Topics
Reimbursement
OIG audit: CMS should improve hospital wage index adjustments for rural hospitals
OIG recommends CMS improve hospital wage index for rural hospitals
Revenue Cycle Management
Blue Shield of California expands payment collaboration with Dignity Health 
Blue Shield of California expands payment collaboration
Strategic Planning
AHA urges HHS to better coordinate COVID-19 vaccine rollout
AHA urges HHS to better coordinate COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Capital Finance
Healthcare M&As poised to come off extended pause
Healthcare M&As poised to come off extended pause
Supply Chain
Strategic National Stockpile is ready to meet federal response to COVID-19, officials say
Strategic National Stockpile is ready to meet response to COVID-19
Accounting & Financial Management
Healthcare venture fundraising rises to a new high of $17 billion
Venture fundraising rises to a high of $17B
Budgeting
Employers' health benefits costs expected to grow, but most won't take cost-saving measures
Employers' health benefits costs expected to increase in 2021
Quality and Safety
Workplace violence is 'epidemic and a concern for healthcare'
Workplace violence is 'epidemic and a concern for healthcare'
Billing and Collections
Northwell Health rescinds more than 2,500 patient medical bill lawsuits
Northwell Health rescinds more than 2,500 patient medical bill lawsuits
Claims Processing
Payers are working to meet deadline for interoperability mandate
Payers work to meet interoperability deadline
Workforce
Providence president and CEO steps into chair position for AHA
Providence president and CEO steps in chair position for AHA
Operations
Parkland Health and Hospital System turns to online staff training
Parkland Health and Hospital System turns to online staff training
Medical Devices
Faced with shortages, researchers combine heat and humidity to disinfect N95 masks
Heat and humidity effective at disinfecting N95 masks
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
$1.5B Children's Healthcare hospital to be named after donor, owner of the Atlanta Falcons
$1.5 Children's Healthcare hospital to be named for Falcons owner
Compliance & Legal
Surgical Care Affiliates indicted on charges of labor market collusion
SCA indicted on labor market collusion charges
Policy and Legislation
President-elect Joe Biden releases $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan
President-elect Joe Biden releases $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan
Community Benefit
UPMC offers emergency medical training program in underserved communities
UPMC offers EMS training program in underserved communities
Accountable Care
Updated with list: Majority of Next Generation ACOs earned shared savings
Updated list: Most Next Gen ACOs earned shared savings
Acute Care
Blood vessel damage, inflammation found in COVID-19 patients' brains, but no infection
COVID-19 patients show blood vessel damage, inflammation
Ambulatory Care
Oak Street Health opens three new clinics at Walmart supercenters in Texas
Oak Street Health opens new clinics at Walmart supercenters in Texas
Analytics
HIMSS Stage 7 explained: Only six organizations worldwide have achieved this status on three different maturity models
HIMSS Stage 7 explained
Business Intelligence
Northwell Health sends nurses to Henry Ford Health System as part of strategic alliance to fight COVID-19
Northwell, Henry Ford enter staff-sharing agreement
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
CMS approves first Medicaid block grant waiver in Tennessee
CMS approves first Medicaid block grant waiver in Tennessee
Patient Engagement
Selecting the right vendor is key to improving the patient financial experience, finds KLAS
Selecting the right vendor key to improving patient financial experience
Pharmacy
Combination of drugs found to be effective in reducing COVID-19 recovery time
Drug combination found effective for COVID-19 recovery
Population Health
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas enters provider partnership to improve health outcomes
BCBSKS enters partnerships to improve health outcomes
Risk Management
FBI, HHS warn of 'increased and imminent' cyber threat to hospitals
FBI, HHS warn of 'increased and imminent' cyber threat to hospitals
Telehealth
Supreme Court rejects using telehealth for abortion
Supreme Court rejects using telehealth for abortion
Mergers & Acquisitions
FTC begins investigation of physician group mergers and orders insurers to share data
FTC begins investigation of physician group mergers
View more
Nov 30, 2020

Precautionary steps hospitals should take as ransomware attacks ramp up

HIMSS TV
Health systems are in the cybercrime crosshairs, so longtime CIO Drex DeFord, now a strategic healthcare executive for CI Security, describes the steps IT and security professionals should be taking now to shore up their defenses.
News
HHS extends COVID-19 public health emergency declaration until April HHS extends COVID-19 public health emergency declaration until April This action marks the fourth time HHS has extended the declaration that has paid parity for telehealth and continues reporting waivers.
Whitepapers
Clinical Quality Measures 101 Clinical Quality Measures 101 Although quality-reporting programs such as meaningful use provide incentives to help providers implement and use electronic health records (EHRs) to collect and report on clinical data, practices often need help deciding what data to collect, which measures to report ...