Advocate Aurora's 2021 income, revenue rebound as patients return

The boost in non-COVID-19 patient services helped the 26-hospital Midwestern system offset rising labor and supply costs.

By Susan Kelly • March 22, 2022

The Kronos outage disrupted one health system's payroll for more than a month. Here's how it moved forward.

UMass Memorial Health had to quickly improvise a way to run payroll for more than 16,000 employees without hours-worked data, CFO Sergio Melgar said.

By Ryan Golden • March 22, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Payer/provider relationships

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

By Healthcare Dive staff

15K Minnesota nurses are bargaining for new contracts

Current shortages and widespread issues recruiting and retaining staff are a central concern for hospitals, and could lend nurses more leverage in negotiations.

By Hailey Mensik • March 21, 2022

Detroit rated as most racially segregated hospital market in US, report shows

St. Louis, Atlanta, Washington D.C. and Manhattan also landed on the Lown Institute's top-10 list of the most racially segregated hospital markets.

By Samantha Liss • March 21, 2022

Negative effects of rural hospital closings go beyond health, study finds

When a hospital closes in a rural community, the effects often ripple through the local economy, reducing the size of the population, labor force and possibly county income, new research suggests.

By Susan Kelly • March 21, 2022

'On high alert': Hospitals wary of cyber threats from Russia-Ukraine war

Cybersecurity has always been chronically underfunded in hospitals, even before COVID-19 swallowed up more resources. Now, this major international threat is creating a "perfect storm," one cybersecurity expert said.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 18, 2022

What's holding up hospital at home?

Widespread adoption of acute-level care at home models has been hampered by physician reluctance and patchwork reimbursement, though a CMS waiver caused hospital participation to snowball during the pandemic.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 17, 2022

How can hospitals improve staff retention? Tech and training, experts say

It's possible to rekindle the passion of doctors and nurses in providing care, even as many eye an exit, experts said at the HIMSS conference.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 17, 2022

Irked by no payment bump, physician lobby pushes Congress for fix

"At a minimum, Congress must establish a stable, annual Medicare physician payment update that keeps pace with inflation and practice costs," AMA wrote in its letter.

By Samantha Liss • March 17, 2022

Third of nurses plan to quit their jobs by end of 2022, survey shows

Nurses cited burnout and high-stress work environments as the No. 1 reason for leaving their jobs, followed by pay and benefits, according to a survey from staffing firm Incredible Health.

By Hailey Mensik • March 16, 2022

Pandemic hastens shift away from hospital inpatient care, Moody's reports

The transition to more treatment in the home and in lower-cost outpatient settings will persist, aided by reimbursement changes and advances in medical technology, the ratings agency said.

By Susan Kelly • March 16, 2022

Site that lets consumers compare hospital prices goes live

Turquoise Health's online search platform lists prices for medical procedures and rates the transparency efforts of nearly 6,000 hospitals.

By Susan Kelly • March 15, 2022

Google to integrate search, summary tools within Meditech EHR in next 9 months

Google and Meditech have already exchanged some data in the new partnership, but will start work on directly integrating Google's tools in Expanse within the next 90 days before going live this year.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 15, 2022

What is consumerism amid COVID-19?

Hospital executives grappled with defining the term during day one of HIMSS22, and issued advice for hospitals looking to serve the modern consumer — while leaving no patients behind.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 14, 2022

Staffing shortages lead ECRI's annual list of patient safety concerns

The lack of workers is actively jeopardizing patient safety with many patients waiting longer for care, even in life-threatening emergencies, according to the report.

By Hailey Mensik • March 14, 2022

Sutter Health defeats antitrust challenge in jury trial

The federal jury in a class action suit rejected allegations that the California hospital system drove up healthcare costs in its markets through anti-competitive practices.

By Susan Kelly • March 14, 2022

6 major regional health systems form alliance to share staffing resources

Advent Health, Atrium Health, Henry Ford Health System, Intermountain Healthcare, Northwell Health and OhioHealth will participate in reciprocal staffing arrangements.

By Hailey Mensik • March 11, 2022

Providence operating loss more than doubled in 2021 as nurse shortage spurred higher labor costs

Providers are seeing expenses tied to salaries and benefits accelerate due to staffing shortages exacerbated by COVID-19. 

By Samantha Liss • March 10, 2022

Amwell partners with electronics giant LG to develop digital health tools

The new partnership may be a bid to rejuvenate Amwell's hospital revenue, which saw tepid growth last year as major health systems have delayed new hardware deployments during COVID-19.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 10, 2022

Threats, obscenities, homicide: Healthcare workers stressed by pandemic face elevated violence

Millions of healthcare workers across the country are becoming inured to workplace violence, which can range from verbal abuse and threats to physical attacks and even homicide.

By Hailey Mensik • March 9, 2022

OSHA stepping up hospital inspections for COVID-19 mitigation efforts

The agency will ramp up investigations at healthcare facilities that previously received pandemic-related citations or complaints to make sure they're effectively prepared and able to prevent the rise of potential variants.

By Hailey Mensik • March 9, 2022

Hospital ownership affects services provided, study suggests

Despite controversy over nonprofits' tax exemptions, the study argues it's important to consider what services hospitals offer when evaluating their social value.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 8, 2022

Pricier care correlated with lower mortality, but only in competitive hospital markets, study finds

Patients admitted to more expensive hospitals in competitive markets had a 35% lower chance of mortality, but higher costs weren't correlated with better outcomes in less competitive areas, NBER found.

By Susan Kelly • March 7, 2022

Healthcare job gains in February far exceed recent months

Healthcare added 64,000 jobs last month, though employment in the sector is still down by about 306,000 jobs, or 1.9%, since February 2020.

By Hailey Mensik • March 4, 2022

Tenet ditches plan to spin off Conifer

The company's decision to retain Conifer in-house closes the chapter on a long process over the uncertain future of the subsidiary that first began in 2017. 

By Samantha Liss • March 2, 2022