Policies to prepare for a future pandemic should center on interoperability between hospitals and public health systems, expert says
The need for better interoperability between hospitals and public health entities is a crucial lesson of the COVID-19 pandemic, a public health official testified to a Senate committee.
Congress opts not to use Provider Relief Fund allocations as an infrastructure funding source
Earlier reports indicated that Provider Relief Fund money would be used to help pay for the pending bipartisan infrastructure bill, but the legislative text includes no such language.
Hospital-at-home programs are gaining traction and have well-documented benefits, experts say
A Medicare waiver issued in late 2020 has spurred more health systems to implement home-care programs for acute conditions.
Study: In price negotiations with hospitals, self-insured employers lack leverage
The vast difference in market power between hospitals and employers leaves the latter group with little recourse in negotiations, according to a new study.
ACO leaders support new bill designed to boost participation in value-based payment
Accountable care organizations stand to benefit from a new bill that would increase investment funding and make changes to federal ACO programs, several executives said.
Fitch describes the heightened risk posed by cyberattacks on not-for-profit hospitals
Cyberattacks on NFP hospitals increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic and show no signs of abating, Fitch says.
HFMA’s Annual Conference virtual preview offers a glimpse of what’s coming in November
The three-hour virtual preview of the Annual Conference, including a look at the educational tracks, key speakers and other attractions, is available on-demand.
Financial Sustainability Report: July 2021
The July 2021 issue of the Financial Sustainability Report, sponsored by Kaufman Hall, includes an account of how one health system assessed the benefits and risk associated with moving its 340B covered-entity pharmacy enterprise to a Limited Liability Company. The issue also includes a commentary on CMS’s new Acute Hospital Care at Home program and a discussion of a new metric, equivalent net patient revenue (ENPR), which organizations can use to assess the relative value of proposed investments in alternative revenue sources.
Study establishes a link between surges in COVID-19 cases and risk of mortality at hospitals
Statistical analysis shows nearly a quarter of COVID-19 deaths during the first six months of the pandemic could be ascribed to high caseloads at hospitals.
Maintaining the equilibrium of the physician enterprise amid rapid change is a matter of balance
To ensure the proper functioning of the physician enterprise, hospitals and health systems must establish a balance among three dimensions: The clinicians’ productivity, the capacity to provide patients with access to care when they need it, and he volume of existing and potential patients in the market.