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In early August, Humana purchased Harris, Rothenberg International, a private company providing employee assistance programs, or EAPs. Considering that the EAP market is so consolidated, observers say, the acquisition may be more about staying competitive than generating new revenue.
Healthcare organizations are being more proactive in the prevention of burnout among their staff. After all, it's within a provider's best interest to keep expenses down around the well-being of their employees. "If employees leave a company, there's a cost to advertise and recruit. Providers lose out every single day there's an empty position," explained Tricia Pattee, product director with HEALTHeCAREERS, an online resource for both recruitment and job searches within the healthcare industry.
A new survey conducted by the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) shows that non-profit providers undergo a higher percentage of government audits than their for-profit peers.
Since the announcement that Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan is presidential candidate Mitt Romney's running mate, many of the headlines about the choice have focused on how the author of the House budget plan would upend the Medicare program and upset seniors' certainty about healthcare. Ryan's plans for Medicaid, however, merit some attention because they are more immediate.
Just over a decade ago, members of Arkansas Children's Hospital's management decided to go to Disney World. It wasn't a fun-and-games trip, although fun was had. They went to learn about developing a culture that would support everyone working at the hospital and everyone using hospital services. Arkansas Children's was ahead of a trend recently taking hold in the healthcare industry: valuing customer service.
Earlier this month, the Mayo Clinic agreed to settle claims by the U.S. Department of Justice that the Rochester, Minn.-based healthcare system falsely billed Medicare and Medicaid for surgical pathology services that were not provided.
On the U.S. Department of Treasury's Go Direct campaign website is a countdown clock. It isn't counting down to the end of the Mayan calendar. And although some older adults may view the clock as ticking down to the end of the world as they know it, the Treasury Department and leaders of the long-term care industry say the deadline it's counting down to will begin a new era of increased efficiency and cost savings.
Overall U.S. healthcare prices increased slightly from June to July 2012, rising 0.2 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
About one third of Americans are willing to receive some of their healthcare from robots, and 98 percent said they would receive robot care if it meant lower co-pays and health insurance costs.
An increase in the number of retail medical clinics across the country helped spur a four-fold increase in their use between 2007 and 2009 according to new research from the Rand Corp.