Iowa news
MercyOne awarded thrombectomy-capable certification from The Joint Commission
MercyOne has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and the American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check Mark for their Advanced Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center Certification. Advanced Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center Certification recognizes health care organizations that are committed to fostering continuous improvement in patient safety and quality of care. (MercyOne)
AHA supports bipartisan legislation for permanent telehealth
Rep. Troy Balderson, R-Ohio, introduced bipartisan legislation with Reps. Susie Lee, (D-Nevada), Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) and Joe Neguse (D-Colorado) to expand and improve access to telehealth services. The Knowing the Efficiency and Efficacy of Permanent (KEEP) Telehealth Options Act requires the Department of Health and Human Services, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Medicaid and the CHIP Payment and Access Commission to each conduct a report and issue recommendations. These reports will include the expansion of telehealth services during the COVID-19 outbreak, the uptake of those services by patients and recommendations for enhancing the quality of and access to these services. The bill also asks each entity to make recommendations for potential improvement and expansion, as well as approaches to address and prevent fraudulent activity. (Healthcare Innovation)
Iowa Small Business Day 2023 recap
About 100 small business owners, taxpayers and legislators gathered at the Des Moines Heritage Center to share their stories and talk about legislative goals for 2023 at the National Federation of Independent Business’ Annual Tax Lunch and Small Business Day. The federation’s priorities this session include property tax reform, income tax reform and frivolous lawsuit reform. The National Federation of Independent Business worked with the Iowa Hospital Association and other organizations to pass House File 161, which caps noneconomic damages in civil cases at $1 million for physicians and clinics and $2 million for hospitals. This commonsense tort reform will help stop out-of-control verdicts that are threatening the vitality of Iowa’s health care system. (National Federation of Independent Business)
National news
Hospital margins see no relief to start the year
The year is off to an unfriendly start for hospital finances, with a median margin of -1% for January, worsening from the margin recorded a month prior. The finding comes from Kaufman Hall’s latest National Flash Hospital Report based on data from more than 900 hospitals. The -1% margin captured in January arrives on the heels of 2022 being the worst financial year for hospitals and health systems since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Becker’s Hospital CFO Report)
A combination vaccine for flu and COVID-19 is in the works. Here’s what to know.
It’s possible to co-detect the flu and COVID-19 in the same person but health experts say it’s difficult to determine which virus is causing the principal infection and related symptoms. Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, companies that have led the COVID-19 vaccination strategy, say they’re beginning trials to assess the safety, efficacy and dosage of their candidate vaccine that combines four flu strains and two coronavirus strains. Health experts say these combination vaccines could be available as early as next flu season. (USA Today)
Walmart looks to ‘disrupt’ health care with 32 clinics powered by Epic, Microsoft, VMware
Walmart has deployed a health care cloud from Microsoft and VMware on its Epic electronic health record across its more than 30 health care clinics. The Horizon Cloud on Azure cloud platform is now being used at every new health care location that Walmart opens, currently numbering at least 32. (Becker’s Hospital Review)