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

Top Stories

21 Medicare Advantage plans earn 5 stars in CMS release of star ratings

21 Medicare Advantage plans earn 5 stars in CMS release of star ratings

Average cost of hospital care for COVID-19 ranges from $51,000 to $78,000, based on age

Hospital costs for COVID-19 varies by age, length of stay

Medicare beneficiaries can get monoclonal antibody COVID-19 treatments at no cost

CMS will cover COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment

Dec 30, 2020

Why patients need access to their medical images

HIMSS TV

PocketHealth Chief Patient Officer Dave deBronkart, aka "e-Patient Dave," details how patients and providers can work as a team to ensure accuracy in health records and diagnosing.

News

CMS issues final rule on healthcare technology access for seniors

CMS issues final rule on healthcare technology access for seniors The rule is meant to ease undue burden for innovators and speed access to potentially lifesaving technologies.

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.

Healthcare M&A's down in 2020 but analysts say COVID-19 is a catalyst for future deals

Healthcare M&A's down in 2020 but analysts say COVID-19 is a catalyst for future deals Forty-four percent of healthcare CFOs say the pandemic will drive an increase in partnerships across the healthcare ecosystem.

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 ...

Featured Resources

Improving the Patient Financial Experience Throughout the Patient Journey While many healthcare providers believe that improving the patient financial experience is a critical step for their organization, few have done so successfully. Read this brief to learn strategies that increase patient ...

Care Collaboration Success for Improved Outcomes The nature of our healthcare ecosystem has been one of siloed care. Rarely do payers, providers and local resources come together with the patient's well-being prioritized as a unifying mission. Read how these organizations are getting it right.

Debunk the Myth: Outsourcing Doesn't Mean Losing Control With shifts in payer mixes and reimbursement structure, the margin of reimbursement has been shrinking steadily over the last five years. How do revenue cycle leaders navigate payment reform while maintaining stable business office operations?

MostPopular

28-year-old volunteer in AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial dies

Walgreens begins administering the COVID-19 vaccine

Hospital costs for COVID-19 varies by age, length of stay

CVS Health expands COVID-19 testing services

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.

CMS issues final rule on healthcare technology access for seniors

CMS issues final rule on healthcare technology access for seniors The rule is meant to ease undue burden for innovators and speed access to potentially lifesaving technologies.

Healthcare M&A's down in 2020 but analysts say COVID-19 is a catalyst for future deals

Healthcare M&A's down in 2020 but analysts say COVID-19 is a catalyst for future deals Forty-four percent of healthcare CFOs say the pandemic will drive an increase in partnerships across the healthcare ecosystem.

Whitepapers

Gaining Actionable Insight into Financial Systems and Areas Impacting the Revenue Cycle

Gaining Actionable Insight into Financial Systems and Areas Impacting the Revenue Cycle Hospital systems across the country are looking to streamline their billing and collection processes to become more efficient and better compete in their markets. The challenge many face is how to turn the data ...