Long-term health of patients, hospitals at stake as care delays continue

As federal relief funds dwindle and volumes remain stagnant, concerns are mounting about the stability of many providers' operations, especially those lacking robust outpatient services.

By Samantha Liss • March 29, 2022

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic

Hospitals overhauled their operations in COVID-19's early days. Now, two years into the pandemic, they are looking ahead at the future of their business, including revenue diversification and workforce stability.

March 29, 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

Hospitals saw negative operating margins in February for second consecutive month

Even as cases of the omicron variant plummet, the metrics indicate a "challenging recovery," according to Kaufman Hall's monthly report.

By Hailey Mensik • March 28, 2022

AHA wants healthcare workers protected like airline staff amid rising workplace violence

No federal laws protect healthcare workers from violence on the job like they do flight crews. AHA wants the DOJ to support legislation that would make violence against healthcare workers a federal offense.

By Hailey Mensik • March 25, 2022

Wisconsin passes law making threats against healthcare workers a felony

The state already has a law making it a felony to commit battery against nurses, emergency care providers or those working in an emergency department, but this expands that protection to threats.

By Hailey Mensik • March 24, 2022

Appeals court nixes Hackensack-Englewood hospital merger in New Jersey

The state's largest hospital system lost its challenge to merge with Englewood Hospital, a transaction the FTC sought to halt because of competition concerns.

By Samantha Liss • March 24, 2022

White House stops paying providers for COVID-19 testing, treatment of uninsured patients

The Biden administration said it will also stop reimbursing providers for vaccinating uninsured patients by April due to shrinking pandemic relief funds.

By Hailey Mensik • March 23, 2022

Labor union health fund targets hospital prices, looks to form purchasing coalition

If successful, the coalition would bring together New York City's largest public employee union and the United Federation of Teachers. Together the group would represent about 540,000 people.

By Samantha Liss • March 22, 2022

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

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