News Briefs
March Healthcare Data Breaches Declined 46% to Lowest Since 2022
Healthcare data breaches appear to be on the decline for now. The HIPAA Journal reported just 58 breaches in March -- the lowest total for the month of March since 2022, and a 46 percent reduction from the 98 breaches reported in March 2023.
(Source: Healthcare Finance News, 2025-04-28)
READ MORE >
Trump Considers Linking U.S. Drug Prices to Other Nations
Drugmakers have been warned that the Trump Administration is considering linking U.S. medicine prices to lower amounts paid by other developed countries, according to two company sources who called the option the pharmaceutical industry's top concern. Both sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly, said they expected the policy to come from the agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid health programs.
(Source: Reuters, 2025-04-22)
READ MORE >
China Tariffs Could Force Service Cuts at Hospitals
Hospitals across the United States are bracing for financial turmoil as steep tariffs on Chinese imports drive up the cost of critical medical supplies. With supply chains already fragile, experts warn the added strain could force service cuts, staff reductions, and delayed upgrades, jeopardizing patient care.
(Source: Outsource Accelerator, 2025-04-25)
READ MORE >
Healthcare Leaders Ready to Adopt AI, But Few Pilots Implemented
Healthcare leaders are excited about the promise of artificial intelligence to reshape the sector, but relatively few pilots of the emerging technology have been fully implemented so far, according to a report by Bessemer Venture Partners, Amazon Web Services, and Bain & Company. Nearly all survey respondents said generative AI, which can create new content like images and text, will be transformative, while 85 percent of leaders at provider organizations said it could change clinical decision-making in the next three to five years -- even with healthcare's complex regulatory environment and low tolerance for mistakes.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2025-04-22)
READ MORE >
Researchers Find New AI Tool Outperforms on Licensing Exam
A new clinical AI tool, developed by biomedical informatics researchers at the University of Buffalo, has shown that it can outperform most human physicians, as well as all previously tested AI models, on the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination, a benchmark of clinical competence. This tool, called Semantic Clinical Artificial Intelligence, could support doctors in clinical decision-making by offering medically reasoned responses rooted in evidence-based knowledge.
(Source: Inside Precision Medicine, 2025-04-24)
READ MORE >
Some Hospitals Turning to Fractional CFOs as Turnover Rate Soars
As the CFO role becomes more demanding, health systems and hospitals are seeing an exodus of chief financial executives. To address the turnover problem, some organizations are turning to fractional CFOs.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2025-04-28)
READ MORE >
Report Claims P.E. Investments in Nursing Homes Still Strong
A new report on private equity refutes the nursing home sector's argument that private investment has fallen significantly in recent years, calling an estimate of five percent ownership "inaccurate" due to limited ownership transparency. In "Private Equity Is Continuing to Acquire – and Bankrupt – Nursing Homes," the Private Equity Stakeholder Project identifies six new private equity investments since its 2021 report on nursing homes.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2025-04-23)
READ MORE >
Medical School Diversity Requirements Could Be Impacted by EO
A new executive order could force medical schools to change their policies on diversity initiatives in student recruiting and retention. The order takes aim at the third-party institutions that give accreditation to universities and either require or promote diversity practices as part of their stamp of approval.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2025-04-24)
READ MORE >
States Take Measures to Improve Nursing Home Staffing Quality
State governments are increasingly turning to a familiar resource to push nursing homes toward better quality staffing: cold hard cash dressed up in value-based payment incentives. Nine states have already enacted an incentive-based approach central to enhancing resident care in nursing homes, but four states are using incentives in Medicaid as a direct way of bolstering staffing levels, a new brief by the National Academy for Health Policy said.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2025-04-24)
READ MORE >
Complex Care Alliance Aims to Protect ACO Medicare Programs
Ten accountable care organizations (ACOs) and several related associations are launching a new Complex Care Alliance focused on improving models of care for the most complex and vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries. Members include participants in the High Needs ACO model and concerned organizations that are advocating for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the CMS Innovation Center to strengthen and continue the model beyond its current expiration date in 2026.
(Source: Healthcare Innovation, 2025-04-25)
READ MORE >
Digital Health Startups Raised $3B in First Quarter, Report Finds
Investments in digital health didn't slow down at the start of the year in the face of volatile market conditions. Through the first three months of 2025, digital health startups raised $3 billion across 122 deals, compared to $2.7 billion raised across 133 deals over the same period last year and $1.8 billion raised across 118 deals in the fourth quarter of 2024.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2025-04-25)
READ MORE >
