News

The AHA, along with the American College of Surgeons, American Society of Anesthesiologists and Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, released Joint Statement: Roadmap for Maintaining Essential Surgery during COVID-19 Pandemic, an update to a previous joint statement most recently released in August.

“[T]his year, we need to show our appreciation to our healthcare heroes and the love we have for our family and friends by wearing a mask and avoiding large family gatherings,” writes Robyn Begley, AHA’s chief nursing officer and CEO of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, in an op-ed published today in Fierce Healthcare.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of Health and Human Services said they continue to assess the ransomware threat to the health care sector.

The AHA released a detailed summary of two final rules that would modernize and make important changes to policies governing physician self-referral (Stark law) and federal anti-kickback statute regulations.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded about $45 million to expand the research network for its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations program.

The Department of Health and Human Services seeks information on innovative approaches and best practices developed to promote health care access, quality and value during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform the agency’s priorities and programs.

UnitedHealthcare has delayed from April 1, 2021, until Jan. 1, 2022, its requirement that certain in-network laboratories report their unique laboratory-specific codes along with other information for the overwhelming majority of freestanding and outpatient laboratory testing services.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized administering the monoclonal antibodies casirivimab and imdevimab together to certain COVID-19 outpatients at risk for severe disease.

Drug maker AstraZeneca said it will seek an emergency use authorization for its AZD1222 vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2 following positive high-level results from an interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials.

Learn how Rogers Behavioral Health, based in Oconomowoc, Wisc., is using the LEAN process improvement methodology to optimize value for patients during the pandemic.

Hospital outpatient departments, critical access hospitals, rural health clinics and other eligible providers may apply through Jan. 3 to participate in the Value in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment demonstration.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has selected 916 primary care practices and 37 regional health plan partners to participate in the Primary Care First model beginning Jan. 1.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host a Dec. 8 webinar on its final rule requiring hospitals to disclose payer-specific negotiated rates effective Jan. 1.

The Trump administration announced two actions that it claims will lower prescription drug prices.

The Department of Health and Human Services released its final rules with changes to the Stark Law and Anti-kickback statute. AHA members will receive a Special Bulletin highlighting key changes.

Sarah Krevans, president and CEO of Sutter Health, joined AHA Board Chair Melinda Estes, M.D., yesterday to discuss how hospitals can move from relief, recovery, and rebuilding to reimagining and innovation.

The Department of Health and Human Services recently distributed 27,000 portable COVID-19 molecular test kits, which Alaska, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Texas can use at the point of care to verify antigen test results within 20 minutes.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of baricitinib in combination with remdesivir to treat suspected or laboratory confirmed COVID-19 in certain hospitalized patients requiring supplemental oxygen, invasive mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Pfizer Inc. announced it will request emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2.

This year, with so much to worry about, finding time for gratitude seems almost impossible. The irony, of course, is that we need it now more than ever. We just need to look for it.