Operations Management

Cyberattack leaves hospitals scrambling in several states

A recent attack was the latest to illustrate the potential of cybercriminals to cause havoc across an interstate health system. The Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings system incurred a ransomware attack Aug. 3 that temporarily required some patients to be diverted from emergency departments and relegated hospitals to using paper records and incorporating other downtime…

Nick Hut August 7, 2023

How to staff smarter and reduce reliance on expensive travel contracts

To bridge the healthcare staffing gap and tackle workforce issues such as burnout, spikes in labor costs, and rising retirements among nurses, hospitals and healthcare facilities need a technology-driven approach that empowers staffing managers with the control needed to address fluctuating patient volume without understaffing or overspending on labor. This How-To guide highlights the challenges,…

HFMA August 3, 2023

5 things to know about Medicare’s FY24 final rule for inpatient payments as hospitals foresee adverse impacts

The FY24 final rule for Medicare inpatient payments didn’t bring hospitals the type of rate update they sought, and for some organizations a bigger concern is changes to uncompensated care (UC) payments and disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments. Here are five big points about the regulations, which take effect Oct. 1 and also cover Medicare…

Nick Hut August 2, 2023

The latest on hospital finances: Signs of improvement, but margins remain tight

Industry-level hospital financial insights reflect the mixed results of a recovery that’s in progress but is expected to be a long slog. In a 2023 midyear report (login required), Moody’s Investors Service noted that margins are below 3% for a third of the company’s rated hospitals. Before the pandemic, only about 6% had margins in…

Nick Hut July 27, 2023

House committee approves bill requiring national provider identifiers for off-campus outpatient departments

A bill with widespread support in Congress would affect hospital billing procedures at off-campus outpatient departments if it becomes law. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce on July 12 unanimously approved legislation called the Transparency in Billing Act, which states that starting in 2024, hospital claims for items and services furnished in off-campus…

Nick Hut July 19, 2023

Medicare outpatient payments to hospitals won’t rise considerably in 2024, according to a proposed rule

Medicare’s newly proposed outpatient payment update for 2024 is unlikely to be greeted with enthusiasm by hospitals. The update for items and services provided in the hospital outpatient or ambulatory surgical center setting would be 2.8%, mirroring the proposed change for inpatient payments. The base update would be 3%, with a statutorily required productivity adjustment…

Nick Hut July 14, 2023

Healthcare News of Note: What were the most-read blogs during the first half of 2023?

The top Healthcare News of Note blog posts for the first six months of the year were a mixed bag in terms of topics, but all of them grabbed the most reader attention based on number of clicks: Seven hospitals were recognized for elevating nursing excellence and improving patient outcomes with Press Ganey’s National Database…

Deborah Filipek July 14, 2023

10 Vital Responses to Healthcare Disruption

Disruption is reverberating throughout the healthcare industry, and it’s incumbent on legacy organizations to develop strategic responses for the benefit of their consumers, their communities and themselves. With that overarching challenge becoming ever more pressing, HFMA’s 2023 Spring Thought Leadership Retreat brought together leaders from across the industry May 4-5 in Atlanta to consider approaches…

Nick Hut July 11, 2023

Billions of dollars in lump-sum payments are coming to hospitals as a remedy for 340B-related underpayments

Hospitals that participate in the 340B Drug Pricing Program stand to receive $9 billion in aggregate lump-sum payments as compensation for underpayments from Medicare during a nearly five-year period. In a proposed rule issued July 7, CMS described how it would provide remedies following a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that the U.S. Department of Health…

Nick Hut July 10, 2023

Annual Conference: Houston Methodist uses AI in virtual models for critical care, patient observation and more

Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving innovation in clinical operations at the Houston Methodist hospital system, as explained during a presentation this week at HFMA’s Annual Conference. Among other virtual-care programs developed by the organization’s innovation center, Houston Methodist has incorporated a virtual ICU and virtual observation in the inpatient setting. Both programs use AI to…

Nick Hut June 30, 2023
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