Issue Brief

Unparalleled workforce shortages, negative margins and increasing labor expenses are creating multiple challenges for hospitals and health systems — but integrating physical and behavioral health services can reduce the total cost of care, improve outcomes and improve workforce satisfaction.
The American Hospital Association’s Hospitals Against Violence (HAV) initiative hosted the American Society for Health Care Risk Management (ASHRM) for a facilitated dialogue to explore challenges and current strategies to mitigate the risk of violence. The discussion fostered an exchange of ideas…
Patients requiring additional care after a hospitalization — such as skilled nursing, behavioral health or therapy-at-home — face growing delays in accessing that care. Delays in discharges as patients move through the continuum of care can cause harm to patients’ health outcomes and can impact…
AHA's Issue briefs frame the issue of affordability and can be used by hospitals and health systems to initiate conversations with stakeholders in their communities.
Hospitals and health systems are where the most complex care is provided for ill and injured patients. Yet spending on inpatient and outpatient care has grown more slowly than spending on other health services. Hospitals and health systems have worked hard to provide the best value to patients and…
Key Findings CMS’ new star ratings methodology preserves some year-to-year stability, but ratings remain volatile for hospitals reporting fewer measures. Under CMS’ new peer grouping approach, 74% of hospitals are scored on all five measure g
As demand for hospital care remains high and patient acuity for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 care has increased, hospitals and health systems are facing a critical shortage of workers necessary to meet that demand.
This brief provides tips to help your organization get started with collecting and using demographic data, an essential tool for understanding the impact of your work.
This document makes suggestions for designing, implementing, and assessing the impact of programs and investments through gathering and analyzing demographic data ensuring responsive and relevant approaches to impact.