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.

Proposed HHS budget would close NINR, cut nursing programs
The American Nurses Association is warning that eliminating support for the training and research offered by the National Institute of Nursing Research could be devastating to the public, as many programs support specialties such as maternal and mental health.
Family of heart patient who died awarded $45M after suing health system for negligence
The 55-year-old patient woke up experiencing chest pain one morning and an ambulance was called. He was dead just a few hours later. His family's lawsuit argued that delays in care, communication errors and other issues were directly responsible for his death.
Leaked HHS budget reveals 30% cuts, elimination of many core services
A proposal for the massive restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services ends funding to programs associated with chronic disease management, lead safety, and Head Start. However, HHS is adding a new department to focus on understanding the cause of long-term illness.
RadNet leaders discuss rationale behind blockbuster $103M iCAD AI acquisition
RadNet provides 1.9M mammograms per year in the U.S., and adding iCAD’s installed customer base would boost the number of impacted exams to 10M.
Interventional radiologists ‘markedly’ increase billing for nonprocedural work, despite drop in overall doc count
"These findings underscore IR’s accelerating transition toward comprehensive patient care, with significant implications for training, practice management, and the specialty’s role within the broader healthcare landscape," experts write.

‘Mild’ heart attacks, strokes sap $15K in productivity even when patients resume work

The actual cost of a heart attack or stroke to society is about double the direct medical costs when lost productivity for patients and caregivers is considered, according to a study published April 6 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Is intraoperative MRI cost-effective for treating gliomas?

Intraoperative MRI can be a cost-effective method for treating patients with high-grade gliomas, according to results of a microsimulation model study published in Radiology.

Medicaid expansion through ACA tied to fewer heart disease deaths

Counties in states that expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) had fewer deaths from cardiovascular disease than those in states that didn’t expand Medicaid, according to an abstract presented April 5 at the American Heart Association’s Quality of Care and Outcomes Research scientific sessions.

Amazon Alexa is now HIPAA-compliant

Amazon’s virtual assistant is now HIPAA-compliant, the company said April 4 in a blog post announcing the launch of six new Alexa skills designed to help consumers manage their healthcare.

Google dissolves AI ethics board just 9 days after its creation

Google has dissolved its AI ethics board just a week after it was founded to guide “responsible development of AI” within the company.

Startup secures $13M to better train deep learning models

Artificial intelligence startup Run:AI secured $13 million in funding this month for its high-tech training solution for deep learning models, the company announced April 3.

Enlitic raises $15M in Series B financing

Enlitic, a San Francisco-based healthcare company focused on the use of AI in medical imaging, announced Thursday, April 4, that it has closed a $15 million Series B financing round.

How continued consolidation is affecting radiology practices in the US

Consolidation has led to larger group sizes and fewer groups that focus on a single specialty, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Economics

Proposed HHS budget would close NINR, cut nursing programs

Family of heart patient who died awarded $45M after suing health system for negligence

Leaked HHS budget reveals 30% cuts, elimination of many core services

RadNet leaders discuss rationale behind blockbuster $103M iCAD AI acquisition

Interventional radiologists ‘markedly’ increase billing for nonprocedural work, despite drop in overall doc count