Editor's Note On Friday, June 16, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) alerted the healthcare sector of a recent ransomware attack on a US cancer center that “reduced cancer treatment capability, rendered digital services unavailable, and threatened exposure of patient personal health information,” the American Hospital Association (AHA)…

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Editor's Note The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) on April 3 announced the launch of its updated licensure examination, the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) Examination, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) April 6 reports. The exam was reportedly modified in order to better measure clinical judgment…

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Editor's Note The state of Missouri is the most recent state—out of 11—to propose legislation and/or regulations to curb or cap “price gouging” on travel nursing from healthcare staffing agencies, USA Today March 16 reports. The proposed legislation out of Missouri would reportedly allow for felony charges to be brought…

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Editor's Note The Biden Administration on March 2 released a National Cybersecurity Strategy that includes a comprehensive approach to accomplish the following: “strengthen collaboration with stakeholders to defend critical infrastructure; disrupt and dismantle threat actors; shape market forces to drive security and resilience; invest in a resilient future; and forge…

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Editor's Note Capstone projects by the 2021-22 cohort of American Hospital Association’s Next Generation Leaders Fellowship focused on improving gaps in education and patient care. The year-long capstone projects focus on key issues and challenges affecting healthcare affordability, cost, quality, and safety. Among the 2021-22 projects were delirium in the…

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Editor's Note The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience has finalized its National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being, the October 3 AHAToday reports. The plan, which builds on 6 years of work among 200 participants, including the American Hospital Association (AHA), identifies goals and…

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Editor's Note On Thursday, September 29, the House of Representatives voted 220-205 to pass legislation to impose new fines on insures that do not follow federal mental health pay parity requirements, in order to "hold employer-based health plans more accountable for improper denials of mental health and substance use benefits,"…

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Editor's Note According to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, 85% of pregnancy-related deaths in 36 states between 2017 and 2019 were preventable based on data from interdisciplinary committees that review deaths during and up to one year after pregnancy, American Hospital Association September 19 reports.…

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Editor's Note According to a September 14 FBI report, cyber criminals are increasingly targeting healthcare payment processors to redirect payments intended for healthcare providers to accounts they control, the American Hospital Association (AHA) September 16 reports. At least 68 attacks have occurred since June 2018, in which unknown cyber criminals…

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Editor's Note A new report was released by the American Hospital Association (AHA) highlighting numerous causes that resulted in 136 rural hospitals closing from 2010 to 2021, including 19 closures in 2020, AHA September 8 reports. These closures can be attributed to longstanding pressures, including low reimbursement, staffing shortages, low…

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