Editor's Note In an HC3: Analyst Note alert released on April 18, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a cybersecurity threat warning for a new ransomware group named Hive that HHS called “exceptionally aggressive” and “financially motivated,” Becker’s Health IT April 20 reports. According to the alert,…
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), on April 18, released the FY 2023 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule. The rule would increase payment rates by a net 3.2% for acute care hospitals that participate in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program and…
Editor's Note In an April 20 news release, ECRI announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art, global headquarters and medical device evaluation laboratory, which is on a 24-acre campus in the Philadelphia region. The headquarters also includes an environmental lab, an accident and forensic investigation lab, high-tech meeting rooms, and…
Editor's Note Amid reports of rising rates of COVID-19 infection in more than 30 states, some high-traffic, high-contact industries such as air travel are starting to wean off firm masking rules. According to Becker’s Hospital Review April 19, the largest US airlines “dropped mask requirements for domestic flights” starting on…
Editor's Note Becker’s ASC Review March 14 shared six factors for why ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are attractive to up-and-coming surgeon talent looking to partner in the business. The following were compiled “based on interviews with several physicians and surgeons,” Becker’s noted: New surgeons look for formal mentorship to help…
Editor's Note Greg Vanichkachorn, director of Mayo Clinic's COVID Activity Rehabilitation Program and a physician in Mayo’s Division of Public Health, Infectious Diseases, and Occupational Medicine, alongside other Mayo Clinic experts, has visited with hundreds of patients diagnosed with long COVID and shared his observations on early recovery steps, Healthcare…
Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 14 issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first COVID-19 breathalyzer test for individuals 18 years and older. According to the agency, this new diagnostic test can detect the virus in breath samples in under three minutes. Under…
Editor's Note In a briefing room release titled Memorandum on Addressing the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 published on April 5, President Joe Biden tasked Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra “to coordinate the federal response to the long-term health effects of COVID-19,” the American Hospital Association April 6…
Editor's Note A study on the trend of general surgery residency application, matriculation, and graduation for Black trainees over a 13-year period, titled “Examination of Intersectionality and the Pipeline for Black Academic Surgeons” and published by JAMA Surgery on February 9, found that few Black individuals apply to surgery programs…
Editor's Note On April 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in a news alert that it will pay for a second COVID-19 booster of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines without cost sharing for all eligible individuals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…