure cuts off blood flow to certain areas of the body, a common problem among bedridden and those confined to wheelchair