COVID-19

Outside of the loss of human life due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the past two years have greatly affected hospitals, health systems and the way providers deliver care. Healthcare executives are grappling with federal monetary assistance, growing burnout rates, workforce shortages and federal oversight of vaccines and testing. This channel is also designed to update clinicians on new research and guidelines regarding COVID patient treatment strategies and risk assessments.

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COVID-19 continues to affect healthcare hiring practices

Facilities were forced to adapt when the pandemic began, leading to changes that are still being felt throughout the healthcare industry. 

Doctor patient with masks

COVID-19 drug Paxlovid may react poorly with certain heart medications, cardiologists warn

Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir, sold by Pfizer under the name Paxlovid, is commonly prescribed to treat COVID-19. When treating some heart patients, however, physicians may want to consider an alternative approach.

Claire Ernst, director of government affairs, Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), explains the list of priorities for the association. These include staving off the large, planned 2023 Medicare reimbursement cuts, fighting for continuation of reimbursements for telehealth, and revamping prior authorizations.

VIDEO: MGMA explains why the COVID-19 public health emergency extension is critical

Claire Ernst, director of government affairs for the Medical Group Management Association, talked to us about why extending the federal COVID-19 health emergency was so important for healthcare providers.

long covid lung CT

More than half of long COVID patients have abnormalities on chest imaging

Nodular patterns were the most commonly visualized abnormality, although several others were observed.

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CMS extends bundled payments to 2025

Instead of concluding Dec. 31, 2023, the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced) Model is scheduled to end Dec. 31, 2025.

New evidence that heart damage risk is much higher after COVID-19 infection than after vaccination

The new meta-analysis, published in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, included data from 58 million patients. “We hope our findings will help mitigate vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccine uptake," one researcher said. 

COVID-19 vaccines prevented 300K deaths in 2021

COVID-19 vaccines were very effective at preventing serious illness and excess deaths in 2021, according to new data from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The vaccines were also linked to considerable cost savings. 

Cardiologist says COVID-19 vaccinations ‘must stop’ due to the risk of adverse events—scientists and doctors push back

A well-known cardiologist who once fully supported COVID-19 vaccines is now saying he thinks they have done more harm than good. Online, as one might expect, people on both sides of this particular debate have been quick to respond.