The COVID-19 crisis has hit hospitals and other healthcare providers with an unprecedented “financial triple whammy” from which some may not recover. As the downturn has laid bare many of the industry’s most ineffective systems, it also presents a remarkable opportunity to embrace digital contactless innovations to survive now and thrive later.

Health Systems and Hospitals are facing a COVID-19 induced financial crisis. With skyrocketing costs and lost revenue for elective and routine treatments, providers of all kinds are facing an uncertain future. As healthcare leaders begin to plan for the post-COVID environment, patients - and the revenue they represent - must be a crucial...

Many U.S. hospitals and other health care providers are dealing with the kind of burden our nation hasn’t seen for generations. For deliverers of care, the devastating effects of COVID-19  are being compounded by the disease’s impacts on clinicians’ well-being and institutions’ financial sustainability. As providers and patients look for...

Hospital financial performance is driven by three principal stakeholders; Medicare & Medicaid; Commercial Insurance, e.g. employer-sponsored health plans; and , increasingly, patients themselves. Last week, these stakeholders were joined by the federal government and the $100B allocated to the healthcare industry in the $2 Trillion Cares Act...

On March 9, 2020, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), under U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its final rules on healthcare interoperability and medical record ownership and access. These rules, titled the Cures Act Final Rules, align with complementary rules proposed by the Center...

Events have converged to force healthcare in America to a tipping point. Stressed by overwhelming financial burdens, better consumer experiences in other sectors and with the support of regulators, patients are flexing their consumer might to force change and stimulate disruption. Traditional providers are taking steps to remain relevant and...

The U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services recently announced a new strategy to reduce the administrative and regulatory burdens of electronic health record and other technology systems. Designed to give clinicians more time to focus on patient care, the strategy may fall well short of its objectives for better patient access and improved...

The U.S. Healthcare industry is finding it cannot rely on traditional methods to solve its most daunting challenges. With pressure mounting from every corner, healthcare providers are making investments in nontraditional business models and smart technologies to accelerate their transition into the consumer-driven healthcare marketplace.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and U.S. Congress among others are calling for improved transparency, better access and an end to aggressive healthcare collection tactics. Physicians are joining the chorus, with a sobering take on the health-related impacts of unaffordable...

Though the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ updated Star Ratings and proposed rules on hospital price and quality transparency may be clumsy, even ineffective, their intentions are clear. The largest source of revenue to hospitals in the U.S. is setting a new, much higher bar for the way hospitals and payers help patients find and...