With a judgement looming from the U.S. Supreme Court that is expected to overturn Roe v. Wade, private groups are looking to deliver the abortion pill to those who need it, should it be outlawed in some states. Sexually transmitted diseases are on...
The nursing workforce shortage shows no sign of letting up, with concerns rising for providers both nationally and in Arizona. While the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) debates efforts to intervene with workforce protections from future COVID surges, experts suggest that efforts for recruitment and retention may...
The challenge is to identify innovations developed by peer-run or community-based organizations, and entities that may partner with them—such as local or state governments, health systems, hospitals, or health plans—that advance recovery.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines recovery as...Arizona News
Banner Health plans to open the three-story facility that covers 80,000 square feet in 2023 on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land along Loop 101 at Indian Bend Road/Talking Stick Way.
Serving athletes at all levels, the new will facility will feature a biomechanics lab with motion-capture technology providing real-time...National News
Employer plans pay more than double the amount that Medicare pays for the same services, and a large number of Medicare beneficiaries continue to experience adverse events in hospital settings. On the policy side, the Congressional Budget Office has dashed the hopes of lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 60 and efforts to reform...National News
Value-based care is now a ubiquitous term across the medical industry, primarily led by Medicare payment models that prioritize quality of care above overall cost. But some are questioning the concept's utility and expanse over the Medicare market.
Legislation proposed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate would...Arizona News
Banner – University Medicine Tucson and El Rio Health are partnering to deliver integrated, comprehensive healthcare by creating an additional El Rio Health location in Tucson.
The Abrams Clinic is housed in a building owned by Pima County, located at 3950 S. Country Club Rd Suite 130, within the Abrams Public Health Center. Banner...National News
The study also found that prices for COVID-19 hospitalization were similar to prices for overall inpatient admissions and averaged 241 percent of what was paid for Medicare patients.
The RAND study includes associated spending from 4,000 hospitals in 49 states from 2018 to 2020. Glenn Melnick a health economist and policy professor at...Arizona News
In recent weeks, a shortage of powder infant formula caused by pandemic supply chain issues was exacerbated by a recall at a major U.S. production plant. The shortage has sent families and pediatricians across the country into crisis, even as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and pharmaceutical manufacturer Abbott Nutrition promise...
On May 1, 2022, Yuma Regional Medical Center announced it was experiencing a ransomware incident impacting its operations and on April 29, the FPS Medical Center in Lake Havasu reported a data security event that could impact protected health information: the US Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights reported...
More than a dozen pages cover what you need to know about Advanced Payment Models (APMs) including Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Direct Contracting Entities (DCEs) and Value-based Networks (VBNs) competing for Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) and beneficiaries in Arizona. Taking risk for the quality and cost of care is making...
Health insurance technology startups have struggled to meet industry expectations, with several of the most lauded companies losing money quarter-to-quarter despite significant growth. But these insuretech startups' CEOs are receiving ample bonuses despite poor corporate performance.
A few recent examples: Bright Health Group recorded...
Some good news for the industry with skilled nursing property occupancy reaching 76.7%, its highest level in February since April 2020 and Arizona reporting only a 3% rise in facilities reporting staffing shortages since 2020, but according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report, the sector only added 900 jobs...
The company was founded in 2017 by Steve Biljan and Arizona native Erik Osland to deliver integrated Psychiatric Collaborative Care Management services in primary care; its first stage of venture capital funding was provided by Waterline Ventures and Conductive Ventures.
Perfect timing: anxiety and depression rates among U.S. adults...Arizona News
The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization of employers and other purchasers focused on healthcare safety, released its spring 2022 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, awarding 10 Arizona hospitals with an "A" based on over 30 measures of patient safety.
The group scored 50 Arizona hospitals with a...Arizona News
Arizona joined seven other states in a lawsuit initially filed by the state of Mississippi which asks a federal court to throw out an anti-racism rule by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The final rule, released in 2021, reimburses physicians more when they create anti-racism plans.
The lawsuit was initially...
As fallout continues from the leaked Supreme Court (SCOTUS) opinion on Dodd v. Jackson Women's Health, in which it appears that the court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade (1974), policymakers and industry stakeholders are lining up to support for reproductive healthcare.
The American Medical Association released a statement on the leaked...
A report last week from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) highlights the challenges healthcare workers (HCWs) faced during the pandemic, including exhaustion, burnout and trauma.
The report, Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Hospital and...
This week, value-based care (VBC) is frequently seen as a method for primary care providers to best serve patients, but increasingly more facets of the healthcare industry are investigating how technology, data analytics and value-based insurance design can help swap volume for value and deliver results for their patients.
Hospitals...
Arizona may still have a chance to extend the time frame of postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to one year after birth. The bill, SB 1272, passed the Arizona Senate and the House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committees with nearly unanimous support.
However, the bill has stalled while the Legislature negotiates the...
On Monday evening, a draft of an abortion opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court was leaked and published in the national press. The leak concerns the case Dodd v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which challenges the constitutionality of a 15-week abortion ban passed by the Mississippi state legislature in 2015. Written by Supreme...
The Lake Havasu-based Arizona Emergency Medicine Specialists (AEMS) will join the Florida-based, physician-led Emergency Care Partners (ECP) to form a regional physician group to support its emergency medicine and emergency department management services expansion in the Southwestern region.
Dr. Brian Scott, president of AEMS.
We...
Jennifer Hartmark-Hill MD is a Mayo Clinic-trained family medicine physician, an alum of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix (UA COM-P), and an award-winning medical educator.
Dr. Hartmark-Hill has served on ArMA's Board of Directors, Public Health Committee, Legislative & Governmental Affairs Committee,...
If the deal goes through, the non-profit Tucson health system will have four hospitals in Southern Arizona, including the 40-bed facility located in Green Valley.
The Santa Cruz hospital hasn't had a secure financial future even before it declared bankruptcy in 2017 and was purchased by the private equity firm Lateral Investment...
Arizona's largest healthcare system formed a joint partnership with Atlas in 2018 to develop and operate a network of ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) in Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming; in the last three years Banner's ASC's revenue is up 475%, growing the Banner Surgery Center Network from eight to 26 positioning it as a larger...
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