Topics
Reimbursement
Volume growth contributes to improved hospital margins in October, finds Kaufman Hall
Hospital margins up in October, driven by volume
Revenue Cycle Management
Referral process going digital as healthcare providers look to stem revenue leakage
Referral processes going digital
Strategic Planning
Managing risk in a hyper-outsourcing world requires facilitating good vendor relationships
Managing risk in an outsourcing world
Capital Finance
Healthcare real estate: The pros and cons of buying versus leasing
To lease or to buy? The pros and cons
Supply Chain
Unnecessary healthcare supply chain spending reaches almost $26 billion; savings opportunities remain
Unnecessary supply chain spending reaches $26B
Accounting & Financial Management
Healthcare spending rises to $3.6 trillion in the U.S., driven partly by health insurance tax
Health spending rises to $3.6T
Budgeting
'Care cascades,' or unwarranted tests, show hidden costs
Unnecessary tests show hidden costs
Quality and Safety
Hospitals given latitude to select transplant candidates don't prioritize sickest patients
Hospitals don't prioritize sickest transplant candidates
Billing and Collections
Poor digital billing process associated with uncollected payments
Poor digital billing associated with collections
Claims Processing
BCBS Institute and Solera partner, pay SDoH organizations through outcomes-based medical claims
BCBS Institute, Solera, to pay organizations through outcomes-based claims
Workforce
Shortage of specialists negatively impacting patients in rural areas
Specialist shortage hurting rural patients
Operations
Getting a handle on identity and access in healthcare isn't just a technology problem
Identity and access: Not just a tech problem
Medical Devices
Apple is developing custom health information tracking chips
Apple is developing custom health chips
Hospital/physician relations
Quality of initial training makes a big difference in EHR satisfaction, KLAS report finds
Poor EHR training brings down provider satisfaction
Construction & Facilities Management
Cape Cod Healthcare building $180M patient tower, investing in EHR
CCHC building $180M patient tower
Compliance & Legal
AHIP, BCBS Association support lawsuit against health insurance tax for Medicaid managed care
AHIP, BCBS Association support health insurance tax lawsuit
Policy and Legislation
Mayor Pete Buttigieg unveils plan to reduce inequities in healthcare access
Mayor Pete releases plan to curb health inequities
Community Benefit
Advocate Aurora Health contributed $2.1 billion to community charitable care and services in 2018
Advocate Aurora: $2.1B in charity care
Accountable Care
Physician-led accountable care organizations outperform hospital-led counterparts
Physician-led ACOs outperform hospital ACOs
Acute Care
Pressure ulcers cost the health system $26.8 billion a year
Pressure ulcers cost the health system $26.8B a year
Ambulatory Care
Medical schools, teaching hospitals account for 3% of US GDP, report shows
Med schools, teaching hospitals are 3% of GDP
Analytics
Anthem, MassChallenge HealthTech to collaborate on accelerator launch
Anthem, MassChallenge HealthTech launching accelerator
Business Intelligence
While the price of healthcare is growing, utilization is dropping and price variations persist, report says
HCCI: Price of healthcare is growing, utilization is dropping, price variations persist
ICD-10 & Coding
Physician practices examine risk adjustment coding in wake of federal lawsuits
Practices keeping close watch on risk adjustment coding
Meaningful Use
CMS overhauls meaningful use EHR program, renames it 'Promoting Interoperability'
CMS overhauls meaningful use as 'Promoting Interoperability'
Medicare & Medicaid
Final days of ACA open enrollment show 10% drop in signups
ACA enrollment down 10% going into final days
Patient Engagement
Patients intrigued by digital health services, but still value face-to-face interactions
Patients still value face-to-face visits
Pharmacy
Suicide attempts and hospitals admissions linked to non-opioid drugs on the rise
Suicides, admissions linked to non-opioid drugs
Population Health
Majority of parents say socioeconomic factors negatively impact their families' health
Socioeconomic factors impact families' health
Risk Management
Cybersecurity needs to be put in business terms
Cybersecurity needs to be put in business terms
Telehealth
Laws ensuring commercial insurance coverage for telehealth increasing among states
Laws ensuring commercial insurance coverage for telehealth increasing among states
Mergers & Acquisitions
CVS Health to acquire IlliniCare Health in agreement with Centene
CVS to acquire IlliniCare in Centene deal
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Pharmacy

May 23 | Susan Morse
UnitedHealthcare leads healthcare's 25 most valuable brands
Insurers UHC, Anthem, Aetna, Humana and Cigna were among the top seven, which also included Optum and Medtronic.
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May 21 | Susan Morse
Precision vs. personalized medicine: What's the difference?
Both terms get used to mean essentially the same thing but there are some subtleties that distinguish them.
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May 20 | Mark Klimek
Civica Rx, Xellia partner to manufacture and distribute generic drugs
This is the first time Civica Rx is producing generic drugs since the company was launched last year by the Mayo Clinic,…
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May 20 | Susan Morse
Part D plans required to give drug pricing information through electronic prescribing or EHR
Pharmacy groups express frustration that CMS did not reform direct and indirect remuneration fees.
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May 15 | Susan Morse
CMS cracks down on spread pricing by pharmacy benefit managers
The spread amount must be included in the calculation of medical loss ratios that managed Medicaid and CHIP plans use to set…
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May 14 | Susan Morse
Judge rules against CVS/Aetna in allowing witness testimony over merger agreement
Testimony is expected to center on the impact of the merger on pharmacy benefit management markets, judge…
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May 14 | Jeff Lagasse
CDC concurs with panel on misapplication of opioid guidelines
A number of clinicians and payers have been enforcing hard limits on opioid doses, regardless of the patient's situation.
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May 13 | Susan Morse
States bring price fixing lawsuit against Teva and other drug makers
Teva colluded with 20 competitors on 86 generic drugs to avoid price erosion and keep inflated prices high, lawsuit says.
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May 13 | Susan Morse
AMA files motion to testify in CVS and Aetna merger
The DOJ and CVS Health are seeking to block certain testimony they say is outside the scope of review.
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May 08 | Susan Morse
Drug companies are being required to post list prices in TV ads
If pharmaceutical manufacturers are ashamed of their drug prices, then change the price, HHS Secretary Alex Azar says.
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