Practice Management: Page 2

Provider finance execs bracing for unfavorable shift in payer mix, survey finds

About 70% of CFOs and revenue cycle leaders are readying for a drop in commercially insured patients — a highly prized cohort for providers and health systems.

By Samantha Liss • Sept. 30, 2020

Sponsored by Mobile Heartbeat

Supporting your front-line staff during COVID-19

Your clinicians are working hard to beat COVID-19. Make sure they're supported by your organization.

By Ron Remy, CEO Mobile Heartbeat • Sept. 28, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Trendline

Social determinants of health

The focus on social determinants of health has only increased as the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the United States.

By Healthcare Dive staff

Nurses, Chicago hospital reach contract deal after weeklong strike

Under the agreement, which requires a union vote, the University of Illinois hospital will hire at least 160 nurses to ease a staffing crunch, secure personal protective equipment guarantees and get small wage increases.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 24, 2020

Patient sentiment improving on elective procedures despite ongoing pandemic, survey suggests

A Needham & Company poll from this month found the time older U.S. consumers want to wait before feeling comfortable having surgeries again is shrinking compared to its August results.

By Maria Rachal • Sept. 24, 2020

Primary care docs call for federal aid as 1/3 still face significantly low revenue

The new weekly survey from the Larry A. Green Center and Primary Care Collaborative shows a slightly rosier snapshot for primary care providers but suggests trouble ahead amid zero action from Congress and the flu season.

By Rebecca Pifer • Sept. 23, 2020

Striking nurses at Illinois hospital return to work without new contract

Although the two sides were unable to reach a tentative agreement on the new contract, the hospital said it would hire 200 more nurses to address staffing concerns initially at the center of the strike.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 22, 2020

Georgia practice to pay $1.5M after hacker accessed thousands of patient records

The group calling itself The Dark Overlord used a vendor's credentials and attempted to sell the data, including medical procedures and other personal information, online.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 22, 2020

HCA nurse union win called 'breakthrough' in long-sought North Carolina

The vote marks the first private sector hospital union election victory in the state and the largest at any nonunion hospital in the South since 1975, according to National Nurses United.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 18, 2020

Walmart details Health superstore expansion, one year after pilot

The retail giant currently has six locations up and running, and plans to open seven more in Georgia by the end of 2020, two in Chicago this fall and seven in Florida next year.

By Rebecca Pifer • Sept. 18, 2020

In COVID-19's wake, hospitals look to hybrid model with in-person, virtual care on equal footing

Comments throughout the AHA conference reflected a clear agreement that not only is telehealth here to stay, but it's also going to be at the heart of care delivery going forward.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 17, 2020

OCR settles with 5 more providers on HIPAA right of access violations

Three of the providers failed to give the patient medical records access until after a second complaint to the HHS Office of Civil Rights was submitted and validated.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 16, 2020

New York nursing homes with unions had fewer COVID-19 deaths, infections

Researchers writing in Health Affairs said healthcare unionization "may play an important role in ensuring access to appropriate PPE and implementing infection control policies that protect vulnerable nursing home residents."

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 14, 2020

Physician stress, burnout, loneliness worsening amid pandemic, Medscape finds

While more than half of U.S. physicians said they aren't considering switching careers, some 25% said they now plan to retire earlier than expected due to the COVID-19 crisis.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 11, 2020

Doctors affiliated with health systems have much higher MIPS scores, JAMA study finds

A separate study found that physicians who had the highest proportion of patients dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid also had significantly lower performance scores than other doctors.

By Shannon Muchmore • Sept. 08, 2020

Healthcare jobs inch back to pre-pandemic levels, adding 75K in August

Some sub-sectors, like hospitals, are close to last year's levels, but not all are bouncing back, new Labor Department figures show.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 04, 2020

Nurses, service workers set to strike at University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago

The hospital said authorizing a strike doesn't mean it will definitely happen, and it will do everything in its power to avert the work stoppage. Negotiations have been held this week.

By Hailey Mensik • Sept. 03, 2020

Healthcare workers likely to be first in line for coronavirus vaccination

Initial vaccine supplies will be limited. Advisory groups, most recently the National Academies, are developing plans for who should get access first.

By Jonathan Gardner • Sept. 03, 2020

Walmart, newly public Oak Street Health launch clinic partnership in Texas

Walmart is replacing its own clinics at three Dallas-Fort Worth stores with ones operated by Oak Street Health, a value-based medical group that went public in July, as it continues to invest in retail primary care clinics.

By Rebecca Pifer • Sept. 02, 2020

Allina, Minnesota Blues enter into sweeping value-based pact

The payer and provider aim to cut the cost trend for care by 10% over the next five years through the multiyear agreement, which will cover about 130,000 people.

By Ron Shinkman • Aug. 28, 2020

4 in 10 say COVID-19 reduced their access to care, CDC survey shows

A separate survey from the agency found that nearly 37% of people said their provider now offers a form of telehealth, compared to about 14% who said it was offered before the pandemic.

By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 27, 2020

Aetna turns to WellBe Senior Medical to deliver at-home care to high-risk seniors

The partnership allows the payer to tightly manage a group of patients that are likely to be more costly — seniors with multiple complex health conditions — by keeping them out of higher-cost settings like a hospital.

By Samantha Liss • Aug. 26, 2020

Opinion

Reducing the stigma of clinician mental health, pressure to portray perfection

"The uncertainty of the pandemic coupled with the already high-stress situation of emergency medical care creates an acute crisis for clinicians' mental health," Envision VP Stefanie Simmons writes.

By Stefanie Simmons • Aug. 19, 2020

HCA workers want state regulator to probe 5 Las Vegas hospitals

The biggest for-profit chain said it's following CDC guidance, but one union steward said those loosened regulations "shouldn't be the ceiling. They should be the floor."

By Hailey Mensik • Aug. 18, 2020

In-person healthcare visits can be done safely despite coronavirus risk, small JAMA study suggests

The analysis of more than 100 obstetrical patients at Boston hospitals found no meaningful association between the number of in-person visits and the rate of novel coronavirus infection.

By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 17, 2020

Patient-provider encounter trends have stabilized, but remain significantly lower than before COVID-19

Meanwhile, telemedicine encounters have settled in at rates much higher than pre-pandemic levels. However, they still make up just a fraction of visits, according to an analysis from The Commonwealth Fund.

By Ron Shinkman • Aug. 17, 2020