Susan Morse

Social Security numbers, dates of birth and addresses, along with medical information, were swiped by hackers in one of the largest HIPAA breaches ever reported.

Tenet Healthcare Corp., Dignity Health and Ascension have signed an agreement to form a partnership to own and operate Carondelet Health Network in Tucson, Arizona.

Beyond potential fines are the price of making sure the hospital is in compliance and the unquantifiable cost of the loss of reputation and trust.

One fear is there will be added pressure to increase direct federal subsidies for additional exchange customers, possibly creating a new kind of entitlement program.

Group purchasing saves Kansas Hospital Association members up to 50 percent on natural gas contracts, 11 percent on air gas renewal, over 50 percent in radiology procedure supplies and realized a 5 to 12 percent reduction in the cost of facilities and construction.

A number of hospitals in North Carolina are suing the federal government over more than $2 million in disproportionate share payments they say they are owed due to changes to the Affordable Care Act.

The Fraud Prevention System uses predictive analytics to identify questionable billing patterns in real time.

Medicare cost differences ranged from $13,806 to $20,809 over an episode of care among patients with multiple organ failure, those treated for circulatory, digestive and musculoskeletal and connective tissue conditions at a long-term care hospital.

While larger systems have more resources to make the change, the smaller provider or physician practice may still have work to do.

Though many hospitals are trying their best to become more transparent, one in five hospitals will not commit to a policy to combat events that should never happen in a hospital, group says.