Moody’s downgrades health insurance outlook as medical costs surge
Editor's Note Moody’s Ratings has shifted the health insurance industry’s credit outlook from stable to negative, according to a February 3 article in Fierce Healthcare. According to the article, the downgrade is due to escalating medical costs that outpace reimbursement rates. Analysts project an 8% rise in commercial market spending…
Criminalizing anesthesia errors has unintended consequences, experts warn
Editor's Note Treating unintended anesthesia errors as criminal acts could exacerbate workforce shortages, increase malpractice costs, and drive clinicians to defensive medicine, according to experts quoted in a January 15 report from Anesthesiology News. Instead, fostering a culture of safety and learning could more effectively reduce errors and improve patient…
Legislation proposes to halt Medicare physician payment cuts
Editor's Note A January 31 statement from the American Medical Association (AMA) announces the organization’s support for bipartisan legislation aiming to reverse steep Medicare reimbursement reductions threatening physician practices and patient care access. Introduced by a coalition of 10 House members, the "Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act" would…
Cigna ties executive pay to patient experience
Editor's Note As part of a larger initiative to ease access to care, insurance giant Cigna is tying compensation for senior leadership directly to customer satisfaction. Modern Healthcare reported the news February 3. The shift is part of a multi-pronged approach that also includes overhauling prior authorization requirements and limiting…
Proposed tax credit aims to bolster nurse preceptor ranks
Editor's Note Bipartisan legislation seeks to combat nursing shortages by financially incentivizing experienced nurses to train the next generation of healthcare professionals, Becker’s Clinical Leadership reported January 31. The Precept Nurses Act, introduced by Rep. Jen Kiggans, would offer a $2,000 tax credit to nurses who become preceptors in health…
FDA announces multiple Class 1 recalls
Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designated Class 1 Recalls—the most severe category indicating serious risk of injury or death—for multiple devices over the past few days, including pressure monitoring systems, emergency resuscitators, fluid delivery sets, extracorporeal blood circuits, endoscope accessories, infusion pumps, and glucose/Ketone meters. These…
Healing healthcare: How clinician incentives can help get from volume to value
Takeaways • Although the central tenets of value-based healthcare have not changed, in many cases implementation has been reduced to little more than reducing costs, to the detriment of clinicians and patients. • The right incentives, such as recognition and work support, can effectively inspire clinicians to deliver high value…
Three strategies for demystifying the ASC supply chain puzzle
Ensuring safe, quality care requires precise alignment among inventory levels, delivery schedules, storage solutions, and every other element of the supply chain. A single missing piece of this puzzle—say, a delayed shipment or a storage issue—can disrupt the entire picture. Making the pieces fit can be difficult for any healthcare…
E-learning builds surgical tech talent pool for small, rural hospitals
CEO Karen Franco, MBA, spent years struggling to fill surgical technologist (ST) positions at Pacific Surgery Center in Poulsbo, Washington, due to a lack of viable training options. Nearly 1,400 miles away, Deb Braly, RN, a nurse educator in the surgery department of San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center in…
Videos digitize, automate preoperative, postoperative care
Immersed in texts, apps, QR codes, and streaming videos, we live in a digital world. And yet, healthcare has been slow to catch up. Most nurses and other staff still hand out packets of paper and relay information verbally, whether in person or over the phone. It does not have…
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- Infusion pumps deemed high-risk in FDA early alert
- Stem cell researchers tout potential for sickle cell disease cure
- Study: Stem cell therapy restores vision in LSCD patients
- AMSURG launches nationwide campaign to spotlight rising colon cancer rates, urges early screening
- AAAHC seeks stakeholder feedback on revised v44 standards to elevate patient-centered care
- Hospital’s anesthesia reforms slash carbon footprint, expenses
- Study: Shifting imaging to outpatient centers could save billions
- Report: Health system margins shrink as hospital revenue grows
- Study: Cataract surgery increases diabetic retinopathy progression
- FDA announces Class 1 endovascular system, anesthesia system recalls