The Latest
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'Nowhere to hide' for rivals after blockbuster CVS-Aetna deal
The nearly $70 billion merger poses threats to providers as its scale and access to care aims to shift the healthcare dynamic in favor of consumers, BDO's David Friend told Healthcare Dive.
Health IT -
Doctors turn to free eConsult platforms to reduce diagnostic errors, study finds
More than 300,000 physicians accessed WebMD's Medscape Consult during the two-year observation period, according to research in npj Digital Medicine.
Health IT -
NLRB charges Detroit Medical Center with unfair labor practices
Nurses at Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, who have been negotiating a union contract since 2016, have said the hospital is discriminating and not bargaining in good faith.
Health Law -
Suki AI-based voice assistant tops 1K patient encounters a week
The health IT startup claims it can sharply drop the time spent on medical notes.
Health IT -
CMS touts more highly-ranked MA prescription plans next year
More than 36% of Medicare beneficiaries are expected to have Medicare Advantage plans in 2019.
Payer -
DOJ clears CVS-Aetna union
Approval of the $69 billion deal comes with a condition to sell Aetna's Medicare Part D business.
Payer -
CMS bid to overhaul E/M codes leaves few happy
With its proposed changes to payments and documentation for office visits, the agency is effectively forcing providers to reckon with a longstanding, oft-disputed problem.
Payer -
Arkansas Medicaid work requirements beset by challenges, report finds
Most are unaware of the new rules or face major obstacles to complying, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation study.
Payer -
Texas fines Humana for lack of in-network anesthesiologists
The state insurance commissioner said no Humana members will pay extra because of the network issue. The payer has agreed to a corrective action plan.
Payer -
Patient satisfaction is up, but billing woes can hurt online reviews, survey shows
More than half of respondents to the recent survey from predictive analytics firm Connance said their payer is more reliable than their provider for estimates of balance due.
Health IT -
Framework aims to employ e-triggers to improve diagnostic safety
Authors writing in BMJ Quality and Safety offer a plan for monitoring error rates and helping identify patients at greater risk of future adverse events.
Health IT -
Mayo, Geisinger among 1,300 providers signing up for BPCI-A
CMS announced the participants for its latest bundled payment model, including 832 acute care hospitals and 715 physician group practices.
Payer -
Healthcare leads all industries with security breaches in H1
The industry also had the highest breach-related costs at $408 per lost or stolen record — nearly three times the cross-industry average of $148, according to a new report from Gemalto.
Health IT -
Trinity Health's financial results weighed down by EHR costs
The Michigan-based health system switched its entire operations to a single EHR during FY 2018, causing an impairment charge of nearly $108 million.
Health IT -
Cerner EHR rollout continues at 4 more Defense Department sites
The project is moving forward despite criticism during its initial implementation. An April report concluded deployment is "neither operationally effective nor operationally suitable."
Health IT -
Wisconsin shelled out $1.1B for uncompensated care in FY17
Last year's cost for charity care and bad debt is a 14% increase from 2016.
Hospital Administration -
Court awards $1.2M in missed CSR payments to Montana co-op
A judge last month ruled the government was statutorily obligated to make the payments and the obligation "was not vitiated by Congress's failure to appropriate funds for that purpose."
Payer -
Dignity Health reports FY18 income boost
After posting an operating income loss last year, the San Francisco-based health system saw a turnaround.
Hospital Administration -
More individual plans limit out-of-network care, report finds
Payers that still offer such coverage have shifted more costs to consumers, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Narrow networks are less common in large employer plans.
Payer -
Remote patient monitoring cuts hospital admissions, ER visits, report finds
Heart disease and COPD are the most popular uses, but other less acute chronic conditions are starting to find traction with the technology, the industry and KLAS report found.
Health IT -
One in 5 health IT execs say malware has hit devices
Out-of-date operating systems and unavailability of patch solutions remain major cybersecurity risks for medical devices.
Health IT -
Health spending growth gap continues between public and private payers
The sector seems to be in a "post-recession, post-expanded coverage period of steady, moderate growth," according to a report from Altarum.
Payer -
Payers find financial success in the ACA exchanges
Insurers have found footing after years of uncertainty, but risks remain.
Payer -
Hospitals give patients conflicting information on obtaining records, study finds
Some hospitals weren't in compliance when it came to the charges they required for the release of records and some didn't adhere to state requirements for processing times, according to a report in JAMA.
Health IT -
CVS, Aetna defend merger potential to Connecticut regulators
The $69 billion deal is considered to have a good chance for approval. Aetna agreed last week to sell its standalone Medicare Part D business to help clear antitrust hurdles.
Payer