Economics

This channel highlights factors that impact hospital and healthcare economics and revenue. This includes news on healthcare policies, reimbursement, marketing, business plans, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain, salaries, staffing, and the implementation of a cost-effective environment for patients and providers.

Simulation improves parent knowledge of central line care in pediatric cancer patients

Central line infections in pediatric cancer patients pose life-threatening risks. A study, published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, reviewed how providing parents with simulation training can help prevent central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs).

Nursing home owner says he spent Medicaid funds on strippers

Conditions got so bad in Benchmark Healthcare’s Festus, Missouri, nursing home that the state took the rare step of shutting it down and moving out its 60 residents last year—and its owner may have explained why in pleading guilty to two counts of fraud in federal court.

Independent Research Funded by Physicians for Fair Coverage Shows That FAIR Health is a Useful Source of Data for Out-of-Network Physician Charge Benchmarking

In a new analysis funded by Physicians for Fair Coverage, researchers at NORC at the University of Chicago, an independent research organization, today announced results of a study that found the FAIR Health database currently offers advantages over other national datasets and state All Payers Claims Data (APCDs) for the purpose of identifying a standard benchmark for out-of-network physician rates for medical services.

Value of M&A activity down, volume nearly flat so far in 2017

Mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity in healthcare isn’t slowing down, with the first quarter of 2017 being the tenth straight with more than 200 deals. What did change, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), was the disclosed value of those transactions.

3D model helps surgeons plan a complex spinal treatment

In complex surgical cases, planning ahead could mean the difference between success and failure. A recent study in Neuromodulation utilized 3D models as a way of allowing surgeons to practice on a patient with a previously untreated spinal condition.

Experian Health, MyHealthDirect streamline workflows with patients scheduling appointments

Experian Health, providers of revenue cycle management systems, has launched Patient Schedule, powered by MyHealthDirect, that aims to improve healthcare workflow via patient self-service appointment scheduling.

$131 million risk corridor lawsuit tossed out by federal judge

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina’s lawsuit against HHS for failing to pay $130 million owed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s risk corridor program was tossed out by a federal claims judge, saying the agency isn’t required to make those payments annually, according to the National Law Journal.

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Personalized workouts can help prevent heart disease

Personalized medicine can improve a patient's condition—and now a recent study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, showed how workouts designed for individuals can prevent heart disease.

Around the web

The tirzepatide shortage that first began in 2022 has been resolved. Drug companies distributing compounded versions of the popular drug now have two to three more months to distribute their remaining supply.

The 24 members of the House Task Force on AI—12 reps from each party—have posted a 253-page report detailing their bipartisan vision for encouraging innovation while minimizing risks. 

Merck sent Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, an upfront payment of $112 million to license a new investigational GLP-1 receptor agonist. There could be many more payments to come if certain milestones are met.