News Briefs
New HHS Task Force Aims to Oversee AI in Healthcare
Details are emerging on a new HHS task force faced with a monumental task: creating a regulatory structure to oversee utilization of artificial intelligence in healthcare. An executive order signed by President Joe Biden in October directed the HHS to create a comprehensive plan for assessing AI before it goes to market, and monitoring performance and quality once the technology is actually in use.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2024-03-14)
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OCR Reports Uptick in Healthcare Data Breaches In 2024
As of the first week of March, 116 healthcare data breaches have been reported to the HHS Office of Civil Rights in 2024, impacting over 13 million individuals. The most common breach types were hacking and IT incidents at healthcare systems across the United States.
(Source: HealthIT Security, 2024-03-14)
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Change Cyberattack Had Financial Impact on 94% of Hospitals
Nearly every hospital is feeling the consequences of Change Healthcare's cyberattack on their finances, patient care delivery, or both, according to reports from almost 1,000 hospitals compiled by the American Hospital Association. Per survey data, 94 percent of hospitals reported some financial impact stemming from what the trade group is calling "the most significant and consequential cyberattack" on healthcare in the country's history.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2024-03-15)
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HC Groups Concerned as Lawmakers Take on Cybersecurity Rules
A cyberattack on a payment processor that has crippled large parts of the U.S. healthcare system is inspiring calls in Washington to urgently implement cybersecurity regulations for the sector, setting up a showdown with hospital and healthcare groups that are stridently arguing against such a move. The incident has reinvigorated conversations among policymakers in Washington about how to improve the healthcare sector's security posture.
(Source: CyberScoop, 2024-03-15)
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Lawmakers Introduce Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024
United States representatives from both sides of the aisle introduced new legislation to permanently extend several telehealth flexibilities for Medicare beneficiaries. Called the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024, the bill is an updated version of legislation introduced in 2021.
(Source: mHealthIntelligence, 2024-03-15)
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LTCs Face Increased Safety Concerns Over Pharmacy Technologies
The use of electronic medication carts and other pharmacy technologies in long-term care has increased in recent years, but a new report illustrates ongoing safety worries about the ability to quickly scan and deliver patient prescriptions. ECRI, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to patient safety, identified workarounds with barcode medication administration systems as one of its two most urgent safety concerns for 2024.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2024-03-14)
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Hospital Procedure Volumes Increasing As Staffing Improves
This year, one-third of hospital executives said procedure volumes are still affected by staffing shortages. The easing of shortages at many hospitals is supporting increases in procedure volumes.
(Source: Yahoo Finance, 2024-03-14)
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Health Orgs Urge Congress to Extend Acute Hospital Care at Home
More than 65 healthcare organizations have signed a letter urging Congress to extend the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver program for at least five years beyond 2024. The letter, sent to Congressional leaders, highlighted the critical role the waiver program played in enabling hospitals and health systems nationwide to implement the hospital-at-home model, stating that the waiver "is the keystone to the future of home-based care delivery for Medicare patients and beyond."
(Source: mHealthIntelligence, 2024-03-13)
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Rural Emergency Hospitals Beginning to Gain Ground
As rural hospitals continue to struggle financially, a new type of hospital is slowly taking root, especially in the Southeast. Rural emergency hospitals receive more than $3 million in federal funding a year and higher Medicare reimbursements in exchange for closing all inpatient beds and providing 24/7 emergency care. While that makes it easier for a hospital to keep its doors open, experts say it doesn't solve all of the challenges facing rural healthcare.
(Source: ABC News, 2024-03-16)
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Study Urges Scrutiny of P.E. Medical Practice Ownership
The concentration of medical practices owned by private equity is high enough in some parts of the country to warrant scrutiny by state and federal regulators, according to findings of a new study. The study, published in Health Affairs, analyzes the growth and market penetration of P.E.-owned practices across metropolitan statistical areas between 2012 and 2021.
(Source: Medical Economics, 2024-03-13)
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Shortage of Geriatricians Concerning as Population Ages
People over 65 use more healthcare than other age groups and make up nearly half of hospital admissions. But there are just 7,300 board-certified geriatricians in the United States, which is fewer than one percent of all physicians, according to the American Geriatrics Society.
(Source: The Washington Post (free reg. req'd), 2024-03-17)
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