Hospital Administration: Page 2

Missouri Medicaid expansion hits snag, headed to court

Medicaid expansion in Missouri will now be decided by the courts as its legislature refused to allocate funds after voters approved expansion last year.

By Samantha Liss • UPDATED: May 21, 2021 at 9:26 a.m.

Robotic surgery outlook boosted by hospital spending pickup

The activity mirrors a boom in the broader economy that signals a recovery from the pandemic-driven recession. But the strength of demand from the hard-hit hospital sector surpassed expectations.

By Susan Kelly • May 13, 2021

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Consumerism

Some stablished players have paying more attention to patient experience, rolling out improvements such as same-day appointments, apps the help explain coverage or health conditions and better integration with email and text messaging.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Kaiser Permanente, Mayo team up on investment in acute care at home

The $100 million investment in Boston-based Medically Home will allow patients to be treated at home for infusions and conditions like cancer, infections and COVID-19, the nonprofit systems said.

By Shannon Muchmore • May 13, 2021

Piedmont Healthcare accelerates hospital buys throughout Georgia

The system has its sight set on acquiring University Health Care System in Augusta, adding another three hospitals to its roster. The news comes on the heels of its intent to acquire four HCA hospitals in the state.

By Samantha Liss • May 13, 2021

Report calls for broader scope of practice for nurses, better support for equity, mental health

Demand for nurses will only grow post-pandemic, as will the rigors of the job, according to the paper published Tuesday from the National Academy of Medicine and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

By Hailey Mensik • May 12, 2021

CDC panel endorses Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds

The vote, which the CDC officially adopted hours after, gives a clear green light for states to begin vaccinating younger adolescents with the shot.

By Ned Pagliarulo • UPDATED: May 13, 2021 at 10:04 a.m.

Billions of dollars remain in the provider relief fund. Hospital execs are left in the lurch waiting for relief.

"My greatest frustration is just the unknown," one Illinois hospital official said. "There seems to be a vacuum of information out there about how much is there, when would you expect it, how do you apply for it."

By Samantha Liss • May 11, 2021

TAVR readmission rates vary widely between hospitals for unknown reasons

Length of stay and discharge disposition only explained 15% of the inter-hospital variation. Researchers called for efforts to identify practices associated with low rates or readmission.

By Nick Paul Taylor • May 11, 2021

S&P downgrades Sutter Health, says short-term performance will be weak

On Monday, Fitch Ratings also downgraded Sutter to A from A+. Fitch, though, revised the rating outlook to stable from negative.

By Ron Shinkman • UPDATED: May 11, 2021 at 10:05 a.m.

Q&A

National Nurses United President Deborah Burger on how COVID-19 has affected union efforts

The organizer reflected on nurses' experiences over the past year on the front lines, and outlined where the union is headed going forward.

By Hailey Mensik • May 10, 2021

Providers supportive of push to overhaul HIPAA, but air serious concerns about data privacy, timing

"We urge OCR to reconsider implementing a massive change to patient privacy laws in the midst of this transition," AMA commented on the Trump-era rule.

By Rebecca Pifer • May 10, 2021

Kaiser bounces back to black with $2B Q1 profit

Uncertainty amid the pandemic last year spooked the stock market and spurred investment losses for the nonprofit. The integrated system posted a turnaround this year, though it still lags behind 2019.

By Samantha Liss • May 10, 2021

April jobs report lackluster for healthcare, with ambulatory gains offsetting steep nursing losses

The industry lost about 4,000 jobs overall in April, an unwelcome sign as the economy continues recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Hailey Mensik • May 07, 2021

Pandemic spurs more nurses to consider leaving their roles, McKinsey report finds

More than half of the nurses who said they're considering leaving would move to a new job not involved in direct patient care, or retire, the survey found.

By Hailey Mensik • May 06, 2021

AMA: Physicians in independent practice now minority in US

Hospitals are one of the largest employers of physicians, with the proportion increasing nearly 50% between 2012 and last year, according to the new survey.

By Ron Shinkman • May 06, 2021

AI expected to supplant telehealth as top investment priority in next few years, survey finds

Philips' Future Health Index — surveying almost 3,000 health leaders worldwide — also found a surprising focus on delivering environmentally sustainable healthcare by 2024.

By Rebecca Pifer • May 06, 2021

Private equity buys tend to target profitable hospitals in urban areas

The new study challenges the notion that private equity firms tend to target only financially distressed hospitals, and provides greater insight into the kinds of hospitals the companies have acquired over a span of 15 years.

By Samantha Liss • May 05, 2021

HCA sells 4 hospitals in Georgia as it emphasizes focus on post-acute, home-based services

The sale reduces the company's holdings in Georgia to five hospitals, including the recently acquired Meadows Regional Hospital in Vidalia.

By Ron Shinkman • May 04, 2021

State lawmakers mull out-of-state nurse licenses after pandemic rollbacks

Many tried to join the Nurse Licensure Compact before the pandemic, "but COVID was a kind of glaring example of how the compact could help," Rebecca Fotsch at the National Council of State Boards of Nursing said.

By Hailey Mensik • May 04, 2021

For-profit hospitals mostly managed well in Q1

Despite the rosy quarter, margins for hospitals remained narrow in March and much uncertainty remains.

Pre-pandemic, more than half of hospitals nab above-average Leapfrog safety grades

Among those getting A grades from the watchdog group founded by employers include Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital in Boston, the Mayo Clinic's hospital in Phoenix and the University of Chicago Medical Center.

By Ron Shinkman • April 30, 2021

CMS finalizes joint replacement pricing extension

Some analysts say the agency's initiative may evolve to put pricing pressure on orthopaedic devices. However, they contend companies can mitigate that threat by selling more products to customers.

By Nick Paul Taylor • April 30, 2021

Community Health swings to $64M loss in Q1

The results contrast profits reported by chains Tenet and HCA. Still, higher patient acuity and improved payer mix helped boost CHS revenues past Wall Street expectations.

By Hailey Mensik • April 29, 2021

Tenet nurse strike drags on for 8th week as talks yield no progress

Representatives for the chain's Massachusetts hospital and the union met Monday for their first bargaining session since the work stoppage began, but they accomplished little and another session has not yet been scheduled.

By Hailey Mensik • April 28, 2021

Medtech companies look to post-pandemic home testing beyond COVID-19

Abbott CEO Robert Ford told investors he envisions an "accelerated" move away from hospital lab-based testing.

By Greg Slabodkin • April 28, 2021