News

AHA Center for Health Innovation Chief Operating Officer Andy Shin sees a new focus at the intersection of technology and the caregiver-patient relationship: compassion tech. In this week’s blog, Shin describes compassion tech and its promising potential for health care.

Instead of attacking hospitals and health systems caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, PhRMA should instead focus on lowering the costs of drugs for Americans, writes AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched a broadcast, radio and digital campaign to advertise to uninsured and other Americans the new special enrollment period available Feb. 15 through May 15 at the federally facilitated marketplace.

The departments of Health and Human Services and Defense ordered 200 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use, half from Pfizer for $2 billion and the rest from Moderna for about $1.7 billion.

The Department of Health and Human Services amended its declaration providing liability protection under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to include federal government employees, contractors and volunteers authorized to prescribe, administer, deliver, distribute or dispense COVID-19 medical countermeasures.

The nation’s COVID-19 vaccination effort continues to have challenges, and we are committed to working with all stakeholders to make it as effective as possible to protect our patients and communities.

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Geriatric Fracture Program prioritizes the care needs of patients age 65 and over who are admitted to the hospital with bone fractures.

Fourteen health providers announced they have formed a new company, Truveta, to improve the lives of those they serve through data insights.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response released a comprehensive and valuable resource to help hospitals and health systems effectively care for patients and maintain business practices and readiness should a cybersecurity incident affect the health care operational environment.

The AHA voiced support for several provisions in the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021.

The AHA, joined by member hospitals and health systems and other national organizations representing hospitals, filed petitions asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse appeals court decisions in two important cases for patients and providers.

CDC lifts COVID-19 quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated individuals outside health care. Get the latest guidance on quarantine for vaccinated individuals.

During an AHA virtual briefing for lawmakers and staff, leaders from three health systems – Trinity Health, Ascension and LifePoint Health, which serve communities all across the country – today shared their organizations’ experiences with COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as recommendations to improve efforts to get more people vaccinated as safely, quickly and equitably as possible.

Although “compassion tech” does not yet define a particular category of innovations, it follows the natural evolution of health care technology. While e-health was popularized by the digitization of health care through electronic medical records, we now use “digital health” to refer to a wide range of consumer-facing and backend technologies like wearables, analytic platforms and clinical decision support.

The Supreme Court should hold the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate constitutional, the Department of Justice said in a letter to the Supreme Court reversing the position of the prior administration. If the court holds that the mandate is unconstitutional, however, it should declare it severable from the remainder of the law, DOJ said. 

Community partnerships could address mental health care lack-of-access issues, writes Sean Blair, chief growth officer for ncgCARE, a behavioral health care organization with providers in North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and West Virginia.

Hospitals and health systems every day see patients who are impacted by violence and human trafficking. Experts from CommonSpirit Health share their stories and discuss the importance of mission-driven programs that raise awareness of human trafficking and help combat this issue in their hospitals’ surrounding communities

AHA and Musicians on Call are collaborating on a digital campaign to thank front-line caregivers around Valentine’s Day through digital promotions, social media and surprise virtual performances by celebrity artists.

A report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlights the importance of good fit to maximize mask performance.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized administering the monoclonal antibodies bamlanivimab and etesevimab together to treat patients 12 and older with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk for progressing to severe disease but not hospitalized or on oxygen therapy.