Today, the newspaper biz is on life support as more and more citizens are reaching for their tablets or other electronic devices to get the latest infusion of facts.  But despite the change in delivery mechanisms, people are still anxious to get the lowdown on what’s happening in their local and wider world.  News still counts, and there are few things that satiate the news consumer like the results of a survey.  Today’s article focuses on a survey that hospital leaders around the country should find instructive.

The federal government issued a warning concerning a credible and imminent threat to our national healthcare security.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted an urgent conference call with leaders of the healthcare industry on Oct 28, informing them that the government has received reliable information that international hackers—perhaps with ties to Russia—are planning to breach the IT systems of some 400 hospitals and clinics throughout the United States. 

Yes, round one of the pandemic was devastating in many ways to the nation’s health, economy and way of life.  The surge in the late spring was debilitating to be sure, but hospitals managed to find ways to battle through the hardships.  Now that the dreaded second round looks to be a reality in large sectors of the country, hospital officials and clinicians are being called on once more to fight the good fight in spite of all difficulties.  But how?

New ways of getting the job done are always just around the corner. The trick is translating these technologies into a mechanism for business improvement. In today's article, we will explore ways in which hospitals are using cutting edge strategies to improve their clinical effectiveness, profitability and presence in the community. So, buckle in, as we zoom "back to the future."

Mergers and acquisitions (MAs) appear to be part of the normal evolution of hospitals and health systems in America; but, like the hope of marriage, does it truly lead to greater happiness?

On October 1, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a third phase of relief funds into the healthcare sector. As you'll recall, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act authorized billions of dollars to support struggling health providers and facilities in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that swept the nation. Of the $175 billion authorized by the CARES Act, about $107 billion had been released in the first two phases. This third phase will pump another $20 billion into America's healthcare system.

National Public Radio (NPR) is reporting that it has come into possession of “internal documents” drafted by individuals at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which indicate that the agency “is preparing to crack down aggressively on hospitals.”  The impending action will specifically be against those facilities who failed to report “complete COVID-19 data daily into a federal data system,” as mandated earlier this summer by the Trump administration.

Now that fall has officially arrived, many in the healthcare industry are bracing for what could be a new wave of the coronavirus within our borders. Many of our students are back at school, and some fear this may trigger a new spike in COVID cases throughout the country. 

As reported this past Monday by Becker's Health IT, the CEO of EPIC, Judy Faulkner, provided five predictions concerning healthcare in America in a recent interview with Business Insider. As many of our readers are aware, Epic is one of the giants of the electronic medical record (EMR) industry. Here is a snapshot of Ms. Faulkner's prognostications:

On September 2, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH) final rule, which includes "important provisions designed to ensure access to potentially life-saving diagnostics and therapies for hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries." According to a CMS press release, the changes will affect approximately 3,200 acute care hospitals and approximately 360 LTACHs. The agency estimates that total Medicare spending on acute care inpatient hospital services will increase by about $3.5 billion in FY 2021, representing an uptick of 2.7 percent over FY 2020.