News

Nearly 1,100 rural health care practitioners and leaders convened in Orlando for AHA’s 37th Rural Health Care Leadership Conference. The annual event brings together rural hospital CEOs, senior executives, clinical leaders and trustees to share strategies, insights and resources unique to the rural health system.

The AHA’s American Organization for Nursing Leadership this week released the second phase of its Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Belonging toolkit, which provides practical action steps, case studies and other resources to help nurse leaders improve DEIB.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Feb. 12 designated CommonWell Health Alliance and Kno2 as Qualified Health Information Networks, meaning seven QHINs can now electronically exchange health information nationwide under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, a set of common rules for secure exchange of treatment and other health information required by the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016.

For the 61 million people who live in rural America, their local hospital provides essential services and programs to advance their health and the health of their communities.

The International Hospital Federation is accepting nominations through April 19 for its 2024 awards honoring excellence in hospitals and health care organizations around the world.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated its guidance for hospitals and critical access hospitals to permit health care team members to share patient information and orders with each other through a HIPAA-compliant secure texting platform that complies with Medicare and Medicaid conditions of participation.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Feb. 8 released a proposed rule intended to strengthen oversight of organizations that accredit health care providers certified by the Medicare and Medicaid programs and prevent conflicts of interest.

For the 57 million Americans who live in rural areas, their hospital is the lifeblood of the community.

Learn how hospitals and health systems are improving maternal and child health outcomes in this synopsis of the latest resources from AHA’s Better Health for Mothers and Babies initiative.

Jonathan Ripp, M.D., chief wellness officer for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and one of the nation’s first, discusses his role and how the importance of employee wellness has evolved over the past decade.

A new AHA infographic explains the need for Congress to enact the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act (H.R. 2584/S. 2768), bipartisan legislation that would give health care workers federal protections from workplace violence similar to the current protections for airport and aircraft employees.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Feb. 8 issued a final rule implementing Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act provisions to ensure health care providers have more complete and timely information when treating patients with substance use disorder.

AHA’s latest social media toolkit for encouraging vaccination against the flu and COVID-19 provides verified facts about the flu and COVID-19 vaccines, along with messages themed around Valentine’s Day.

On Feb. 14 at 3 p.m. ET, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host a webinar to explain and answer questions about the hospital global budget methodology for Medicare fee-for-service patients under the States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) model.

Billionaire-backed Arnold Ventures is once again pushing its anti-hospital agenda with a new one-page “report” making the Orwellian claim that “site-neutral payment reforms will protect rural patients,” writes Aaron Wesolowski, AHA vice president of research strategy and policy communications.

The health care sector should quickly implement patches or mitigations to address 21 new cyber vulnerabilities identified by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in January, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) advised this week.

As urged by the AHA, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Feb. 6 corrected an error in the outpatient prospective payment system final rule for calendar year 2024 that reduced by over 40% reimbursement for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a critical treatment option in advanced wound care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday released FAQs clarifying coverage criteria and utilization management requirements for Medicare Advantage plans under its final rule for calendar year 2024, which includes provisions intended to increase program oversight and create better alignment between MA and Traditional Medicare.

The Health Resources and Services Administration Feb. 6 requested vendor proposals to support changes to governance, technology and operation of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, as authorized by Congress last year.

In a statement submitted to the House Ways and Means Committee for a hearing Feb. 6 on chronic drug shortages, AHA recommended Congress enact legislation to diversify manufacturing sites and sources for critical pharmaceutical ingredients; support an increase in end-user and supply chain inventories for critical medications; develop a rating system for drug maker quality management processes; identify essential drugs needing more domestic manufacturing capacity; and require drug makers to disclose where their products are made and when demand for essential drugs spikes.