Practice Management News

Hospitals See Financial Relief as Revenues Increase, Margins Stabilize

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Hospitals are seeing some financial relief as revenue increases offset rising expenses and operating margins stabilize, a Kaufman Hall report revealed. The latest edition of Kaufman Hall’s...

Workforce Woes Surpass Financial Pressure As Healthcare’s Top Threat

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Clinician burnout, staffing challenges, and nursing shortages are the top organizational threats over the next year, according to most healthcare leaders. CIOs, IT leaders, and clinicians responding...

Hospital Finances Stabilize After 6 Months of Positive Margins

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Hospital finances seem to be stabilizing after years of historic losses and uncertainty. Median hospital operating margins increased to 1.4 percent in August, according to the latest hospital...

As Hospitals Consolidate, Medicaid Patients Have Fewer Options

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Access to care for Medicaid patients declines as hospital markets become more concentrated following mergers and acquisitions, a new research brief from the National Institute for Health Care...

Healthcare CFOs Concerned About Economy, Regulations

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The volatile economic environment is keeping healthcare CFOs up at night, suggests a new survey from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. The survey of more than 60 finance leaders of US health...

Only 19% of Nursing Homes Currently Meet Proposed Staffing Standards

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Less than 20 percent of nursing homes currently meet the proposed staffing standards for long-term care facilities, a KFF brief revealed. In September, CMS released a proposed rule with three main...

Hospital Prices Online Are Not Aligned With Prices Offered via Telephone

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Hospital prices posted online for vaginal childbirth and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) did not match the prices offered to a secret shopper via telephone, indicating poor price...

Oracle Adds Healthcare Capabilities to ERP, Supply Chain Products

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Oracle, the company that bought Cerner for over $28 billion last year, recently announced new healthcare-specific capabilities to three of its products aimed at financial and supply chain...

Dana-Farber, Beth Israel Team Up To Create a Cancer Hospital

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Dana Farber Cancer Institute (Dana-Farber) is cutting ties with Brigham and Women’s Hospital to build a freestanding cancer hospital with another Boston healthcare leader. The specialty provider...

As PCPs Integrate With Health Systems, Steering Increases Costs

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A new study out of Harvard University links vertical relationships between primary care physicians (PCPs) and health systems to “steering,” in which providers refer patients to specialists...

CMS Proposes Minimum Staffing Standards for Nursing Homes

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CMS has proposed minimum staffing standards for nursing homes, requiring facilities to provide residents with at least three hours of care per day. The Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care...

1 in 3 Healthcare Workers Plan to Leave Their Position, Survey Finds

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A third of surveyed healthcare workers plan to leave their job in the next year, according to new data from Tebra. Over 500 healthcare workers responded to the online survey in spring 2023. While one...

Hospital Financial Performance Continued Downward Trend in July

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Hospital financial performance worsened in July 2023, with patient volumes, revenue, and operating margins falling, data from Kaufman Hall revealed. The most recent edition of the National Hospital...

Allina Health Ends Medical Billing Practice Based on Past-Due Debt

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Nonprofit health system Allina Healthcare will end its medical billing practice of denying non-emergency care to patients with medical debt, the New York Times reported. The policy change comes...

Hospitals, Health Systems Recognized for Price Transparency Compliance

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Fifteen hospitals and health systems have been recognized for their compliance with the federal price transparency regulations. PatientRightsAdvocate.org created The Price Transparency Champion Award...

Middle-Class Americans Face Highest Rates of Medical Debt Burden

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Middle-class Americans have the most medical debt across all ages, races, and education levels, a new report found. The report from think tank organization Third Way used the Census’s Survey of...

OHSU, Legacy Health Sign Letter of Intent to Form Integrated Health System

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Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and Legacy Health have signed a letter of intent to merge and form an integrated health system in the Portland metro area. The OHSU and Legacy boards of...

HRSA Grants $100M to Improve Nursing Workforce as Shortages Persist

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The Biden-Harris Administration is funneling over $100 million into the nursing workforce to help meet the growing demand for nurses amid staffing shortages. The Health Resources and Services...

Independent Hospital Acquisitions Tied to Higher Healthcare Prices

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Independent hospital acquisitions led to higher healthcare prices for consumers and poorer care quality, a report from Elevance Health revealed. Health systems are increasingly acquiring independent...