News

The Department of Health and Human Services advised healthcare providers that withholding treatment for those with disabilities violates federal law.

Telehealth use has grown tremendously during the pandemic, but there are gaps in usage, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There are concerns about access to video telehealth services.

Some drug companies are putting limits on discounts in the federal 340B drug program, hospitals say. The 340B Health advocacy group says hospitals are losing millions and it could hurt their ability to serve patients in vulnerable communities.

The financial picture improved somewhat, but hospitals still are dealing with plenty of headwinds, according to a new Kaufman Hall report.

Roughly two out of three people of color said they canceled or delayed healthcare services during the pandemic, the report said.

With the conclusion of the deal, City of Hope will convert the Cancer Treatment Centers into a non-profit organization.

Healthcare leaders should pay attention to what's happening at the state level. States have passed dozens of laws regarding healthcare in the last few years.

The federal watchdog points to problems in migrating data and the need to get more feedback from stakeholders. The Department of Veterans Affairs has been struggling to modernize its patient records for years.

Providers are still spending more money than they should in submitting claims and prior authorization, according to the new CAQH Index. The industry could save billions by moving toward more automation, the group says.

Healthcare systems in urban and rural areas face similar problems: too many patients, staff shortages and unprecedented stress.

The system is spending more than $1 billion in projects over the next year, including a new hospital in London.

With more information available on phones and watches, most data is now health data, Penn researchers say. But a new study shows many have privacy concerns.

In other news, CHI Health gets a new CEO, the University of Vermont Health’s leader is retiring, and other systems announce new leaders.

The Government Accountability Office faulted the agency’s leadership in emergencies, including the coronavirus pandemic.

In a bipartisan effort, nearly 200 members of Congress have asked the Biden administration to look into the issue. Some say staffing agencies are charging far more than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Millions of healthcare workers must get both doses of the vaccine by the spring. The federal government now has a timetable for every state.

Clinicians and administrators say the pandemic is affecting their sense of safety, and dealing with medical waste adds to the stress, according to a report by Stericycle.

It represents a 79% increase over the previous year, CB Insights reports. The COVID-19 pandemic is fueling the appetite for digital health technologies.

The company continues its strategy of expanding in fast-growing areas of the country.

Women are seeing fewer patients and putting in more hours on documenting health records, a report from athenahealth says. As a result, female clinicians could end up earning less.

There was a nursing shortage before the pandemic and the situation is even worse now. A new study points to the need to recruit and retain more nurses around the world.

The American Hospital Association asks Biden, Congress to release billions to healthcare organizations struggling with the surge of coronavirus patients.

Investors project more deals to be done due to the transformation of healthcare and a host of other factors.

The typical breach costs several million dollars. Attackers have realized hospitals are prime targets, so healthcare leaders need to make protecting their systems a top priority.

The American Telemedicine Association has launched ATA Action, a new organization pushing to ensure access to telehealth. The effort involves some big names in the business community.

Kaiser Permanente picks a president for the Georgia market, and Denver Health’s CEO is planning to step down this year.

The administration is offering grants to healthcare organizations to develop or expand mental health programs.

The tech start-up has developed machine learning algorithms to identify sepsis and other health issues. CEO Andrew Pucher is excited for the future but knows it’s a long road.