News

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response released an update on the Ryuk ransomware threat to the health care and public health sector, and urged the sector to take certain actions to reduce the risk of an attack.

Weekly COVID-19 cases among college-aged youth increased 55% nationally between Aug. 2 and Sept. 5, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

AHA and other organizations representing the nation’s clinicians, hospitals, health systems and experts in health informatics and health information management urged the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to allow for at least one year of extended enforcement discretion for its information blocking rule. 

The AHA’s Association for the Health Care Environment recently presented its Environmental Services Department of the Year Award to Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y., and University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.

In this Institute for Diversity and Health Equity Spotlight Feature, Passavant Area Hospital in rural central Illinois shares how its community-focused approach to reducing disparities in health care is supporting pediatric asthma treatment and prevention.

AHA’s The Value Initiative is providing new resources to support hospitals’ and health systems’ efforts to adopt team-based care for patients with an acute or chronic illness.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has updated its Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations, a catalog of tools to help organizations manage and respond to security and privacy risks.

A Lancet study published Sept. 25 indicates that few in the U.S. adult population formed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, at least during the virus’ first wave in this country.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a guide to help laboratories apply for Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments certification, which includes information on the expedited review process implemented for the COVID-19 public health emergency.

States and COVID-19 testing laboratories have reported more than 277,000 COVID-19 cases in school-aged children since March, with about twice as many cases in children aged 12-17 than younger children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought increased attention to the issue of health care disparities. And it’s clear we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us to close the gaps.

American Organization for Nursing Leadership Board Chair Mary Ann Fuchs welcomed nearly 3,000 attendees to AONL 2020, which was held virtually.

Kaufman Strategic Advisors Managing Director Nate Kaufman responded to the RAND Corporation’s flawed and incomplete hospital pricing survey in a new analysis published.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced premium and cost-sharing information for Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans for the 2021 calendar year.

The Food and Drug Administration released a final rule allowing states, territories and Indian tribes to establish programs to import certain FDA-approved prescription drug and biological products from Canada.

President Trump signed an executive order on a number of health care issues, including protecting people with pre-existing medical conditions from insurance discrimination and ending surprise medical billing.

Use of primary and preventive care services have declined sharply among children in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program since the COVID-19 public health emergency, according to preliminary data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Catherine Cortez Mastro, D-NV, introduced the Worker Health Coverage Protection Act, AHA-supported legislation that would subsidize COBRA and other health coverage for workers who lose employment-based coverage or are furloughed due to the pandemic.

The AHA urged the Department of Health and Human Services to reinstate the COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund reporting requirements outlined in its June 19 FAQ that defined both expenses and lost revenues attributable to COVID-19.

More than 200,000 of our friends, family members, fellow citizens and front-line workers have succumbed to COVID-19 since March. To put that in context, that’s approximately the same as the population of Salt Lake City, Utah.