Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) told Becker’s that as of March 2022, it has issued “‘about 345’ warning notices to hospitals noncompliant with its price transparency regulations,” Becker’s Hospital CFO Report April 4 reports. CMS’ price transparency rule went into effect on January 1, 2021;…
Editor's Note In a March 23 Special Bulletin, the American Hospital Association (AHA) shared more information on how US hospitals and health systems can support Ukraine and refugees. In the bulletin, AHA said that certain medical supplies and equipment are “urgently needed.” Among the supplies and medicines listed are: baby…
Editor's Note Hospital margins are off to a rough start this year, reports Becker’s Hospital Review March 30. According to a March 28 report by Kaufman Hall, the “median operating margin for hospitals and health systems” was down by 11.8% compared to February 2021 and by 42.4% compared to February…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 30, announced the availability of new Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and nursing care centers (NCCs). The Reports provide updated performance measurement data on a select subset of quality measures. The ASC reports contain data through the fourth quarter…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 30, announced that it had contracted with Dynamic Health IT to help develop a new Direct Data Submission Platform (DDSP) and electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) engine. The DDSP will facilitate submission of quality measurement data directly to The Joint Commission from approximately…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on March 23, identified the recall by Celltrion USA of certain point of care DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test kits (labeled for research use only) as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the kits were distributed to customers…
Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 23 announced that it is developing new and revised requirements on reducing healthcare disparities for its accreditation programs. A field review is open and seeking comments on the proposed new Leadership (LD) standard LD.04.03.08 as well as revisions to the Record of Care,…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 21 identified the recall by Philips Respironics of certain V60 and V60 Plus Ventilators as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because a subset of these devices had parts that were put together using an expired adhesive.…
Editor's Note On March 14, the Biden administration released a recommendation via the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to restructure the VA healthcare system. OR Manager reported on the potential impact the recommended changes would have on VA services, which include older hospitals with unused inpatient beds being replaced…
Editor's Note A December 2021 World Health Organization (WHO) report examines how 19 countries mitigated COVID-19’s effects on providing maternal; newborn; child and adolescent; and aging health services, JAMA Network March 15 reports. The WHO data comes from an initiative lasting from May 2020 to February 2021, during which groups…