December 2017 Issue of Beckers Hospital Review
CFO / FINANCE
California Hospital Suspends All Services, Notifies 524 Employees of Possible Layoffs
Tulare (Calif.) Regional Medical Center shut down Oct. 29, as the local healthcare district is voluntarily suspending its license with the state to operate the 112-bed hospital, as well as clinics and other outpatient facilities, according to the Fresno Bee. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Insurers' No. 1 Worry Right Now: Consumer Confusion
The majority of insurers already finalized plans they will sell during this year's six-week open enrollment period on HealthCare.gov and state-based marketplaces. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Tenet to Close 232-Bed Phoenix Hospital
Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare will close Abrazo Maryvale Campus, a 232-bed hospital in Phoenix, by the end of the year. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Los Angeles Hospital to Close, Lay Off 638 Employees
Pacific Alliance Medical Center in Los Angeles will close Dec. 11. The hospital, which has provided care for more than 150 years, cited the costs of retrofitting its facilities to meet California's seismic standards as the reason for the closure. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
CVS Health Proposes to Buy Aetna for $66B: 4 Things to Know
Pharmacy giant CVS Health is in talks to purchase Aetna, sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. Here are four things to know. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Man Receives $52k Hospital Bill After His Backpack Was Stolen in San Francisco
A man recently received a call from Seton Medical Center in Daly City, Calif., asking if he needed assistance paying a $52,310 bill for an emergency medical procedure. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Anthem Launches In-House Pharmacy Business With CVS Health After Express Scripts Fallout
Indianapolis-based Anthem will establish an in-house pharmacy benefits manager called IngenioRx. Here are four things to know about the PBM. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Dignity Health's Operating Loss Widens to $66.8M With Loss of State Provider-Fee Revenue
Dignity Health, a 39-hospital system based in San Francisco, saw its operating loss widen in fiscal year 2017 even as it booked higher revenue and held expenses in check. However, like many systems, it benefited from higher investment income. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/dignity-health-s-operating-loss-widens-to-66-8m-with-loss-of-state-provider-fee-revenue.html
Mission Health CEO Calls BCBS 'Unethical, Bullying Foe' in Internal Email to Senior Leadership
The CEO of Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health System called Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina "the most unethical, bullying foe that I have ever faced" in an email to senior employees obtained by Citizen-Times. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Family in Shock After Receiving a $10k, 26-Year-Old Medical Bill
A North Dakota family is in disbelief after receiving a roughly $10,000, 26-year-old medical bill in their deceased mother's name, according to the Jamestown Sun. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Care New England to Close Hospital After Sale to Prime Healthcare Collapses
Providence, R.I.-based Care New England plans to close Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, R.I., after a deal fell through to sell the hospital to Prime Healthcare Foundation, the Ontario, Calif.-based nonprofit arm of Prime Healthcare Services. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
CEO / STRATEGY
Cleveland Clinic CEO: Healthcare to Undergo 'Total Restructuring' to Accommodate Shift in Payment Models
Cleveland Clinic President and CEO Toby Cosgrove, MD, said during an Oct. 23 panel discussion the healthcare industry will have to completely restructure the way it works in order to effectively transition from a fee-for-service model to a value-based payment system, Crain's Cleveland Business reports. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Jefferson Health Announces Job Cuts
Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health is eliminating less than 1 percent of its 30,000-person workforce. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/jefferson-health-announces-job-cuts.html
Freestanding ER Operators Want Google to Find Out Who Left Them 22 Bad Online Reviews
Two Dallas-based freestanding emergency room operators — Highland Park Emergency Room and Preston Hollow Emergency Room — filed a joint petition Tuesday in Dallas County District Court seeking to find out who left them 22 negative online reviews, according to The Dallas Morning News. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
8 Healthcare Marketing Trends for 2018
Healthcare is consistently named one of the least consumer-friendly industries, a stark contrast to the retail industry, according to healthcare marketing firm Smith & Jones. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Former Medtronic CEO: No Legislation Has Addressed the Nation's Biggest Healthcare Problem
The ACA never addressed Americans' unhealthy lifestyles, which are the root cause of a majority of the nation's problems, writes Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic and a senior fellow at Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard Business School, in an op-ed for CNBC. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Northwell Health to Lay Off 107 as It Winds Down Long-Term Care Plan
New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health will lay off 107 employees in January when it shuts down its Medicaid long-term care plan, North Shore-LIJ Health Plan. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Aetna CEO: Successful Companies Manage People, Not Bottom Lines
The CEO of Aetna said during a Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit last week leaders who invest in the lifetime value of consumers and workers grow revenue and earnings. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Ascension to Rebrand Care Sites in 6 Additional Markets
St. Louis-based Ascension is rebranding sites in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Kansas and New York. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
How Congress, Hospitals and Lobbying Inflate Healthcare Costs
Lobbying and political negotiating have a surprisingly direct effect on U.S. healthcare spending, according to a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research and featured in The New York Times. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
5 Things to Know About CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo
CVS Health is reportedly in talks to purchase Aetna for $66 billion, led by their CEO and President Larry Merlo. Here are five things to know about Mr. Merlo. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Intermountain Healthcare to Restructure Internal Operations
Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare will transform its internal operations from geographically-defined administrative regions to two main groups, according to a press release obtained by Utah Business. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
CIO / HEALTH IT
What Trump's Opioid Declaration Means for Health IT
President Donald Trump declared the nation's opioid epidemic a public health emergency Thursday, meaning several changes at the state and federal level would be made to address the crisis. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Study: Paper Records Outpace EHRs on Content Quality, Quantity
