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HOSPITALS

Major Hospitals Join Legal Battle Over High Generic Drug Prices

July 6th, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , , , |

The Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai, and around 150 other hospitals have joined other care centers in suing major drug manufacturers over inflated prices for generic medications. The lawsuit alleges that drugmakers like Pfizer, Sandoz, and Teva have illegally collaborated for over a decade to keep generic drug prices high.

Examining the Challenges in Implementing Value-Based Care at Academic Medical Centers

June 26th, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , , |

A new report in Health Affairs Scholars looks into the challenges that academic health centers (AMCs) face in implementing value-based care models. AMCs provide care that exceeds that of non-AMCs, but features that help them excel may hinder value-based payment models. Key challenges they encounter are rigidity of workflows and the financial agreements they have with practitioners.

Financial Pressure on Healthcare Systems Continues to Mount

June 15th, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , , |

With labor costs rising, decreased demand, and supply chain issues cropping up across the board, health systems faced financial difficulties in the past year. This is expected to get more pronounced over the coming years, despite consumer inflation outpacing inflation in healthcare prices. Changes in patient usage are further contributing to cost increases.

Addressing Barriers to Care in Rural America

June 1st, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

Rural US residents face significant barriers to care that significantly worsen health outcomes. Addressing these barriers is a complex task due to the underlying reasons behind them. In a new Becker’s Hospital Review article, Karen Joynt-Maddox, MD, MPH, associate professor at the Washington University School of Medicine talks about the importance of hospitals in rural areas and how providers can work to improve rural health outcomes.

The CARE Act Is Improving Patient Health Outcomes

May 8th, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , , |

A total of 42 states have adopted laws called the Caregiver Advise, Record, and Enable (CARE) Act, which promotes increased clinician communication with patients and caregivers during care delivery and at the point of discharge from care centers. A newly published paper in JAMA Network Open finds that these policies are having positive real-world impacts on patient health outcomes.

Study Finds Safety-Net Hospitals with High Uncompensated Care Rates in Disadvantaged Areas Have Lower Margins

April 28th, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

A recently published study in Health Affairs finds that safety-net hospitals’ margins are lower in disadvantaged areas or when they have high rates of uncompensated care. The Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program was designed to compensate hospitals who treat underserved communities, but state-level policies can cause disparities in payments to different health centers.

Finch Ratings: Medicaid Disenrollment Set to Financially Impact Not-For-Profit Hospitals

April 17th, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , , |

A new analysis from Finch Ratings finds that non-profit hospitals’ bottom lines will be hurt by upcoming Medicaid disenrollment triggered by the imminent end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Many patients going to not-for-profit hospitals were covered by Medicaid expansions. Since a large number of these patients will be disenrolled, Finch predicts that they will have to receive charity care that hospitals will not be paid for, hurting their revenue.

Vertical Integration Has Negative Impacts on Patient Outcomes

March 3rd, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

Although many health systems are moving toward vertical integration by acquiring private practices, the strategy may be hurting the bottom line and patients. A newly published study examined how vertical integration impacts patients undergoing colonoscopies and their subsequent healthcare costs using data from over 2.6 million visits.

Preparing for the End of the COVID-19 PHE By Investing in Public Health

February 13th, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

The COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) is set to end this May, leaving many wondering about the financial impact on hospitals. In a new video shared by Managed Healthcare Executive, clinical associate professor Rich Priore, Sc.D., M.H.A. of Tulane University talks about how healthcare costs could be lowered if Americans invest in public health, wellness, and disease prevention.

Non-Teaching Hospitals Near Academic Medical Centers Have Better Health Outcomes

February 2nd, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

A recently published paper in JAMA Network Open found that non-teaching hospitals with academic medical centers (AMCs) in the surrounding area have better patient health outcomes than non-teaching hospitals with no nearby AMCs. The study looked at data covering 22 million hospitalizations of older patients with Medicare who got care at hospitals from 2015-2017 in the US.

JAMA Network Study Shows Quality of Care Doesn’t Mitigate High Out-Of-Pocket Healthcare Costs

January 23rd, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

A newly published study in JAMA Network has found that no matter whether the quality of care for emergency general surgery (EGS) is good or subpar, the out of pocket (OOP) costs are uniformly high. The researchers looked at 23,450 patients admitted for several common causes of EGS at over 600 facilities from 2016 to 2019.

Involving Doctors in Hospital Governance Reduces Burnout and Improves Patient Outcomes

January 19th, 2023|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has released a new position statement promoting the involvement of doctors in hospital governance. The organization notes that doing so will help improve workplace cultures and thereby improve patient care and subsequent health outcomes. Moreover, their direct interactions with patients provides know-how for things like resource allocation and space planning.

