Healthcare News of Note: Most board members of the nation’s top hospitals work in finance or business
Less than 15% of board members at a sampling of the nation’s top hospitals are health professionals, while 56% work in finance or business. Since 2014, the number of medically disenfranchised people in the U.S. nearly doubled from 56 million to over 100 million, causing stress for providers and lower rates of immunization and rising…
Financial and operational pressures continue for hospitals amid some positive signs
New financial data for the hospital industry illustrate continuing challenges even as some trends improve. Fitch Ratings released an analysis in early March that offers scant reason for optimism. Titled “Early NFP Hospital Medians Show Expected Deterioration; Will Worsen,” it draws on data from hospitals with earlier 2022 financial year-ends. Those numbers show “materially weaker…
Healthcare News of Note: New PCORI initiative targets industry’s slowness in adopting results of comparative effectiveness research
Over the past few weeks, I have found these industry news stories that should be of interest to healthcare finance professionals. 1. Goal of PCORI initiative: Reduce the estimated 17-year wait time to adopt new and better treatments Forty-two health systems have signed on to an initiative to translate new research into changes in…
Hospitals face increased need amid pandemic to improve patient throughput
An acute care hospital cannot begin to be able to deliver cost-effective care if it lacks a fully coordinated approach for moving patients from admission to discharge.
News Briefs: Healthcare industry disrupter CVS Health to shell out billions to buy Oak Street Health
A month after stating it hoped to gain a presence in primary care, CVS Health accomplished that goal with a massive deal that could fortify its efforts to advance value-based payment in healthcare. The proposed $10.6 billion acquisition of Oak Street Health, a provider of senior-focused primary care, adds to a portfolio of assets that…
Healthcare News of Note: Amazon closes its deal with One Medical, touts opportunity to scale a new primary care model
Amazon closes its deal with One Medical
In federal ACO programs, advocates see signs of slow but steady progress
Growth in accountable care organization (ACO) programs has been inconsistent since the Affordable Care Act made accountable care part of the healthcare lexicon in 2010. Nonetheless, proponents are optimistic about the state of ACOs and their potential in upcoming years, even if there’s uncertainty about CMS’s ability to achieve its stated goal of ensuring every…
Healthcare News of Note: 7 hospitals earn a Press Ganey award for outstanding nursing quality
Seven hospitals were recognized for elevating nursing excellence and improving patient outcomes with Press Ganey’s National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators Award for Outstanding Nursing Quality. Only 48% of Americans rank the quality of U.S. healthcare as excellent or good, according to results of a Gallup Health and Healthcare survey. Nearly half of Americans are…
Honor Roll: HFMA awards certifications to 2,746 members between September and December 2022
HFMA offers eight certifications for members to validate their expertise and demonstrate their commitment to the profession. The HFMA certifications are as follows: Certified Healthcare Financial Professional (CHFP), Certified Revenue Cycle Representative (CRCR), Certified Revenue Cycle Representative (CRCR) – GCC, Certified Specialist Accounting & Finance (CSAF), Certified Specialist Business Intelligence (CSBI), Certified Specialist Physician Practice…
Healthcare News of Note: Is a public health crisis looming for the generation born during the pandemic?
Infants born during the pandemic, regardless of maternal SARS-CoV-2 status, scored significantly lower on the gross motor, fine motor and personal-social subdomains of the Ages & Stages Questionnaire, 3rd Edition when compared with a cohort born pre-pandemic at one hospital. Opioids were prescribed at discharge during fewer emergency department (ED) visits in 2019-20, compared with…