Predictive modeling has been shown to help providers assess patient risk for a variety of conditions—which is how the vast majority of hospitals and health systems have been utilizing it.

The annual Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) conference includes the induction of the organization’s new board chair, its chief elected officer. For 2017-18, the position belongs to Carol Friesen, MPH, vice president of health system services at Bryan Health in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Two years ago, Judy Graves was “viciously” attacked by red-winged blackbirds while walking past Elmhurst Hospital in Elmhurst, Ill. Now she’s suing the hospital for $50,000, claiming it’s liable for her injuries because it didn’t block the walking path or post any warnings about the birds.

Reaction to the Senate’s version of an Affordable Care Act repeal-and-replace plan, titled the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) ranged from strong opposition from physician and hospital groups to outrage from Democrats, while one insurance organization saw some positives in the legislation.

Patients are increasingly basing decisions about their care on concerns about high deductibles and rising out of pocket costs. This in turn affects how satisfied they are with their care, which means revenue cycle management (RCM) shouldn’t ignore a patient’s difficulties in paying their bills.

Advising patients on decision making with input based on evidence should be the minimum for primary care physicians. But according to a new BMJ study, only 18 percent of clinical recommendations are based on high-quality evidence.

Black surgical patients in both traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage (MA) were more likely than white patients to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, but for MA beneficiaries, the racial disparity was much greater.

Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) have received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the STERRAD VELOCITY Biological Indicator (BI) System. This system, which tests tools for proper sterilization, is able to cut time when receiving test results from hours to 30 minutes.