Category: Health IT

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Abortion — Again — At the Supreme Court

For the second time in as many months, the Supreme Court heard arguments in an abortion case. This time, the justices are being asked to decide whether a federal law that requires emergency care in hospitals can trump Idaho’s near-total abortion ban. Meanwhile, the federal government, for the first time, will require minimum staffing standards for nursing homes. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

Oracle moving HQ to Nashville to be near healthcare industry

Oracle plans to move its world headquarters to Nashville, Tenn., to be amid a healthcare epicenter, according to co-founder and chair Larry Ellison.

FTC Chief Says Tech Advancements Risk Health Care Price Fixing

Technological advances including the widespread use of algorithms make it easier for companies to fix prices without explicitly coordinating, Lina Khan said at a KFF event.

Vanderbilt hospital at home integrates with Epic

Vanderbilt Home Care, Vanderbilt Medical Center’s home-based care program, went live with an Epic EHR system on Jan. 16. 

Telehealth boosts quality metrics while nudging up spending

Telehealth utilization has led to enhancements in certain healthcare utilization and quality metrics, but it has also been associated with a 1.6% increase in healthcare spending, Health Affairs research confirmed April 17. 

New York hospital moves to Epic

Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center went live with an Epic EHR system on March 2. 

Medical Providers Still Grappling With UnitedHealth Cyberattack: ‘More Devastating Than Covid’

Medical providers say they’re still coping with the Change Healthcare cyberattack disclosed in February even though parent company UnitedHealth Group reported that much is back to normal and its revenue is up over last year.

Health First investing $160M on Epic transition

Rockledge, Fla.-based Health First plans to spend more than $160 million over the next two years to transition to an Epic EHR system.

Too Big To Fail? Now It’s ‘Too Big To Hack’

Congress this week had the chance to formally air grievances over the cascading consequences of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, and lawmakers from both major parties agreed on one culprit: consolidation in health care. Plus, about a year after states began stripping people from their Medicaid rolls, a new survey shows nearly a quarter of adults who were disenrolled are now uninsured. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Caroline Pearson of the Peterson Health Technology Institute.

Why the former Allscripts is banking on AI

The company formerly known as Allscripts plans to turn its fortunes around by using generative artificial intelligence to find insights in its decades’ worth of patient data, Forbes reported April 18.