EHRs and paper records tend to offer different benefits and drawbacks in terms of content, process and structure, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS Health will integrate with Verona, Wis.-based Epic's Healthy Planet population health and analytics platform to help prescribers access better data on prescription drugs. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
WSJ: Outcome Health Employees Allegedly Misled Advertisers With Inaccurate Reports
A subset of employees at Outcome Health, a Chicago-based tech and advertising startup, allegedly manipulated pricing and sales information to mislead pharmaceutical advertisers, according to The Wall Street Journal. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Meditech Product Revenue Jumps 33% in Q3: 4 Things to Know
Meditech released financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, noting a 33 percent jump in product revenue from the same time frame in 2016. Here are four things to know. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Athenahealth Q3 Revenue up 10% From Last Year
Athenahealth released its third quarter earnings results Oct. 19. Here are four things to know about the company's performance. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Why the US Health System Still Prioritizes Fax Machines: 7 Things to Know
Fax machines account for 75 percent of all medical communication, according to a report by Vox. Here are seven takeaways regarding the health industry's use of fax machines, according to Vox. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Health IT Investments on Track for Record-Setting Year: 3 Things to Know
Health IT investments from the beginning of fiscal year 2017 through the third quarter reached a record high, according to data published by Healthcare Growth Partners. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Northwell Health Launches Amazon Alexa Skill to Help Patients Avoid ER Wait
New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health rolled out a program in the Amazon Alexa "skills" store to help patients identify nearby urgent care centers and emergency rooms with the shortest wait times, according to Newsday. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Deloitte: 3 Ways Blockchain Might Improve Hospital Operations by 2027
Blockchain technology has the potential to streamline operations management at hospitals and health systems, according to a Deloitte Center for Health Solutions report. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
UCSF Researchers Mine EHRs to Track 435k Patient Movements, Pinpoint Source of C. Diff
A team of UC San Francisco health informatics researchers analyzed EHR data from a three-year period to identify one source of Clostridium difficile, a common hospital-acquired infection. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Allscripts Q3 Revenue Grows 15% From Last Year: 4 Things to Know
Allscripts released its third quarter earnings results Nov. 2. Here are four things to know about the company's performance. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
CMO / CARE DELIVERY
Inside Sources Say Apple Pursued Talks to Buy Medical Clinics
Apple was reportedly in talks to purchase Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based Crossover Health, a healthcare startup that works with self-insured employers to provide medical and wellness services at onsite clinics. The move heightens speculation about the tech giant's potential foray into the healthcare space, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNBC. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Anesthesiologist Shortage Causes Denver VA Hospital to Postpone Dozens of Surgeries
Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center has delayed between 65 and 95 nonemergency surgeries since early August due to a shortage of anesthesiologists, according to The Denver Post. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
10 States With the Most Overworked Nurses
There is a shortage of nurses throughout the U.S., with Hawaii having the fewest nurses per 1,000 residents. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
CMS Rolls Out 'Meaningful Measures' Initiative to Curb Burden of Quality Reporting
CMS on Monday unveiled the "Meaningful Measures" initiative, which aims to reduce the regulatory hurdles associated with quality reporting. Here are three things to know. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Study: Medical School Acceptance Rates Are Declining
In the past decade, the number of applicants to U.S. medical schools increased by approximately 30 percent, while acceptance rates have simultaneously declined, according to admissions data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Here are five things to know about the AAMC data and stats from U.S. News & World Report. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Get Ready for a DO Boom: 6 Stats on Osteopathic Providers
While doctors of osteopathic medicine currently make up roughly 8.5 percent of licensed physicians, experts suggest the percentage will increase dramatically during the coming years, according to a Health Affairs blog post. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Florida Physician Caught on Video Cursing, Yelling at Patient Issues Apology
The Florida physician who was filmed yelling at a patient at Gainesville (Fla.) After-Hours Clinic issued a written apology, claiming he "overreacted" and was acting in defense of clinic staff, WCJB-20 News. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Patients Lack Access to Primary Care Follow-Up After ED Visit, Study Finds
Patients discharged from the emergency department often struggle to secure a follow-up with a primary care physician within seven days, according to a study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Cloth Skullcaps Mitigate OR Contamination More Effectively Than Disposable Headgear
A study published online by the Journal of the American College of Surgeons examined three common styles of surgical headgear: disposable shower cap-like bouffant hats, disposable surgical skullcaps with paper sides, and home-laundered reusable cloth skullcaps. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
66% of Patients With Chronic Conditions Would Pay for Support Between Physician Visits, Survey Finds
Two-thirds of consumers indicated the U.S. healthcare system does not effectively help those with chronic illnesses manage their conditions, according to a West report. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
What Patients Really Want Physicians to do After a Medical Error
After a medical error leads to a serious injury, patients and family members want physicians to better communicate the hospital's efforts to prevent a similar error from occurring again, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
Daily 5-Minute Conversations Raise Patients Satisfaction Scores
Charlottesville-based University of Virginia Health System researchers found that a five-minute conversation with a resident everyday had a significant impact on patient satisfaction. The researchers published the results of the study in Family Medicine. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE
5 Things to Know About the Nursing Shortage Response
Hospitals across the nation are increasingly investing in recruitment and retainment as they grapple with a nursing shortage, according to Reuters. Here are five things to know. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE