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.

Philips acquires Direct Radiology’s teleradiology platform, expands portfolio

Royal Philips has acquired Direct Radiology’s teleradiology platform and business operations.

Invistics leverages machine learning to track hospital drug theft

Healthcare company Invistics debuted its newest software March 21—a system that’s more than 90 percent effective in detecting missing drugs from a hospital’s supply.

Montana ranked best place to be a doctor in US

Montana offers the most favorable work environment for physicians in 2019, according to a new report from WalletHub that ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia on 18 different metrics.

AHA, AAP recommend policies to limit kids’ sugary drink consumption

The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a joint policy statement March 25 recommending a series of public health measures aimed at reducing children’s consumption of sugary beverages.

Harvard, MIT researchers warn of adversarial attacks in AI

Hacker accessibility and the potential for security breaches weigh heavily on the development of successful AI systems, but a more pressing threat might lie with healthcare regulators like insurance providers and billing companies, the New York Times reported of a Science study March 21.

Change Healthcare files for $100M IPO

The Nashville region’s largest health-tech company, Change Healthcare, filed for a $100 million IPO March 15 in preparation for going public, according to the Nashville Business Journal.

Heart attack patient’s $227K balance highlights inconsistent billing practices

A woman who was on the hook for nearly $227,000 in medical bills after suffering a heart attack and other complications had her balance wiped out by a medical charity waiver, Kaiser Health News reported. But that didn’t save Debbie Moehnke and her husband, Larry, the stress of mounting medical bills and calls from debt collectors, and the story highlights how inconsistent billing practices could impact other patients.

Anthem, Stanford found AI for Health Affiliation program

Anthem Blue Cross is collaborating with Stanford to launch the AI for Health Affiliation program, a corporate affiliates program within the Stanford Department of Computer Sciences that will fund research on how AI can improve the efficiency and value of Anthem Blue Cross and its health plans.

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