News

Acute-care hospitals reduced Clostridium difficile infections by 18%, catheter-associated urinary tract infections by 8% and central line-associated bloodstream infections by 7% in 2019, according to the latest progress report on reducing healthcare-associated infections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published an addenda with instructions for implementing six new ICD-10 diagnosis codes for reporting COVID-19-related conditions on health care claims effective Jan. 1.

The Food and Drug Administration Dec. 4 issued guidance on how to conduct clinical trials for medical products during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the first prescription diagnostic test for both COVID-19 and influenza A and B that allows patients to collect a sample at home and ship it to a laboratory for analysis.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the U.S. nearly 10 months ago, our hospitals and health systems have learned so much about how to slow down the spread, care for patients and help them recover.

The AHA is accepting applications through Dec. 8 for its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award, which recognizes hospital efforts to reduce health disparities and advance diversity and inclusion.

Job growth continued in November, but at a slower pace than this summer, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

More than 2.9 million people selected a 2021 health plan through HealthCare.gov Nov. 1-28, including more than 523,000 last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission discussed a draft recommendation to increase payment rates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services by 2% in 2022.

The AHA recently joined a non-partisan coalition, Get Covered 2021, to promote tools to stop the spread of COVID-19 and expand health coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

The National Urban League, an AHA strategic alliance partner, Dec. 8 will host a conversation with Anthony Fauci, M.D., the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to address vaccine hesitancy in communities of color.

To continue emphasizing the message of protecting against both the flu and COVID-19, AHA’s Wear A Mask and United Against the Flu campaigns released new resources, including new sample social media messages and graphics that hospitals and health systems can use to reiterate the importance of getting a flu shot, wearing a mask and practicing good hygiene.

The AHA released the latest edition of a new report for Congress to better understand the needs of hospitals and health systems during the public health emergency.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has identified the Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System codes and Medicare Part B payment allowances effective Nov. 21 for administering casirivimab and imdevimab, a combination monoclonal antibody therapy made by Regeneron.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency alerted organizations to a global phishing and spearphishing campaign targeting the COVID-19 vaccine cold chain, the part of the supply chain used to store and transport a vaccine at safe temperatures.

The Department of Health and Human Services amended its declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to expand access to COVID-19 medical countermeasures through telehealth and clarify the scope of liability protections.

Two hundred twenty-four. That’s the number of days since the last COVID-19 relief package was signed into law.

To care for patients with opioid use disorder, a multidisciplinary team at Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas, initiates treatment and recovery using buprenorphine, then helps transition follow-up care to an outpatient clinic.

A new AHA case study highlights examples of capitated payment agreements that serve to increase the use and improve the quality of primary care services in rural communities.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the Geographic Direct Contracting Model (known as “Geo”) through which participants will take responsibility for the total cost of care for a portion of all Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries in a specific region.