Hospitals

Medtech companies keep supply, staffing challenges in check even as recession risks loom, analysts say

Companies are coping with factors such as supply disruptions, staffing shortages, inflation and foreign-exchange hurdles, according to analysts at William Blair.

By Nick Paul Taylor • May 24, 2022

Cedars-Sinai names UCLA physician as chief health equity officer

Christina Harris, a primary care physician, will lead Cedars-Sinai's efforts to improve health disparities and address social determinants of health both internally and in Los Angeles.

By Rebecca Pifer • May 23, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Payer/Provider relationships

As M&A intensifies and companies are more likely to embrace more holistic and value-based care models, partnerships have become more closely intertwined.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Healthcare employers must urgently address burnout, surgeon general warns

Systems should address burnout systemically, according to a Monday advisory from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. A priority is seeking and responding better to feedback from front-line workers.

By Hailey Mensik • May 23, 2022

AHA urges DOJ to probe Medicare Advantage plans that deny care

The hospital lobby is pushing the Justice Department to go beyond the recommendations in a new report from the HHS OIG and punish Medicare Advantage organizations that routinely deny coverage to beneficiaries.

By Susan Kelly • May 23, 2022

Healthcare's special role in decarbonization

Few industries will need to navigate the effects of a changing climate more than healthcare.

May 23, 2022

Travel nurses: a challenging population for credentialing and monitoring

Travel nursing continues to rise – how are you monitoring license verifications across state lines?   

May 23, 2022

Colorado governor signs hospital staffing bill

The law includes penalties of up to $10,000 per day for hospitals failing to follow requirements and not taking corrective action, though Gov. Jared Polis asked the state health department to go easy on small, rural hospitals.

By Hailey Mensik • May 20, 2022

Lifespan names interim CEO

Rhode Island's largest health system tapped an interim leader as it searches for a permanent successor to Timothy Babineau, who is stepping down at the end of this month.

By Samantha Liss • May 20, 2022

Google hires former FDA digital health officer to global strategy post

In his new role, Bakul Patel will help Google build a unified digital health and regulatory strategy.

By Samantha Liss • May 19, 2022

California healthcare workers reassess contracts, pandemic pressures in mind

The pandemic has prompted nurses and residents in the state to rethink working conditions and what they will endure. Some have walked off the job, demanding better contracts, and some residents organized for the first time.

By Hailey Mensik • May 19, 2022

Hospitals charge employer health plans more than 2 times what they charge Medicare for same services

Rand researchers also found wide price variations across states. Florida, West Virginia and South Carolina had relative prices at or above 310% of Medicare prices, according to the report.

By Hailey Mensik • May 18, 2022

Mass General files performance improvement plan with state

Massachusetts' largest hospital system has set cost savings targets after state regulators found fault with its healthcare spending growth and pressured the nonprofit to scale back a proposed expansion project.

By Susan Kelly • May 18, 2022

States move to limit hospital visitor policies in wake of pandemic

The Republican measures have passed in blue states like Colorado and Illinois. 

By Samantha Liss • May 18, 2022

HCA taps new president to oversee Kansas City area

Keith Zimmerman will replace longtime HCA Healthcare leader Mel Lagarde, who is retiring.

By Samantha Liss • May 17, 2022

Nonprofit hospitals squeezed by pricier labor, investment losses in Q1

The first quarter is going to be "one of the worst for most of our providers," Fitch Analyst Kevin Holloran said last week.

By Samantha Liss • May 16, 2022

Efforts to protect health workers from violence on the job ramp up

Renewed efforts to pass federal requirements for healthcare employers come as some systems are implementing their own policies to keep workers safe.

By Hailey Mensik • May 13, 2022

Hospital labor expenses up 37% from pre-pandemic levels in March

Hospitals spent nearly $5,500 in labor expenses per adjusted discharge in March compared to about $4,000 roughly three years ago, according to a report from Kaufman Hall.

By Hailey Mensik • May 12, 2022

VA EHR implementation facing patient data, access concerns, audit finds

The multibillion-dollar Cerner implementation hasn't improved data exchange as well as some had hoped, as the departments "did not take all actions needed to achieve interoperability," the audit found.

By Rebecca Pifer • May 12, 2022

FTC likely to examine insurer overlap in Advocate Aurora, Atrium merger

Mergers with geographic overlap often face challenges. This deal doesn't "raise the same red flags, but it doesn't mean that it gets waved through," said Leemore Dafny, former deputy director of healthcare and antitrust at the FTC.

By Samantha Liss • May 12, 2022

Intermountain names first chief equity officer

Tiffany Capeles' "leadership and her strong record of achieving greater health equity have earned her the respect of our peers in healthcare along with well-deserved national acclaim," Intermountain CEO Marc Harrison said.

By Samantha Liss • May 11, 2022

Advocate Aurora, Atrium Health to merge, creating $27B system

The combination brings together two separate regional health systems, one with operations in the Midwest and the other with a four-state reach in the South.

By Samantha Liss • May 11, 2022

Rising Google searches for procedures suggest recovering demand, analysts say

Searches for surgeries like orthopaedics, general surgery and cardiovascular procedures are above pre-pandemic levels, providing another data point to indicate that demand is recovering, according to a Needham report.

By Nick Paul Taylor • May 11, 2022

Patient experience, safety worse during pandemic, Leapfrog says

Patients reported issues with hospital staff responsiveness and said their experiences with care transitions out of a hospital setting worsened considerably during the pandemic, according to the watchdog.

By Hailey Mensik • May 10, 2022

Insurers saw profits rise in Q1 as cost increases weighed on hospitals

The results spurred payers to paint an improved financial outlook for the full year compared to earlier estimates for 2022.

By Samantha Liss • May 9, 2022

Workers at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles begin 5-day strike

Contract negotiations started in March. Last month, 2,000 employees represented by the union voted to authorize a strike.

By Hailey Mensik • May 9, 2022