News

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response June 25 announced a flu pandemic preparedness and response strategy in response to the threat of H5N1 bird flu in humans.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention June 25 issued a Health Alert Network Health Advisory about an increased risk of dengue virus infections in the U.S.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., June 25 released an advisory on firearm violence, declaring it a public health crisis in America.

The AHA published a blog June 26 responding to a Medical Care Journal article that paints a bleak picture of the future of health care, claiming hospitals intend to replace registered nurses with lower-paid and less qualified staff, which the authors assert would lead to poorer quality care and skyrocketing costs. 

The AHA submitted comments June 26 to the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health for a hearing about improving value-based care.

The Healthcare Financial Management Association yesterday presented AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack with its Richard L. Clarke Board of Directors Award during HFMA's annual conference in Las Vegas. The award, which is HFMA’s highest honor, recognizes Pollack for more than 40 years of executive leadership at AHA and his contributions to health care and the financing of health care services. 

The FBI and Department of Health and Human Services June 24 released an advisory about cyberthreat actors targeting health care organizations in attempts to steal payments.

In a blog published June 24, the AHA responded to a study blaming hospital prices for a host of societal issues, including job losses outside of health care and increased suicide rates. The study, funded by Arnold Ventures, was highlighted in a Wall Street Journal article. 

The AHA June 24 submitted comments to the Senate Finance Committee’s Bipartisan Medicare Graduate Medical Education Working Group, which is developing legislation to address physician shortages.

The AHA June 24 sent letters to Senate and House members supporting legislation that would prevent enforcement of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ final rule on minimum staffing requirements for long-term care facilities.

Site-neutral policies fail to recognize that not all sites of care are created equal, writes AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack in a letter to the editor published June 25 in the New York Times.

Rebecca Chickey, AHA senior director of behavioral health, interviews Linden Oaks Hospital’s Walter Whang, M.D., system physician executive of the psychiatry line, and Gina Sharp, president and system executive of the behavioral health service line, on developing and growing their use of advanced practice providers, including physician assistants and advanced practice nurses.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Innovation Center has announced it will host a Rural Health Hackathon in August.

The Department of Health and Human Services June 24 released a final rule that would disincentivize health care providers for interfering with the access, exchange or use of electronic health information. AHA previously expressed concern when the rule was proposed, saying it could threaten the financial viability of economically fragile hospitals.

In this episode, I talk with Joy Parchment, R.N., assistant professor of nursing at the University of Central Florida. As a nurse leader, Joy has worked for health systems and in academia. She most recently served as director of nursing strategy implementation at Orlando Health and currently serves as a board member of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership.

Health care pressures are often magnified for rural caregivers, yet some are developing unique solutions for these turbulent times.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) this week released an advisory about Qilin, formerly "Agenda," a ransomware-as-a-service group targeting health care and other industries worldwide.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit June 21 partially affirmed the district court judgment that the Preventative Services Task Force charged with determining coverage of certain preventative services was unconstitutional, as well as the grant of injunctive relief for the plaintiffs in the case.

Change Healthcare June 20 began notifying health care providers and other customers with patient data stolen following February’s cyberattack, the company announced.

For too long and for too many patients, the process of obtaining prior authorization for a medical procedure or medicine has been a tangled web, as people are forced to navigate complex, confusing