Dennis Dahlen: It’s time to be biased toward action
We’re in an extraordinary period of discovery and innovation in healthcare, from a breakthrough treatment that delays the onset of Type 1 diabetes to the potential to use advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to help patients manage their health. But embracing the promise of innovation within our organizations depends on our ability to lead teams to…
Ken Perez: How homelessness and healthcare are inextricably linked
Homelessness is a worsening problem for the United States, and in multiple ways, it is a healthcare issue. Many of our nation’s failed efforts to solve this problem, outlined below, do not fully acknowledge this reality. But a promising new not-for-profit initiative, Built for Zero, may provide a truly viable solution using a data-driven approach…
Healthcare News of Note: Economic burden of racial and ethnic health disparities in the U.S. grew by 41% in 4-year span
For individuals with less than a college degree in 2018, the total burden of education-related health disparities reached $978 billion, about two times greater than the annual growth rate of the U.S. economy. New research shows that using new technology and delegating specific tasks to other staff could help healthcare organizations address the nursing shortage.…
A brief guide to the health-equity journey
Over the past few years, our nation has seen an intensified focus on health equity. Spurred in part by the pandemic, which laid bare the vast human cost of remediable health disparities, both civil society and government are increasingly focused on improving health equity. So are healthcare organizations themselves, many of which are launching or…
CMS issues RFI to gather best practices for identifying and supporting safety net hospitals
As part of the FY24 proposed rule for hospital inpatient payments, CMS is seeking healthcare stakeholder input on how to best support safety net hospitals in the Medicare program. The agency is considering ways to reimburse safety net hospitals via supplemental payments that may be better targeted than disproportionate share hospital (DSH) and uncompensated care…
Healthcare News of Note: 5% of U.S. adults are forgoing healthcare due to transportation barriers
This blog share synopses of three stories for healthcare finance professionals, including Adults with transportation issues forgo needed healthcare and pediatric hospital admissions involving ICU care are increasing.
Healthcare News of Note: Healthcare private equity deals amounted to a strong $90B in 2022
In 2022, healthcare private equity deals reached nearly $90 billion, the second highest on record. Concerns about increased workloads, staffing shortages and burnout have been felt most acutely by less experienced nurses, according to a newly published study. Patients seeking care in safety-net clinics are accruing chronic diseases at high rates in middle age, indicating…
Hospital operational changes underway as health equity becomes one of The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals
Reducing healthcare disparities became a Joint Commission accreditation standard (LD.04.03.08) on Jan. 1, a little more than a year after the organization issued a Sentinel Event Alert warning of impacts on patient safety. However, on July 1, the standard will become a National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG), which experts say points to one thing: Healthcare…
Reports on patient safety indicate progress, challenges and a need to focus on pediatric mental health
Recent reports add context to the issue of patient safety in hospitals and health systems. ECRI released a report that ranks the pediatric mental health crisis as the No. 1 patient safety issue in healthcare. The report cites a JAMA study that found increases of 29% in anxiety and 27% in depression between 2016 and…
Data capture and coding for social determinants of health are works in progress, per reports
In the effort to bring social determinants of health (SDoH) more under the purview of healthcare providers, one tricky aspect is establishing a data and coding infrastructure. Recent reports highlight this challenge. For example, a survey conducted for the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) found that although 78% of 2,637 respondents said their organizations…