News Briefs
Appeals Court Rules Drug Firms Can Limit 340B Discounted Drugs
An appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling on 340B that sided with drug manufacturers. At issue is whether pharmaceutical companies can limit distribution of discounted drugs in the 340B program, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has said that they can.
(Source: Healthcare Finance News, 2024-05-22)
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Nursing Home Associations File Lawsuit to Block Staffing Mandate
A federal lawsuit seeks to throw out the national nursing home staffing mandate, charging that it exceeds the authority of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and that it "creates impossible-to-meet standards that will harm thousands of nursing homes and the vulnerable Americans they serve." The American Health Care Association, the Texas Health Care Association, and three skilled nursing facilities filed the long-awaited suit against Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas's Amarillo Division.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2024-05-24)
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House Committee Considers Impact of Healthcare M&A
The House Budget Committee met to discuss the impact of healthcare mergers and acquisitions on cost, quality, and access and arrived at a bipartisan consensus: Something needs to be done to halt the rampant pace of consolidation before it inflates medical costs further. What, exactly, remains unclear, though lawmakers and witnesses during the hearing expressed support for standardizing Medicare payments between hospital-owned outpatient sites and independent physician offices for the same services.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2024-05-23)
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Study Finds Generative AI Promising for ED Decision-Making
Generative artificial intelligence, exemplified by models like GPT-4, shows promise in predicting emergency department patient admissions with minimal training, according to a study by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published in the online issue of the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, the study highlights the potential of AI to transform clinical decision-making in high-pressure medical settings.
(Source: Medical Economics, 2024-05-22)
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HHS Launches $50M Program to Give Hospitals Cybersecurity Tools
HHS announced the launch of the Universal PatchinG and Remediation for Autonomous DEfense (UPGRADE) program and a $50 million investment in developing autonomous security tools for hospital environments. Spearheaded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a division of HHS, the program aims to bring hospital IT staff, equipment manufacturers, and cybersecurity experts together to develop a "scalable software suite for hospital cyber-resilience."
(Source: HealthIT Security, 2024-05-21)
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37% of Healthcare Organizations Don't Have Cyberattack Plans
More than one in four ransomware attacks in healthcare impact patient care, according to a new survey from advisory firm Software Advice. Cyberattacks can result in pricey downtime and delay critical procedures, the report said, but only 63 percent of companies report having a cybersecurity response plan in place.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2024-05-23)
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Telehealth Use Linked to Higher Medicare Patient Hospitalizations
High telehealth use is associated with more clinician encounters, hospitalizations, and higher total healthcare costs for Medicare beneficiaries, according to new research. The study published in JAMA Network Open aimed to better understand the association between telehealth use and healthcare outcomes among Medicare patients.
(Source: mHealthIntelligence, 2024-05-23)
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Acquisitions in Hospice Industry Expected to Rebound in 2024
The nation's publicly traded hospice companies are primed for more acquisitions after a 2023 slump, fueled by census and growth. Transaction volume declined in the hospice and home-based care space in 2023, following the two record-breaking prior years, but many expect a rebound in 2024 and stirrings in the public company space signal that may come to fruition.
(Source: Hospice News, 2024-05-24)
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More Hospitals Trying Out Drones to Boost At-Home Care Options
Health systems and hospitals are turning to drones to address supply chain care gaps -- including challenges that both providers and patients face in accessing drugs and other medical supplies. In the latest example, the Mayo Clinic has announced a partnership with Zipline to integrate drone deliveries into its Advanced Care at Home program.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2024-05-27)
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Average Pay for Doctors Increased 5.9 Percent in 2023
Doximity released its 2024 Physician Compensation Report, which highlights several critical issues affecting the medical community. According to the report, doctors saw a 5.9 percent increase in average pay in 2023, reversing a 2.4 percent decline from the previous year.
(Source: Medical Economics, 2024-05-23)
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