News

In a recent memo to state survey agencies, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services encouraged hospitals to review their maternal health policies and procedures and incorporate maternal safety bundles and other evidence-based best practices for managing obstetric emergencies and addressing disparities.  

President Biden ordered federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, to take certain actions to reduce administrative burden and improve the customer experience for organizations and the public.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has created a webpage to provide the latest public information and vendor-supplied advisories on a critical remote code execution vulnerability affecting Apache Log4j software library versions 2.0-beta9 to 2.14.1.

A ransomware attack has impacted several Ultimate Kronos Group services that hospitals and other organizations use to manage their employees and payrolls, the HR management company has confirmed.

Pfizer announced additional phase 2/3 clinical trial data for its COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment, indicating the pill’s high degree of effectiveness in reducing high-risk patients’ risks of hospitalization or death from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced that later this week it will distribute $9 billion of the $17 billion in Provider Relief Fund “Phase 4” payments to providers who have experienced revenue losses and expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Food and Drug Administration released a discussion paper on 3D printing of medical devices at the point of care to facilitate input from stakeholders and others to inform future guidance. The agency will accept comments on the paper for 60 days.

Health care organizations should survey their information infrastructure to ensure they are not running vulnerable versions of the Apache Log4j Java library, upgrade any vulnerable systems and identify possible exploitation, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center advised.

The Measure Applications Partnership workgroups will meet virtually to discuss performance measures under consideration by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, including measures related to hospitals’ commitment to addressing health equity as well as severe obstetric complications.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denied a stay pending appeal of the Missouri district court’s preliminary injunction enjoining the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services vaccine mandate in the 10 states that are part of that lawsuit.

The Senate Finance Committee released parts of its updated legislative text for the $1.7 trillion Build Back Better Act, and, as urged by the AHA, the bill does not contain Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital cuts that were included the House-passed version of the bill.

Whether it’s responding to a pandemic, natural disasters or other medical emergencies, hospitals are ready when our communities need us. Through nearly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic the challenges have been many, but I’ve often said this marathon we’re running is our finest hour. 

In a new report from the Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development’s 2021 Thought Leader Forum, leaders from Novant Health, ProMedica and RWJBarnabas Health share their perspectives on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care transformation. SHSMD is an AHA professional membership group.

AHA and the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation are sponsoring the Jan. 19-20 equity summit, “Righting the Wrongs: Tackling Health Inequity,” organized by The Hastings Center and the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Center for Health Justice.

In this podcast presented by the AHA Living Learning Network and American Organization for Nursing Leadership, Advocate Aurora Health Chief Nursing Officer Mary Beth Kingston, a member of the AHA Board of Trustees, and nurse leader Patricia Quinn, director of maternal child health at Northwell Health, discuss the latest nursing challenges and solutions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The AHA today launched a virtual postcard series of #ForeverGrateful messages expressing appreciation for the efforts of health care workers in their communities.

About four in 10 eligible U.S. adults aged 65 or older received a booster or additional primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine between Aug. 13 and Nov. 19, with lowest coverage among American Indian or Alaska Native (30%), Hispanic or Latino (34%), and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander persons (35%), CDC reported today.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission this week discussed several draft recommendations for Congress, which the panel would vote on in January.

As urged by the AHA, the Senate last night voted 59-35 to pass legislation that would stop Medicare cuts to hospitals, physicians and other providers from going into effect early next year.

This week Congress passed legislation to stop a number of harmfu