News

The departments of Health and Human Services and Defense have agreed to purchase the first 300,000 doses of the investigational antibody drug bamlanivimab, also known as LY-CoV555, which state and territorial health departments will distribute to health care facilities for use in COVID-19 outpatients if the Food and Drug Administration authorizes the drug.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced an interim final rule establishing additional Medicare hospital payment to support Medicare beneficiaries’ access to COVID-19 vaccines and new treatments when they become available.

In an interim final rule, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology extended to April 5, 2021, the deadline to comply with the information blocking requirements in its final rule. The original deadline was Nov. 2, 2020.

White Plains Hospital in Westchester County, New York, found itself at the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis. A team led by our chief information officer began to investigate more efficient methods to automate temperate screenings, including using thermal cameras to take temperatures. They went with a self-service cart with a thermal camera imbedded in it.

Essa Mohamed, a National Institutes of Health Fellow at Mayo Clinic’s Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, speaks with Elisa Arespacochaga, vice president of AHA’s Physician Alliance, about strategies to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in clinical research to advance health equity.

Adults should be screened for colon cancer beginning at age 45 rather than 50, even in the absence of symptoms and personal or family history related to colorectal cancer, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said in a draft recommendation statement.

Ninety-eight percent of eligible clinicians who reported data in the 2019 Quality Payment Program through the Merit-based Incentive Payment System track will receive a positive payment adjustment in 2021, with 84% receiving an additional adjustment for exceptional performance, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

In partnership with the AHA’s Center for Health Innovation and other national health care organizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched Project Firstline, a national training collaborative to help every health care worker understand and adhere to recommended infection control practices to respond to COVID-19 and protect their health.

The Food and Drug Administration released an updated template for developers requesting emergency use authorization for antigen tests for the COVID-19 virus.

As physician practices reopen and hospitals around the country prepare for a second wave of COVID-19 infections coinciding with cold and flu season, the AHA and AMA have released a new resource to help them keep patients’ protected health information private and secure.

The AHA released a new public service announcement emphasizing the importance of wearing a mask to help Americans get back to doing the things they love.

The Department of Health and Human Services released initial data on how states and territories plan to use their share of 100 million rapid point-of-care tests for the COVID-19 virus, which the agency began distributing last month.

According to an analysis of COVID-19 hospitalization data from 13 states, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6% of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 1 and May 31 were health care personnel.

The national election eight days from today will affect many aspects of our society. And once again, health care is front and center. Those elected will face a full plate of new and ongoing health care issues, including providing additional financial support for struggling hospitals and health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AHA's Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) has elected Jimmy Chung, M.D., associate vice president, perioperative portfolio at Providence St. Joseph Health, as chair-elect of its 2021 board.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Veklury (remdesivir) to treat COVID-19 patients age 12 and older who are hospitalized and weigh at least 40 kilograms (about 88 pounds).

To continue amplifying the important message of protecting against both the flu and COVID-19, AHA’s United Against the Flu campaign released new resources, including new sample social media messages, graphics and videos that hospitals and health systems can use to reiterate the importance of getting a flu shot.

A COVID-19 vaccine is likely coming soon. Whether it’s next month, at the end of the year or in early 2021, many scientific experts believe we will have one or more safe and effective vaccines to combat the deadly virus.

Michael Suk, M.D., chief physician officer for Geisinger System Services, and Brooke Buckley, M.D., chief medical officer at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, share how clinician and hospital leaders can work together to advance health care value and affordability.

Efforts by Spectrum Health, in Grand Rapids, Mich., to address health disparities in the African American and Latinx communities are yielding strong results.