Physician Calls for $800,000 Pay Cap for Hospital CEOs

December 28th, 2022|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , |

CEOs of hospital systems often make orders of magnitude higher than the actual clinicians delivering care to patients, a practice that has drawn scrutiny. In a new article published in Becker’s Hospital Review, learn about Dr. Kenneth Frisof’s argument that CEOs’ pay should be capped at $800,000, still far higher than MD-level specialists.

US Department of Health and Human Services Releases Medicare Hospital Ownership Data

December 23rd, 2022|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

The US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced that the agency will be releasing ownership data for all hospitals that are Medicare-certified. The data will be available for the public and contains information regarding over 7,000 hospitals. The move is intended to promote transparency and accountability.

Study Finds Racial Health Disparities Negatively Impacted by Medicaid and Medicare DSH Payment Model

November 11th, 2022|Categories: Featured, HEOR Feature, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

A recently published article in JAMA Network Open found that structural problems in Medicaid and Medicare DSH payment programs hurt the marginalized, low-income populations they are meant to benefit. Data was gathered from DSH programs in largely majority Black counties in all US states except Massachusetts. The results showed that payment models based on healthcare utilization underpay majority Black counties due to barriers of access to care.

Ransomware Attack Hits CommonSpirit Health System in US

October 13th, 2022|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , , |

Yet another healthcare system has been hit by a ransomware attack, disrupting care and the use and collection of electronic health records (EHR). The attack against CommonSpirit, based out of Chicago, IL,  caused surgeries and appointments to be cancelled in hospitals across the US. Law enforcement and cybersecurity experts are working to quickly address the issue.

Electronic Health Record Outage Makes UK Hospitals Revert to Pen and Paper

October 12th, 2022|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

The Oracle Cerner electronic health records (EHR) experienced and outage yesterday, October 11th, leaving many hospitals in the UK out on a limb. In response, many healthcare systems had to switch back to pen and paper records. The issue with the platform has been resolved this morning as of 9AM.

Medicare 340B Brawl Drags On

September 29th, 2022|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , , |

 The ongoing battle over the Medicare 340B program rages on, in and out of the courthouse. The program, which requires a discount on drugs to health systems that primarily serve underinsured patients, was cut back by the Trump administration. These cuts were challenged in a series of legal battles that led to a Supreme Court decision in favor of the 340B program.

Months After Taking Effect, Hospital and Insurer Transparency Compliance is Lacking

September 23rd, 2022|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

This summer, new hospital and insurer transparency rules took effect in the US that requires payers to disclose what they pay providers for items and services. However, despite this and a similar 2021 rule regarding hospital prices, few health systems have reported prices as required and even fewer out of compliance systems have seen penalties.

Cleveland Clinic Awarded $7.4 for Research into Improving Outcomes for Older Patients After Hospitalization

September 19th, 2022|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , |

Many older patients experience a litany of negative health outcomes following a hospital stay, often leading to compounding complications. The US National Institute of Aging (NIA) has awarded the Cleveland Clinic $7.4 million for a project designed to study ways to improve health outcomes for seniors after a hospital stay. Since bed rest is associated with worsened outcomes, one avenue of exploration includes hospital mobility programs, which try to get patients moving daily.

US Senator Lindsey Graham Introduces Bill Banning Abortions After 15 Weeks Nationwide

September 14th, 2022|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , |

Only weeks after the US Supreme Court reversed the right to safe abortions by overturning Roe V. Wade, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has introduced a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks into pregnancy. The bill, which is doomed to fail with Democrats controlling Congress and the presidency, is in contradiction with Graham’s statement a month ago that abortion laws should be decided at the state level.

Becker’s Healthcare – 13th Annual Meeting – April 2023

September 12th, 2022|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , , |

Beckers’ Healthcare is hosting its 13th annual meeting in April 2023. The conference will bring together professionals from across the healthcare industry to network and collaborate solutions for the rapidly changing healthcare landscape. Speakers include industry leaders, celebrities, investors, and more.

Federal Judge Rules Against HIV Prophylaxis ACA Provision

September 8th, 2022|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , , |

A US federal judge has ruled that an ACA provision guaranteeing HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is unconstitutional, in a suit filed by Braidwood Management. PrEP is a medication that, if taken correctly, effectively prevents HIV infections and transmission. Requiring Braidwood to cover the drug would, according to the ruling, violate their religious freedoms.

Conference: Becker’s Health IT + Digital Health RCM Annual Meeting

September 8th, 2022|Categories: Featured, Industry News|Tags: , , , , |

The landscape of healthcare is changing faster than ever, with the rapid growth of telehealth usage and increasing digitization. This October, Becker’s Healthcare will bring together professionals from health IT, digital health, and RCM to learn, collaborate, and connect. The in-person event will take place from October 4th-7th in Chicago. The meeting will take place virtually October 10th-14th.

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