3 takeaways from CHIME21: EHRs, Big Tech and VCs look to the future of health

The public health and financial devastation of COVID-19 can't be overlooked, but the pandemic has also created new opportunities for industry to leverage technology.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • April 19, 2021

Lawmakers urge HHS to conduct 'vigorous oversight' of hospital price posts after reports of noncompliance

Hospitals are now required to publicly post the prices they negotiate with insurers online, but noncompliance is common. A bipartisan group from the House voiced their discontent in a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.

By Samantha Liss • April 14, 2021

Explore the Trendline➔

Provider burnout

Hospitals are still struggling with provider burnout, after the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated underlying staffing issues and prompted workers to quit their jobs.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Patients hit with surprise medical bills paid ER docs 10 times more than others

The findings published in Health Affairs suggest why some ER groups resist coming in-network with insurers: They stand to collect more in revenue if they stay outside a network, posing a financial risk to patients.

By Samantha Liss • April 13, 2021

Intermountain buys Utah-based air ambulance company Classic

Snapping up Classic, which operates in eight western states and has a significant overlap with Intermountain's telehealth footprint, is meant to make it easier to transport high-need patients to the closest suited medical facility.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • April 13, 2021

Value of hospital deals soared in Q1, Kaufman Hall says

The coronavirus pandemic has contributed to recent hospital deals swelling in size and ambition, the new report found.

By Ron Shinkman • April 9, 2021

Orthopaedic surgeons see slow volume recovery from COVID-19

A poll of 200 doctors by UBS suggests volumes will improve throughout the year but are still expected to slightly lag 2019 levels. Volumes will only start exceeding pre-pandemic levels in 2022.

By Nick Paul Taylor • April 9, 2021

CommonSpirit inks deal with women's health startup Tia on primary care network

The initial pilot will launch virtual-first in the spring, followed by the first brick-and-mortar clinic in Phoenix this October.

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • April 8, 2021

Urgent care centers draw some ER visits but associated with higher spending overall

The findings published in Health Affairs may suggest patients are going to the centers instead of more appropriate and lower cost settings like a primary care office or virtual visit.

By Shannon Muchmore • April 7, 2021

Healthcare workers say they need mental health services, but many aren't getting them

While more than half of healthcare employees said the crisis harmed their mental health, younger workers have been the hardest hit, according to the survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Washington Post.

By Hailey Mensik • April 7, 2021

Nonprofit hospitals spent less on charity care than for-profit, government facilities: Health Affairs

The research is likely to garner attention as skeptics have questioned whether nonprofit organizations dole out enough charity care to justify the tax breaks they receive.

By Samantha Liss • April 6, 2021

Black patients far more likely to experience discrimination when seeking care: study

Reports of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual orientation or health condition were even higher for low-income Black adults and Black women, according to a new study by the Urban Institute.

By Ron Shinkman • April 5, 2021

Investment group urges HCA shareholders to vote against board member over ER admissions

The hospital operator denied the allegations its Medicare ER admissions are excessive, saying in an SEC filing it has taken the claims seriously and investigated them but found no irregularities.

By Samantha Liss • Updated April 6, 2021

FDA warns of patient deaths tied to reusable urological endoscopes

The agency is sounding the alarm after receiving more than 450 adverse event reports in four years tying patient infections to the devices, as it continues to track contamination issues in duodenoscopes.

By Susan Kelly • Updated April 5, 2021

How hospital operators fared financially in 2020

"For the most part providers were dependent on that CARES funding. I think they would have been in the red or break even without it," Suzie Desai, a senior director at S&P Global Ratings, said.

March 31, 2021

Analysts tip surgeries to rebound. Rising COVID-19 cases threaten those forecasts.

Two Wall Street reviews suggest people are increasingly comfortable with undergoing elective care, but they come amid warnings that rising hospitalizations from the virus could jeopardize progress.

By Nick Paul Taylor • March 30, 2021

Hospital margins hit hard by pandemic, but CARES Act provided huge relief, Moody's finds

Although the fiscal situation for the sector has improved, Moody's did not provide a long-term outlook for hospitals in 2021 and beyond.

By Ron Shinkman • March 26, 2021

Senate passes bill extending Medicare sequester cut pause

CMS instructed Medicare administrative contractors to hold all claims on or after April 1, when the pause on cuts is scheduled to end. The House is expected to take up the Senate-passed bill when it returns the week of April 13.

By Hailey Mensik • Updated March 31, 2021

After 7 weeks on strike, Tenet nurses, hospital schedule first bargaining session

A federal mediator has been involved in the talks since Dec. 15, according to the hospital, and scheduled them Friday after discussions with both parties, the union said in a statement.

By Hailey Mensik • Updated April 26, 2021

Hospitals flailed amid COVID-19 crisis, are unsure of future, OIG says

Executives said they were worried about their workers experiencing trauma and concerned a shrinking recruitment pool for nurses could exacerbate staffing shortages.

By Ron Shinkman • March 25, 2021

Advocate Aurora bounced back to black in 2020 after rough first 6 months

The large Midwest health system was able to post both positive operating and net income even though patient visits dropped significantly year over year.

By Samantha Liss • March 24, 2021

FDA grants EUA to COVID-19 screening device using machine learning

While the product gives institutions another screening tool for those without symptoms, with antigen testing scaling up Tiger Tech faces competition in that market.

By Nick Paul Taylor • March 23, 2021

ASCs gave medtechs alternate care sites amid pandemic hospital elective shutdown

After surgeries moved to ambulatory surgery centers during the pandemic's upending of non-emergency care, experts and industry believe some procedures may never go back.

By Ricky Zipp • March 23, 2021

Medical care plunged in pandemic's early days, studies show

A case report of one of the busiest public hospital's emergency department and another from the Commonwealth Fund detail the impact on care not linked to the coronavirus in the first days of the crisis.

By Ron Shinkman • March 19, 2021

Hospital mergers can slow wage growth for nurses, others: study

The Federal Trade Commission said it wants more analysis on the effects mergers have on labor markets and worker wages, though it typically challenges mergers that could up prices and distort care access.

By Samantha Liss • March 19, 2021

AHA urges strict antitrust review of UnitedHealth's $13B Change buy

The diversified health giant declined to comment directly on anticompetitive concerns, though an Optum spokesperson argued the two companies have "distinct and complementary capabilities."

By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • March 19, 2021