Hospital Administration

Rising expenses threaten hospitals' financial recovery: AHA, Kaufman Hall report

Costs to treat COVID-19 patients are continuing to hamper finances as more lucrative services sluggishly recover, according to the report from the consultants and the hospital lobby.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 25, 2021

Ascension expands pilot of Google EHR search tool

The two linked in 2018 to work on leveraging the health system's clinical data to create an integrated, longitudinal record of patient care and develop other health tools.

By Rebecca Pifer • Feb. 25, 2021

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Labor

While labor strife among healthcare workers is hardly new, the COVID-19 pandemic brought new issues to the table, including re-use of personal protective equipment and other safety measures.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Becerra backs price transparency, provider competition at first Senate panel

President Joe Biden's pick for HHS chief turns Wednesday to the finance panel, which will vote on sending the nomination to the full Senate.

By Shannon Muchmore • Feb. 24, 2021

FDA review supports safety, efficacy of J&J coronavirus vaccine

Agency scientists noted the shot's strong protection against severe COVID-19, even for the virus variant first detected in South Africa and known to weaken vaccine potency.

By Ned Pagliarulo , Jonathan Gardner • Feb. 24, 2021

Lifespan, Care New England ink deal to create academic medical system with Brown University

"If the COVID pandemic taught us one thing it is that we are better when we work together," Lifespan CEO Timothy Babineau said.

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 24, 2021

Hospitals still struggle with volumes, finances due to COVID-19

Kaufman Hall's national hospital flash report found ED visits were down 24.7% year over year in January, suggesting one of the biggest feeders into inpatient admissions will remain significantly depressed.

By Ron Shinkman • Feb. 23, 2021

Sponsored by MedHub, LLC

Longitudinal integrated clerkships – True patient-centered care

How programs overcome administrative challenges to immerse medical students in community-based care.

Capping hospital prices could save $235B annually, Rand study says

The American Hospital Association blasted the report, casting blame on the insurance industry and noting that sector's recent healthy profits.

By Ron Shinkman • Feb. 18, 2021

Google opens new office near Mayo Clinic campus to galvanize tech collaboration

The goal of the venture is to form an "AI factory," churning out algorithms and other digital products powered by Google in several clinical specialties.

By Rebecca Pifer • Feb. 18, 2021

Hospital admissions not linked to COVID-19 fell dramatically in fall, especially in Midwest

The latest analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation gives a fuller picture of how the pandemic affected inpatient volume throughout 2020, focusing on trends by age, sex and region.

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 18, 2021

Obama admin alum Chiquita Brooks-LaSure picked to head CMS

Brooks-LaSure will have a lot on her plate. Biden during his campaign ran on expanding the role of the Affordable Care Act and perhaps attempting to build in a public option or lowered Medicare age eligibility.

By Shannon Muchmore • UPDATED: Feb. 19, 2021 at 11:14 a.m.

Baylor Scott and White, other hospitals stressed as storms pummel Texas, southern states

The dominant Texas health system with 51 hospitals closed drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites and rescheduled vaccine appointments while other systems in Louisiana and elsewhere are putting off elective care.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 17, 2021

Opinion

CMS inpatient only policy threatens patient access to appropriate surgical setting

Nixing Medicare's IPO list has unintended consequences, especially for high-risk patients, the president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons argues.

By Joseph Bosco • Feb. 16, 2021

Biden admin begins plan to rescind Medicaid work mandates in win for providers

The policies threatened to lower hospitals' Medicaid revenues as enrollees lost coverage, raising uncompensated care costs. But lawsuits and the pandemic have kept states from implementing the controversial Trump-era requirements.

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 16, 2021

800 Tenet nurses at Massachusetts hospital set March strike date

The union issued a 10-day notice to hospital management Tuesday, intending to start the strike March 8 without a determined end date.

By Hailey Mensik • UPDATED: Feb. 24, 2021 at 9:05 a.m.

Health system execs: national approach needed to stem vaccine disarray

"We don't know until we open the package how many doses we're getting that week," EVP of Ascension Joe Cacchione said Thursday during a webinar organized by the American Hospital Association. 

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 11, 2021

Joint Commission alerts on health equity as vaccine disparity fears grow

Training staff on implicit bias, providing interpreters for patients of different cultures, using communication platforms beyond the telephone and tapping trusted community voices are among the accrediting group's recommendations.

By Shannon Muchmore • Feb. 11, 2021

COVID-19 leads to explosion in cyberattacks, data breaches

A survey from CI Security found successful hacks involving healthcare organizations or their business associates soared in the second half of last year, leading to a jump in the number of breached patient records.

By Ron Shinkman • Feb. 10, 2021

Tenet swings to profit, but execs guarded on a post-pandemic recovery

The hospital operator is delaying its plan to spin off its revenue cycle management subsidiary, Conifer Health Solutions, into an independent publicly traded company for another year because of disruption from COVID-19.

By Hailey Mensik , Samantha Liss • UPDATED: Feb. 10, 2021 at 3:58 p.m.

Hospital interest in patient monitoring tools rising, survey finds

Purchasing managers surveyed now expect to have bigger capital equipment budgets this year than they did six months into the pandemic, investment bank UBS said.

By Susan Kelly • Feb. 09, 2021

COVID-19 puts squeeze on Kaiser Permanente's 2020 financials

The giant integrated health system out of California was able to remain in the black — reporting net income of $6.4 billion — during a turbulent year marked by the pandemic, which spurred historic job losses.

By Samantha Liss • Feb. 08, 2021

Sponsored by Vituity

The evolution of hospital-based care: learnings from the pandemic

As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, hospitals' roles in healthcare are shifting with only the sickest patients being granted acute, face-to-face care while the others will be treated via telehealth providers.

By Gregg Miller, MD • Feb. 08, 2021

Healthcare lost 30K jobs in January in first setback since pandemic hit

The industry has posted consistent monthly gains since the first months of the crisis, a run that ended last month, new data out Friday shows.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 05, 2021

Joint Commission: Burned out healthcare workers need a lifeline

Workers on the front lines are physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted, and systems need to better support them, according to a report from the oversight organization.

By Hailey Mensik • Feb. 03, 2021

HCA beats Wall Street expectations in Q4 with revenue up 6% despite low volume

Despite worries of COVID-19 decimating hospital finances and ongoing lobbying from trade groups like the American Hospital Association for more relief funds, HCA still reported full-year growth in 2020.

By Rebecca Pifer • Feb. 02, 2021