Hospital Administration
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Employers urged to get off sidelines to trim healthcare costs
"Healthcare is not their day job. They build ships. They stock groceries," the CEO of the Pacific Business Group on Health said. "But as costs go up, they're the ones paying it."
By Rebecca Pifer • Sept. 11, 2019 -
Latest Civica Rx pact aims to alleviate shortage of emergency medicine
The coalition of providers led by Intermountain inked a deal for Exela to supply sodium bicarbonate to member hospitals.
By Samantha Liss • Sept. 10, 2019 -
Kaiser to reveal detailed financials under newly signed California bill
As a not-for-profit operator, the giant health system previously was exempt from many of the state's reporting requirements.
By Rebecca Pifer • Sept. 06, 2019 -
Hospital lobby contends M&A cuts costs. Many disagree.
The survey from the American Hospital Association drew swift criticism from academics and industry players pointing to a body of evidence contradicting its results.
By Samantha Liss • Sept. 05, 2019 -
Hospitals should be in peer groups for CMS star ratings, study suggests
Provider groups have attacked the agency's ranking system since it debuted in 2005, saying the approach to measuring quality is overly simplistic and the presentation of the data is difficult for consumers to interpret.
By Linda Wilson • Sept. 05, 2019 -
Mortality rises when ERs close, forcing patients to drive further
Emergency room closures outpaced any openings that occurred around the country, according to the Health Affairs report. On average, about 69 emergency departments closed each year during the study's 12-year period.
By Samantha Liss • Sept. 03, 2019 -
Comeback or blip? Nonprofit hospital margins show gains in 2018
Nonprofit hospital operating margins are improving after falling for the last two years, according to an annual report from Fitch Ratings.
By Samantha Liss • Sept. 03, 2019 -
FDA urges providers to transition to duodenoscopes with disposable parts
While the agency is advising the transition, the immediate removal of conventional devices could result in shortages and prevent patients from receiving critical care.
By David Lim • Aug. 30, 2019 -
DOJ investigating Providence St. Joseph's Swedish Health Services
The civil probe is seeking documents related to joint ventures and physician organizations.
By Samantha Liss • Aug. 30, 2019 -
Kaiser Permanente workers are set to strike. Does it mark a new trend?
It's still too early to tell whether the uptick in disputes will last long, but one former chief economist for the Department of Labor said "there is something meaningful going on."
By Samantha Liss • Aug. 29, 2019 -
2 rural hospitals shutter doors, more than 1K soon out of work
For one rural county in Ohio, this will be the second hospital closure this year. The two sister facilities, Ohio Valley Medical Center and East Ohio Valley Regional Hospital, are separated by just a few miles and operate a combined 340 beds.
By Samantha Liss • Aug. 29, 2019 -
California nurses call off Dignity strike after winning concessions
Nurses from three Southern California hospitals and Dignity Health had been negotiating for five months. A vote on whether to ratify the contract comes later this week.
By Dana Elfin • Aug. 27, 2019 -
Mayo Clinic profits almost triple in the quarter to $500M
The Rochester, Minnesota-based health system had revenue of $3.4 billion in the second quarter of the year, up almost 10% year-over-year due to growth in several markets including Rochester, Phoenix and Jacksonville.
By Rebecca Pifer • Aug. 26, 2019 -
Advocate Aurora posts bump in expenses tied to early retirement incentives
The system has shifted focus to more lucrative outpatient visits in an attempt to recoup volume, a strategy that seems to be paying off with the increase in patient revenue.
By Rebecca Pifer • Aug. 23, 2019 -
$190 or $47,779? Colorado emergency charges vary wildly across state
But the entire cost of care is likely higher, as the Center for Improving Value in Health Care only looked at direct reimbursement from commercial payers.
By Rebecca Pifer • Aug. 19, 2019 -
Ranking groups that rank hospitals — U.S. News comes out on top
Researchers attempted to rate the raters of hospital performance, but those organizations had fiery comments about the report that some said had "serious errors."
By Samantha Liss • Aug. 15, 2019 -
EHRs linked with smartphones spur patient interest, study shows
Though health systems and IT vendors are doing little to market their efforts to improve health record access, researchers found more patients are viewing their info through APIs.
By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 15, 2019 -
Hospitals bash immigration rule likely to push millions off Medicaid
The American Hospital Association called the policy aimed at legal immigrants "misguided and harmful" and said it creates barriers to care.
By Shannon Muchmore • UPDATED: Aug. 14, 2019 at 9:02 a.m. -
Surprise bills surge in ER, inpatient settings, JAMA finds
The study comes as lawmakers prepare to debate legislation tackling the problem, including a Senate bill that sets a payment standard for out-of-network services. Providers are pushing back.
By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 12, 2019 -
Kaiser Permanente net income soars to $2B
The integrated health system said the first half of the year typically delivers stronger results due to open enrollment.
By Samantha Liss • Aug. 12, 2019 -
Medicare boosts CAR-T cancer therapies with expanded coverage
CMS also broadened the settings in which the pricey therapies would be covered, applying its final rule to use in "healthcare facilities" rather than explicitly in hospitals.
By Ned Pagliarulo • Aug. 08, 2019 -
Primary care, younger docs more likely to report burnout
Only a quarter of survey respondents said their work sites effectively address the challenge, citing initiatives to improve workflow and reduce administrative burden, provide flexible scheduling and support wellness.
By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 08, 2019 -
California surprise billing law disrupted contract negotiations, stakeholders say
The 2017 law was also perceived to have driven further provider consolidation in response to the leverage shift, according to research published in The American Journal of Managed Care.
By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 07, 2019 -
Few patients price shop before planned hospital visit, survey finds
As CMS and lawmakers push for price transparency, the survey from a revenue cycle management software vendor suggests consumers may not know how to evaluate different options based on price, or even be aware that prices vary.
By Linda Wilson • Aug. 07, 2019 -
ColumnMyth Diagnosis: Do hospitals charge more to make up for low government pay?
"What is crystal clear is that there's a huge unit cost payment differential between government and commercial payers," John Pickering of Milliman said. "What isn't clear is whether there's a causal effect between those two."
By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 07, 2019
