News Briefs
Experts Warn Hospitals Face Increased Risk for Cyberattacks
Cybersecurity experts are warning that hospitals around the country are at risk for attacks like the one that is crippling operations at a premier Midwestern children's hospital and that the U.S. government is doing too little to prevent such breaches. Hospitals in recent years have shifted their use of online technology to support everything from telehealth to medical devices to patient records.
(Source: MedPage Today, 2024-02-15)
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GAO Issues Recommendations to HHS on Ransomware Oversight
The U.S. Government Accountability Office issued recommendations to HHS surrounding its oversight of ransomware practices across the sector in a recent report. The report assessed four federal agencies, including HHS, to evaluate each agency's efforts to oversee sector adoption of leading cybersecurity practices.
(Source: HealthIT Security, 2024-02-16)
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141 Rural Hospitals Have Closed Since 2010, 453 More at Risk
Hundreds of hospitals in rural areas of the U.S. are at risk of closure, according to new data from Chartis, a Chicago healthcare advisory services firm. A total of 141 rural hospitals have closed since 2010 -- while another 453 are "at risk of closure," according to a press release.
(Source: Fox News, 2024-02-18)
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Hospitals Unprepared for AI Governance Policies
As the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare rapidly grows, hospital executives are still wrangling with practical questions around governance policies to establish basic rules of the road. Only 16 percent of health systems currently have a systemwide governance policy specifically intended to address AI usage and data access, based on a survey with 35 healthcare leaders from 34 health systems.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2024-02-16)
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CMS Saw Far More Surprise Billing Disputes Than Expected in First Half of 2023
The federal government received 13 times more surprise billing disputes in the first half of 2023 than it expected to receive in a full year, according to new CMS data. And the amount is growing each quarter, contributing to a growing backlog and straining the capacity of the system regulators set up to arbitrate disputes over medical bills between providers and health insurers.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2024-02-16)
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FTC, HHS Investigating GPOs for Role in Generic Drug Shortages
The Federal Trade Commission said it is examining the role that drug wholesalers and companies that purchase medicines for U.S. healthcare providers play in shortages of generic drugs, which account for the majority of Americans' prescriptions. In a joint request for information, the FTC and the Department of Health and Human Services are seeking public comment on the contracting practices, market concentration, and compensation of two types of middlemen.
(Source: CNBC, 2024-02-14)
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Hospitals Seeing Increase in Patients Catching Up on Healthcare
Americans are catching up on healthcare missed during the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend driven by heart procedures and outpatient orthopedic surgeries that likely won't soon slow, according to interviews with three hospital officials in major U.S. cities. But other factors may also be at play. U.S. health insurers have warned of high demand for medical services based on late 2023 usage but have offered few details on the trend or how long it may continue driving up costs.
(Source: Reuters, 2024-02-13)
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Strong February Could Be Good Sign for Healthcare REITs in 2024
Healthcare real estate investment trusts (REITs) have emerged as the new leader among REITs. The healthcare REIT sub sector was not a great overall performer in 2023, but things may be turning around in 2024.
(Source: Yahoo Finance, 2024-02-16)
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OIG Says Providers Generally Compliant with Medicare Telehealth Rules
Providers generally followed Medicare rules when delivering care via telehealth at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by the HHS' Office of Inspector General. The audit found physicians and other practitioners complied with Medicare requirements for 105 of the 110 sampled evaluation and management services provided from March to November 2020.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2024-02-16)
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Hospital-at-Home Care May Be Safe and Effective, But Underutilized
Empirical evidence suggests that hospital-at-home care is safe and effective. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the model is still not nearly as widespread as it should be, however, with patients regularly asking their healthcare providers about the option.
(Source: Home Health Care News, 2024-02-16)
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SNFs Likely to Seek Relationships with Non-Traditional Lenders
The lending environment will likely heat up over the course of 2024, particularly for skilled nursing providers willing to explore new relationships when unable to tap traditional sources, a panel of experts said at the eCap Summit. But certain operating conditions -- including powerful unions, local workforce shortages, and state-level policymaking -- will continue to torpedo some deals that might have been easy to close amid the nation's early post-pandemic financial recovery.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2024-02-15)
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