Finalized regulations look to phase out the manual aspect of prior authorization
Medicare’s FY26 final rule for hospital inpatient payments includes the latest federal effort to streamline and improve prior authorization. The rule has a subset of regulations titled “Health Data, Technology and Interoperability: Electronic Prescribing, Real-Time Prescription Benefit and Electronic Prior Authorization,” issued by HHS’s Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and Office of the National Coordinator…
The financial cost of hospital and community violence
A new study assesses the financial impact of violence in hospitals and their communities, finding that the issue amounts to a multibillion-dollar problem annually. Estimated costs total $18.27 billion per year, according to a report published June 2 by the American Hospital Association (AHA). The largest share of that total, $13.1 billion, is the amount…
Hospitals grapple with uncertain tariff fallout as pharmaceutical levy looms
May 28 update: A U.S. trade court has issued an injunction on most of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, although tariffs on individual products (e.g., steel and aluminum) can remain. The administration has appealed the decision. May 29 update: The tariffs are back on for now after an appeals court stayed the lower…
Amid market turbulence, hospitals strive for stability in their financials
At a time of potentially significant headwinds for investment returns, operational performance becomes even more pivotal for hospitals. Recent financial results are mixed as indicators of whether not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals can readily absorb large investment-income losses. Operating margin plateaued for the sector in February, according to Strata Decision Technology’s latest monthly report. Median year-to-date margin…
Hospitals brace for impact of tariffs (updated article)
Note: The article was updated where noted after President Donald Trump’s April 8 remark about upcoming pharmaceutical tariffs. The headline was also updated after originally stating: “Tariff impact on hospitals may be relatively restrained in the short term” Sweeping tariffs announced over the last week by the Trump administration appear to have spared the healthcare…
4 strategies to reduce ED overcrowding
Recent studies are quantifying what news reports tell us: Americans are waiting longer than ever to get seen and treated in the ED. Several factors contribute to this trend: patient volumes are increasing while ED and inpatient bed capacity decline; individuals without a regular primary care provider often turn to the ED as their first…
Fatal shooting at Pa. hospital renews calls for legislation to enhance security
A deadly shooting at a hospital in Pennsylvania prompted additional calls for steps to increase the security of healthcare settings. On Feb. 22, a gunman took hostages in the ICU at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. During the standoff, local police officer Andrew Duarte was shot and killed, while three hospital staff members and…
New tariffs are expected to strain the healthcare supply chain
March 3 update: Trump says the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico will begin March 4 as scheduled, while the tariff on China is doubling to 20%. Tariffs implemented by the Trump administration will affect costs in the healthcare supply chain, and the impact would be expected to grow if the original plan for the…
Premier’s ERP solution addresses unique needs of the healthcare industry
How do you help healthcare organizations navigate the biggest challenges in healthcare? Premier provides a truly healthcare-native, enterprise resource planning (ERP) cloud-based SaaS solution, integrating supply chain, contract management, financial reporting and human resources (HR) capabilities end-to-end. Unlike traditional ERPs built to support multiple industries, Premier’s solution addresses healthcare’s unique needs as follows. When issues…
Susan Dentzer: Do we need a Department of Healthcare Sanity to eliminate low-value healthcare?
Zoe Chance, who teaches at Yale’s School of Management, tells students that they should ask a “magic question” when they are faced with a difficult situation: “What would it take?” That question can open their thinking “to ditch conventional ideas and consider a new approach,” Chance writes in her book, Influence is your superpower.a I…