Hospital financial and revenue cycle benchmarks paint a complicated picture heading into the new year
The tail end of 2024 has brought promising news regarding hospital financial metrics, even as revenue cycle indicators suggest continuing strain. Margin data are showing moderate improvement, and one of the three credit-rating agencies has upgraded its 2025 sector outlook for not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals and health systems. Fitch Ratings announced this week it was revising…
The state of U.S. primary care: Daunting challenges, achievable solutions
Value-focused efforts to shore up primary care require bold initiatives that increasingly are being implemented but continue to encounter obstacles, according to insights from a recent conference. “We have answers in a kind of amazing array of [physician] practices all over the country that are generally doing an aligned thing,” said Asaf Bitton, MD, associate…
First American supports healthcare organizations with strategic financing solutions
Check out this company's customized leasing and financing solutions, enabling clients to invest in critical equipment and infrastructure while prioritizing growth and maintaining financial flexibility.
Healthcare providers explore payer direct access to EHRs, but most are still awaiting the benefits
This roundtable brought together a number of healthcare industry leaders to discuss challenges and solutions for effectively sharing medical record data with payers. Roundtable participants also say they hope that offering insurers direct access to clinical information can potentially eliminate some of providers' administrative burden of constantly responding to records requests, but that is yet to come to fruition.
News Briefs: Hospital advocates say Medicare’s 2025 outpatient payment update should have been higher
Medicare payments to hospitals for outpatient services will rise by 2.9% in 2025, according to a final rule published Nov. 1. The update is derived from a 3.4% increase in the market basket and a reduction of 0.5 percentage points as required based on the economywide productivity adjustment. Any hospital that does not fulfill quality-reporting…
Partnership opportunities may help manage evolving dynamics in radiology and imaging
The evolving dynamics in the radiology and imaging arena are requiring health systems to rethink their imaging strategy. Consider the following trends. Growth in the overall radiology market is expected to continue. Key drivers include a growing and aging population, increasing disease prevalence, a shift in the perception of diagnostic imaging as core to preventative…
Despite significant challenges, there’s value in hospital mergers
Hospitals are facing severe economic pressures, and the Biden administration's Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice have intensified enforcement of antitrust laws for hospital mergers, causing many hospitals to abandon their merger plans.
David Johnson: RFK Jr. will focus on ‘Getting America healthy again’ — and maybe it’s possible
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suspended his campaign for the U.S. presidency and endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump in exchange for broad inter-departmental authority to address the chronic disease epidemic plaguing the nation.
Generative AI for healthcare – where to start?
In this new guide, explore five key areas every healthcare organization should consider when developing a generative AI strategy and assessing potential vendors’ solutions.
The invisible costs of cancer treatment
Dr. Kamal Golla is back on the podcast this week discussing the financial considerations for patients and their care team after a cancer diagnosis.