Practice Management

What hospitals are doing to make patients feel comfortable coming back

Health systems face worried patients, according to recent polls. But volumes are picking back up in states where restrictions have been lifted.

By Hailey Mensik • May 22, 2020

COVID-19 has upended how Americans obtain healthcare

A new survey by the Alliance of Community Health Plans and the pharmacist lobby AMCP found nearly 40% of respondents plan to delay future care.

By Ron Shinkman • May 21, 2020

PAs gain authority during COVID-19 pandemic, but still face layoffs, furloughs

Over the past few months, 21 states have taken action — eight through executive orders — to waive practice requirements for physician assistants. But the financial strain on health systems has also led to job cuts.

By Hailey Mensik • May 20, 2020

UnitedHealth, Microsoft launch COVID-19 screening app for employers

UnitedHealth will control employees' medical data and manage opt-in and consent requirements for users, the healthcare behemoth said Friday. The app will not provide tracking or contact tracing information.

By Rebecca Pifer • May 15, 2020

Orthopaedic surgeons predict return to somewhat normal volumes in 6 months

While procedures are expected to steadily ramp up over the next six months, Jefferies analysts found that more will be performed outside of hospitals — a trend accelerated by the pandemic.

By Hailey Mensik • May 12, 2020

Healthcare sector lost stunning 1.4M jobs in April

The bulk of jobs shed were concentrated in ambulatory services, which lost more than 1 million jobs, presumably due to the widespread cancellation of elective procedures during the pandemic.

By Ron Shinkman • May 11, 2020

Sponsored by Moss Adams

4 ways lean health care helps hospitals confront sepsis and other safety concerns

Learn how to consistently ensure highest patient safety by empowering your front line at the point of care through lean methodologies.

By Dahlia Mak, Managing Director, Moss Adams Lean Health Care Practice • May 08, 2020

Doctor On Demand inks pact with Massachusetts for COVID-19-related telemedicine

The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, covers the uninsured and comes on the heels of a separate agreement covering Medicaid and CHIP.

By Ron Shinkman • April 26, 2020

Community oncology practices turn to mergers, private equity to avoid hospital acquisition

Still, the Community Oncology Alliance report found the rate of hospitals buying these cancer practices rose almost 10% between 2018 and 2020, in part due to financial incentives built into the 340B Drug Discount Program.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 24, 2020

Outpatient visits plunged in second half of March, Commonwealth Fund says

Among the hardest hit were ophthalmology visits, which fell 79% as of April 5 and dermatology, which was down 73%.

By Ron Shinkman • April 23, 2020

Half of US physicians using telemedicine amid pandemic, survey finds

Nearly one-third of physicians who responded to Merritt Hawkins said they plan to change practice settings, leave patient care roles, temporarily shut their practices or retire after the COVID-19 crisis.

By Hailey Mensik • April 23, 2020

1/5 of primary care practices could close within next month as US mulls reopening economy

More than two-fifths of practices have had to lay off or furlough staff to keep afloat as the large majority face dramatic decreases in patient volume, a new survey of more than 2,600 doctors found.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 20, 2020

Public health agencies, commercial labs warn patchy IT infrastructure hobbling COVID-19 response

"Public health is spending time digitizing the information, rather than being able to immediately analyze and act upon it," Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, said.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 17, 2020

Could coronavirus derail the decades-long shift to value-based care?

"This is not about managing a population. This is about doing everything you can to keep these people alive," Dean Ungar, vice president of Moody's Investors Service, told Healthcare Dive.

By Rebecca Pifer • April 15, 2020

Doctors say COVID-19 has slashed patient volumes, made finances shaky

A new survey of doctors by Piper Sandler concludes physician practices have been deeply impacted by the coronavirus, with patient encounters down by nearly two-thirds.

By Ron Shinkman • April 13, 2020

AHA seeks $25K per hospital bed from emergency COVID-19 fund

The unprecedented package signed late last week gave wide discretion to HHS for how the $100 billion to health systems would be divided and sent to providers.

By Shannon Muchmore • April 01, 2020

Dorm rooms as hospitals, ER telehealth: CMS creates 'unprecedented' flexibility as COVID-19 rages on

Hospital groups on Tuesday applauded the actions from CMS, with the American Hospital Association calling the ability to care for patients outside of hospitals' four walls a "critical lifeline."

By Shannon Muchmore • UPDATED: April 1, 2020 at 9:12 a.m.

Telehealth, retail clinic use increasing in pivot toward lower-priced medical delivery sites

Telehealth use grew 12% and retail clinic use grew 10% from 2017 to 2018, according to a new report from nonprofit FAIR Health.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 31, 2020

Sponsored by McKesson

How to effectively manage your non-acute care supply chain

Meeting financial and patient-care goals in the non-acute continuum requires supply chain leaders to standardize, automate and integrate across the continuum — and to do so, you need analytics and visibility.

Once 'fringe idea,' doctors warming to patients reading encounter notes, study suggests

Three-quarters of the more than 1,600 physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and therapists surveyed for a JAMA Network Open study thought it was a good method.

By Ron Shinkman • March 29, 2020

'What about us?': Frontline primary care practices fear for survival amid coronavirus

Independent practices have resisted selling to hospitals amid years of provider consolidation, reimbursement cuts and more, leaving them with razor-thin margins. Now, they worry COVID-19 could send them off the financial cliff.

By Rebecca Pifer • March 26, 2020

How health systems are responding as COVID-19 squeezes the medical supply chain

Procurement of supplies will become more difficult if cases surge and federal stockpiles don't trickle down to the state level quickly enough.

By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • March 25, 2020

Direct-to-consumer companies wade into coronavirus testing to fill gap

Everlywell said Monday it planned to donate its store of COVID-19 tests to hospitals, following guidance from FDA warning consumers of fraudulent at-home tests.

By Rebecca Pifer • UPDATED: March 23, 2020 at 10:28 a.m.

Sponsored by Moss Adams

How to combat coronavirus operations complications

Prepare your entire organization, from access to supplies to helping combat disruption and spread of COVID-19.

By Dahlia Mak, Managing Director, Lean Health Care Practice • March 13, 2020

As US officials shift tone, Trump stops short of 1 provider ask

The president addressed the nation Wednesday night but did not declare a disaster or national emergency, which groups like the American Hospital Association had sought.

By Samantha Liss , Shannon Muchmore • March 12, 2020