Operations

In addition to payments, CMS is proposing new assessment-based quality measures, and claims-based measures for inclusion in the quality reporting program.

Northwell Health has received a $500,000 grant from New York state to help find ways to save several struggling hospitals in Brooklyn. But according to the health system, that doesn't include Northwell buying or partnering with those troubled facilities.

Almost every services sector of the U.S. healthcare industry saw higher levels of merger and acquisition activity in 2015, according to a new report by Irving Levin Associates.

Western Connecticut Health Network is the latest healthcare provider to launch a new brand campaign, coining the tagline "We Know You Well," with the goal of personalizing healthcare dialogue and the overall patient experience.

Five of the eight largest healthcare security breaches that occurred since the beginning of 2010 - those with more than 1 million records reportedly compromised - took place during the first six months of 2015, according to IBM X-Force's "2016 Cyber Security Intelligence Index."

Sixty percent of healthcare IT security executives are increasing spending for better data protection, according to a recent study. Another 46 percent plan to implement data security tools to catch up with industry best practices.

Revenue cycle management has gone from being a "back office" function to an "end-to-end" system that begins at patient intake or even before, claims specialists say. Advanced technologies, in tandem with improved workflows and better data have resulted in RCM systems that encompass the entire healthcare enterprise.

New research released by The Maine Heritage Policy Center has found significant variations in costs for certain procedures among Maine hospitals sometimes representing thousands of dollars, or in a handful of cases, five times the amount.

Seventy-three nonprofit hospitals and medical organizations nationwide will share in a $3.2 million grant by Southwest Airlines that funds roundtrip air travel for specialized medical care to families who need it.

Rule affects 3,330 acute care hospitals, 430 long-term care hospitals.