Editor's Note This new study in JAMA Health Forum is one of the first to review publicly available insurer price data and compare regional rate differences. The research was published by JAMA Network on October 27. Following are some highlights: Over half of the US population receives health insurance from…

Read More

Editor's Note The sustainability team at Seattle Children's Hospital has reduced anesthesia-related emissions by 87%, a Becker's Hospital Review October 26 webinar reported. According to the webinar presenters, the team at Seattle Children's first gathered electronic medical record (EHR) data from their anesthesia gas machines, then implemented steps to limit…

Read More

Editor's Note Forbes Advisor released a ranking of the best and worst states for healthcare based on 24 metrics and four key categories: healthcare access, outcomes, cost, and quality of hospital care, Forbes October 13 reports. The article also noted that as many as 70% of Americans are unsatisfied with…

Read More

Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Pfizer have announced an agreement to extend patient access to the COVID-19 drug Paxlovid, Healthcare Purchasing News October 16 reports. According to the article, Pfizer is readying the drug for more availability in the commercial market in November…

Read More

Editor's Note Increasing demand for nurses is driving up salaries for RN in the US, an October 4 Careers of the Future projection reports. According to this research from telecommunications company TollFreeForwarding, RNs are projected to see a pay increase of nearly $13 more per hour by 2033.  RNs made…

Read More

Editor's Note An October 2023 report from Fitch Ratings finds that nonprofit hospitals will continue to have weak operating margins into 2024 and need to control labor costs in order to return to stronger margins, Chief Healthcare Executive October 5 reports. Some highlights of the report include: Median operating margins…

Read More

Editor's Note This review published by the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that surgical scorecards, or cards that summarize information regarding the cost of surgical items and procedures along with comparisons to similar operations, have been shown to significantly reduce costs without impacting clinical outcomes when presented…

Read More

Editor's Note Major warehouse corporation Costco has entered a partnership with virtual care company Sesame to expand its healthcare offerings to its members, Chief Healthcare Executive September 27 reports. This collaboration will reportedly allow Costco members to access Sesame's telehealth services at “affordable rates.” David Goldhill, Sesame's CEO and a…

Read More

The OR is the financial motor of a hospital. As such, inefficiencies in this space adversely impact patient safety as well as the financial stability of the hospital and/or healthcare system. The first case on-time starts (FCOTS) metric is one of the primary benchmarks for assessing OR efficiency. The following…

Read More

Editor's Note A study from economists and public health officials in the September 2023 issue of the journal American Economic Review: Insights found that when undocumented immigrants were provided assistance to visit primary care doctors via a pilot program, it resulted in a 21% drop in emergency room (ER) use.…

Read More