News

A new video toolkit from AHA Team Training and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Project Firstline can help health care teams prevent and control infections, improve patient safety and bolster resiliency, writes Christopher Hund, senior director, programming and implementation, at the AHA Center for Health Innovation.

In this AHA Advancing Health podcast, Marie Cleary-Fishman, vice president of clinical quality for the AHA Center for Health Innovation, and Holly Geyer, M.D., internal medicine practitioner at the Mayo Clinic, discuss opioid stewardship and AHA-developed resources that offer hospitals and health systems guidance and information on partnering with patients, clinicians and communities to address the opioid epidemic.

Eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals that did not qualify as meaningful users of certified electronic health record technology for the 2020 Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program may apply for a hardship exception to avoid the associated payment penalty.

The Health Resources and Services Administration has extended to Sept. 20 the deadline for health care providers, associations and federally qualified health centers to apply for $29 million to promote resilience, mental health and wellness in the health care workforce.

The AHA released a new issue of the COVID-19 Snapshot, underscoring the persisting challenges facing hospitals and health systems during the ongoing public health emergency.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into focus more than ever before the need for teamwork and communication. To help support health care teams and get everyone on the same page, TeamSTEPPS is a practical, evidence-based set of communications tools developed over decades. It’s been implemented successfully across hospitals and health systems and is now taking on an even greater role with infection prevention and control teams as COVID-19 continues to spread.

Health care providers should stop using N95 respirators made by Shanghai Dasheng Health Products Manufacturing Co. Ltd., which are no longer authorized for emergency use, the Food and Drug Administration announced.

The FBI released an alert on Hive ransomware, which uses mechanisms such as phishing emails with malicious attachments and Remote Desktop Protocol to access and move through victim networks, exfiltrate data and encrypt files.

Accountable care organizations in the Medicare Shared Savings Program generated $1.9 billion in total net savings to Medicare in 2020, the fourth straight year of savings, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

AHA and 11 other organizations representing hospitals and physicians urged House and Senate committee leaders to include in the budget reconciliation bill the Value in Health Care Act (H.R. 4587), legislation to strengthen Medicare’s value-based payment models and accountable care organizations. 

Moderna announced the completion of its biologic license application to the Food and Drug Administration for its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. The application comes with a request for priority review.

The AHA released new public service announcements and related digital content encouraging vaccination against COVID-19 by still-unvaccinated health care workers and members of the public.

The House approved by a vote of 220-212 a $3.5 trillion budget resolution, which included reconciliation instructions to provide the majority party with the means to pass a comprehensive reconciliation package with just 51 votes in the Senate, rather than the usual 60-vote hurdle.

The Health Resources and Services Administration will host short briefings at 11 a.m. ET and 3 p.m. ET Aug. 26 to help hospitals and other health care providers who received Provider Relief Fund payments between April 10 and June 30, 2020, report by Sept. 30 on how they used the funds for health care-related expenses or lost revenues attributable to COVID-19 as required.

Robyn Begley, AHA’s chief nursing officer, senior vice president for workforce and CEO of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership, will be a featured speaker during the International Hospital Federation’s World Hospital Congress.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has formed a working group to address deceptive marketing of health plans and other products that “lead consumers to believe they are purchasing comprehensive health coverage when they are really purchasing coverage that does not cover all pre-existing conditions or hospital care.”

The National Institutes of Health’s Office of Research on Women’s Health is accepting comments through Sept. 15 to assist with identifying research gaps and pitfalls in clinical practice related to women’s health issues.

The estimated number of U.S. residents under age 20 with type 1 diabetes increased 45% from 2001 to 2017 to 215 per 100,000, while the number with type 2 diabetes increased 95% to 67 per 100,000, according to a federally funded study published in JAMA.

The FBI alerted U.S. organizations to ransomware attacks by a group using phishing emails to access victim networks and download Cobalt Strike threat emulation software.

As requested by the AHA, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury will defer enforcement of the good faith estimate for insured patients and advanced explanation of benefit requirements in the No Surprises Act, according to new FAQs released Friday