21% of Rural Hospitals at High Financial Risk of Closing
A new analysis from consulting firm Navigant revealed that one-in-five rural hospitals is at high risk of closing based on their current financial position. The analysis of publicly available data...No Health IT Workforce Exec for Over Half of Non-Acute Providers
Hospitals and non-acute providers are using significantly different health IT workforce strategies to meet their technological needs, according to the 2019 HIMSS U.S. Leadership and Workforce...Finding Medicaid Eligibility Cuts Hospital Bad Debt by 10%
Extending insurance discovery efforts to insured patients can boost a hospital’s Medicare bad debt recovery by as much as ten percent annually, a new analysis shows. Identifying insured patients...Vertical Integration in Healthcare Doesn’t Boost Care Quality
A new study from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy shows vertical integration in healthcare has little to no impact on care quality. Performance on a range of measures,...Providers Seek Prescription Price Transparency, Patient Cost Data
Providers want to boost prescription price transparency to lower costs and improve care quality, a new survey of over 500 healthcare professionals uncovered. The Engine Group and Surescripts survey...Hospital Cost Accounting Tool to Cut Costs, Boost Value-Based Care
The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) is making a hospital cost accounting roadmap available to all providers looking to reduce variation, waste, and inefficiency. The leading...Clinical Documentation and Coding Top Revenue Cycle Vulnerability
Hospital leaders are concerned that their organization’s clinical documentation and coding processes are vulnerable to errors that could result in lost or decreased revenue, according to a recent...Baylor Scott & White, Memorial Hermann End Hospital Merger Talks
Two large non-profit health systems in Texas are calling off a potential $14 billion hospital merger deal five months after signing a letter of intent to combine. In a joint statement, Baylor Scott...Hospital Prices Increased Faster Than Physician Prices, Study Finds
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated with a statement from the American Hospital Association. Hospital prices increased much more quickly than physician prices for both inpatient and...Reducing the Rate of Hospital-Acquired Conditions Saved $7.7B
A significant reduction in hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) saved providers $7.7 billion in hospital costs since 2014, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently reported. New...CHI, Dignity Finalize Hospital Merger, Introduce CommonSpirit
After over a year of negotiations, Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) and Dignity Health recently finalized their hospital merger deal to create one of the largest non-profit health systems. The health...Would New Care Access Standards Pave the Way for VA Privatization?
Veterans may be able to seek more private healthcare under a new proposed rule from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which Secretary Robert Wilkie says is a move to improve care quality for...Only 13% of Hospital CFOs Prepared for Value-Based Reimbursement
Fewer hospital CFOs are prepared to manage the financial impact of evolving business conditions, such as value-based reimbursement and care delivery models, a new survey finds. Consulting firm Kaufman...KLAS Names Best Vendors for Financial, Revenue Cycle Management
Epic Systems continued to take the lead across several categories in the 2019 Best in KLAS report, including a key revenue cycle management market. In addition to being named the top overall software...Partners HealthCare CEO David Torchiana to Leave in Spring 2019
The head of the largest health system in Massachusetts recently announced that he will step down later this year. David Torchiana, MD, plans to retire April 29, 2019, after serving as the chief...Healthcare Merger and Acquisition Activity Up 14.4% in 2018
Healthcare merger and acquisition activity in 2018 broke some records, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reports. Specifically, quarterly deal volumes exceeded 300 merger and acquisition transactions...Sponsored by Olive
