Hospital Administration

Provider finance execs bracing for unfavorable shift in payer mix, survey finds

About 70% of CFOs and revenue cycle leaders are readying for a drop in commercially insured patients — a highly prized cohort for providers and health systems.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 30, 2020

UHS hit with ransomware attack, working to restore IT operations

The for-profit owner of some 400 hospitals is struggling to contain the ripple effects from a hack on Sunday that locked it out of computer and phone systems.

By Rebecca Pifer • Sept. 29, 2020

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Social determinants of health

The focus on social determinants of health has only increased as the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the United States.

By Healthcare Dive staff

HHS says nearly $106B in CARES aid has been distributed to providers

Health systems are concerned, however, that new reporting guidelines issued by HHS could stanch the flow of money in the near future.

By Ron Shinkman • Sept. 28, 2020

Trump administration may push back interoperability rules, again: Rucker

HHS is "looking at needed changes" to deadlines for its information blocking rules, ONC head Don Rucker said last week. His comments followed a rule quietly sent to OMB with a title implying extension of certain compliance dates.

By Rebecca Pifer • Sept. 28, 2020

COVID-19 volume declines mostly uniform, but higher in Black, Latino neighborhoods, study shows

Hospital admissions were profoundly impacted this spring by the novel coronavirus, sometimes in unusual ways, new research in Health Affairs concluded.

By Ron Shinkman • Sept. 25, 2020

Hospital COVID-19 recovery stalled in August, Kaufman Hall says

The snapshot of provider finances found emergency departments faced particularly drastic declines.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 25, 2020

Nurses, Chicago hospital reach contract deal after weeklong strike

Under the agreement, which requires a union vote, the University of Illinois hospital will hire at least 160 nurses to ease a staffing crunch, secure personal protective equipment guarantees and get small wage increases.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 24, 2020

Patient sentiment improving on elective procedures despite ongoing pandemic, survey suggests

A Needham & Company poll from this month found the time older U.S. consumers want to wait before feeling comfortable having surgeries again is shrinking compared to its August results.

By Maria Rachal • Sept. 24, 2020

Striking nurses at Illinois hospital return to work without new contract

Although the two sides were unable to reach a tentative agreement on the new contract, the hospital said it would hire 200 more nurses to address staffing concerns initially at the center of the strike.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 22, 2020

Microsoft Teams integrates with EHRs for provider telehealth

Epic will be the first EHR to offer Teams in its portal, with support for other systems "coming soon," Microsoft said.

By Rebecca Pifer • Sept. 22, 2020

Most of healthcare industry in V-shaped recovery from COVID-19, S&P says

Some sub-sectors have actually experienced a net gain during the pandemic — diagnostics, lab testing and life sciences among them. The ratings agency predicts a full recovery for those areas by the end of the year.

By Ron Shinkman • Sept. 21, 2020

Hospitals charge privately insured patients 250% more than those on Medicare. The gap is growing.

A RAND study of charge data from more than 3,000 hospitals points the finger at growing provider consolidation as a key culprit, but the AHA slammed the report as "based on a cherry-picked and limited dataset."

By Ron Shinkman • Sept. 18, 2020

Ascension posts $1B net loss for 2020

By the final month of its fiscal year, the giant nonprofit was staring to recapture a larger share of its patients — and outpacing pre-pandemic levels in one instance. 

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 18, 2020

HCA nurse union win called 'breakthrough' in long-sought North Carolina

The vote marks the first private sector hospital union election victory in the state and the largest at any nonunion hospital in the South since 1975, according to National Nurses United.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 18, 2020

In COVID-19's wake, hospitals look to hybrid model with in-person, virtual care on equal footing

Comments throughout the AHA conference reflected a clear agreement that not only is telehealth here to stay, but it's also going to be at the heart of care delivery going forward.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 17, 2020

OCR settles with 5 more providers on HIPAA right of access violations

Three of the providers failed to give the patient medical records access until after a second complaint to the HHS Office of Civil Rights was submitted and validated.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 16, 2020

Hospital visits rebound, but some patients still need convincing

"Hospitals have managed infectious diseases since our inceptions — so we're experts at it," UW Health CEO Alan Kaplan said at an AHA conference this week, where sustaining telehealth momentum was also a hot topic.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 15, 2020

FTC urges Texas regulators to block merger under COPA

The agency was blistering in its comments, warning regulators the deal would result in serious competitive and consumer harm in the form of higher prices, lower quality and diminished access to care and innovation.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 15, 2020

OSHA fines 3 hospital systems for PPE violations

Bergen New Bridge Medical Center said Monday afternoon it had not received the OSHA report but will "respond accordingly" when it does. The other two hospitals have not responded to requests for comment.

By Ron Shinkman • UPDATED: Sept. 15, 2020 at 10:12 a.m.

New York nursing homes with unions had fewer COVID-19 deaths, infections

Researchers writing in Health Affairs said healthcare unionization "may play an important role in ensuring access to appropriate PPE and implementing infection control policies that protect vulnerable nursing home residents."

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 14, 2020

Trump releases long-awaited drug pricing order, but its effects are likely far off

The White House disclosed details of an order to cut Medicare prices to international rates, but the proposed plan will be difficult to carry out and could take months to enact.

By Jonathan Gardner • Sept. 14, 2020

3 key takeaways from HCA, Tenet's latest public comments

Executives at some of the nation's largest health systems offered insights into volumes, demand trends and possible portfolio plays this week as providers continue grappling with COVID-19.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 11, 2020

Physician stress, burnout, loneliness worsening amid pandemic, Medscape finds

While more than half of U.S. physicians said they aren't considering switching careers, some 25% said they now plan to retire earlier than expected due to the COVID-19 crisis.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 11, 2020

West Virginia hospital to pay $50M to settle False Claims Act violations

DOJ alleges Wheeling Hospital paid physicians well above market value for referring patients to the facility — in some cases over $1 million a year — from 2007 to 2020, defrauding Medicare of tens of millions of dollars.

By Rebecca Pifer • Sept. 10, 2020

Some University of Illinois Hospital nurses barred from striking, judge rules

Despite the Cook County circuit court judge's ruling Friday, the more than 800 nurses still allowed to picket intend to do so Saturday, the union said.

By Hailey Mensik • UPDATED: Sept. 11, 2020 at 11:30 a.m.