Hospitals urge lawmakers to prohibit certain health insurance pharmacy policies

Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, said a recent news report about hospitals asking insurers to pay them up to 15 percent more to help offset rising wages passed over the bigger picture of hospitals' cost structures. The Wall Street Journal reported May 8 that several...

HHS pledged to provide 60 days' notice if it opts to end the COVID-19 public health emergency, leaving healthcare providers awaiting word on Monday. The American Hospital Association and 15 other national healthcare organizations are calling on HHS to maintain the PHE. In a May 10 letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, the organizations cited the continued risk from COVID-19 variants, as well as rising case rates in the U.S. The organizations requested that HHS maintain the public health emergency "until it is clear that the global pandemic has receded, and the capabilities authorized by the PHE are no longer necessary."

Digitizing the patient experience to make it as convenient as online shopping or travel booking can help alleviate the labor shortages that have plagued healthcare, David Peterson, chief strategy officer for health IT consultant AccuReg, wrote March 23 in Medical Economics. Moving more of the patient registration and check-in process...

CVS Health is asking Vermont Gov. Phil Scott to veto a bill it says will raise prescription drug costs for those with private insurance, VTDigger reported May 15. The bill passed May 11 by Vermont lawmakers gives the University of Vermont Health Network an advantage over cheaper mail-order pharmacies when it comes to filling specialty prescriptions, according to the report.

From data analytics and wearables to a push for health equity, top healthcare leaders identified key trends and growth avenues for healthcare in Fortune May 13. Here is what four of them had to say about changes in healthcare and lessons they've learned regarding those trends:. Hilary Kerner, chief marketing...

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer has voluntary recalled a blood pressure medication for the second time in a month. Pfizer is recalling five lots of blood pressure medicine Accupril because of elevated levels of a nitrosamine, Nnitroso-quinapril, the company said in a news release posted Friday on the FDA website. Nitrosamines...

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, emergency allotments were authorized under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to help address temporary food needs during the pandemic for...

MILLIONS of Americans are set to receive Social Security checks worth up to $1,657 tomorrow. The cash boost will come just 48 hours before Supplemental Security Income payments, worth up to $841, are set to land in around eight million bank accounts on April 29. Seniors with birthdays on the...

Common supplements, such as St. John's wort, calcium, and iron, can reduce the efficacy of certain drugs, like antibiotics and antiviral medication.

As hospitals across the U.S. face workforce shortages, several have had to halt services. At least five hospitals across three states announced plans in recent months to scale back care due to staffing shortages. Memorial Hospital of Carbon County in Rawlins, Wyo., is ending labor and delivery services June 15...

RaDonda Vaught was sentenced to three years of supervised probation May 13 for a fatal medication error she made in 2017 while working as a nurse at Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In remarks made during the sentencing hearing, Ms. Vaught expressed concerns over what her case means for...

Healthcare has faced rapid change in the last few years amid the pandemic, and digital transformation is not slowing down. Sara Vaezy, executive vice president and chief digital officer at Renton, Wash.-based Providence, and Brad Reimer, CIO of Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, S.D., discussed the areas of healthcare primed for disruption on the "Becker's Healthcare Digital Health + Health IT Podcast."

At hospitals and health systems, interim leadership is brought in when an executive position becomes vacant, whether that be through a resignation, promotion or other means. There are differing views on interim leadership and whether it helps healthcare organizations. An article from Summit Talent Group, a Columbia, Md.-based boutique executive...

Medical ethicists have argued that non-fungible tokens in healthcare, specifically the use of NFTs in the healthcare record-keeping system, can give patients ownership of their records through its blockchain ledger. Allowing them to track the sale of their data, giving patients the opportunity to stop it or sell it themselves. But, technology leaders at healthcare systems say although this concept has potential, it is still evolving and requires a lot of refining before it can be implemented into the healthcare industry.

The global health IT sector is expected to more than double in value by 2028, according to a May 16 study by Brandessence Market Research & Consulting. The research firm predicts the global valuation of the healthcare information system market will reach $579.6 billion by 2028, up from $282.7 billion in 2021.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise nationwide, though deaths are still falling on the heels of this winter's omicron surge, according to the CDC's COVID-19 data tracker weekly review published May 13. Nine findings:. Cases. 1. As of May 11, the nation's seven-day case average was 84,778, a 30.7...

Hartford (Conn.) Healthcare and its networks have begun using an EMS communication app that allows EMTs to quickly upload patient information, symptoms, vital readings and severity of ailment and transmit it to the emergency room. The communication software called Twiage, allows EMTs to pre-register patients and send detailed information to...

Dartmouth Health and Manchester, N.H.-based GraniteOne Health are canceling their proposed merger after the state Attorney General's Office said the move would violate the New Hampshire constitution, according to VTDigger. A May 13 report from Attorney General John Formella said the proposed merger would consolidate the two competitors and make...

Anthony Cava will retire Jan. 2 as president and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset in Somerville, N.J. Mr. Cava has helmed the hospital, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, since January 2015. He led the hospital through the merger of the Robert Wood Johnson Health System and Barnabas Health,...

As early as Tuesday, the FDA could be authorizing a Pfizer booster for children 5 to 11 years old -- just in time for camp and summer gatherings.