AHA Stat Blog

The optimism of early summer that we were turning the corner on COVID-19 has been replaced with hard reality. The pandemic will be with us for the foreseeable future, affecting not only our nation’s health, but also hospitals’ and health systems’ ability to improve it. 

News coverage continues to show that many hospitals have been stretched beyond capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each wave has brought incredible pressure on our health care workforce, and the physical and emotional exhaustion is leading to ever greater staff shortages at hospitals. 

For nearly 20 grueling months, hospitals and health systems – and their steadfast front-line caregivers – have risen to the incredible challenges caused by COVID-19. 

In a new blog, Kurt Hoppe, M.D., faculty member of the Mayo Clinic and member of the AHA’s Post-acute Steering Committee, explains the importance of post-acute care providers in the nation’s COVID-19 response and recovery, as well as the newest updates to the post-acute care payment model plan — of which AHA has several concerns.

A new report from the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) once again tries to obfuscate the issue of sky-rocketing drug prices by choosing to blame hospitals rather than the drug companies who set the prices and enjoy double-digit profits at the expense of patients and the providers who serve them. 

Learn about the alarming rates of physician suicide and what we can do to end it. Read the story of Dr. Lorna Breen's family and their mission to support healthcare workers.

More school-age children have returned to in-person learning during the last few weeks. More employees are returning to their workplaces. Sports stadiums are filling with spectators again, and theaters and concert venues are welcoming back audiences. 

It’s hard to believe 20 years have passed since Americans watched in shock and horror the events that unfolded in New York City, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. 

Come January 1, 2022, patients will be protected from certain types of unexpected medical bills.  America’s hospitals and health systems strongly support these new patient protections that are included in the No Surprises Act.

Hospitals and health systems have long advocated for protecting patients from certain unexpected medical bills while preserving their access to care.

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.

On this episode, I discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and public health infrastructure with Mike Slubowski, president and CEO at Trinity Health, a Catholic health system that serves communities in 25 states.

The essay Nurses Deserve Better. So Do Their Patients is right to note the “awesome” impact that nurses have within our health care system and in the battle against Covid-19.

As of now, most school districts have opened or plan to reopen this month or next, so the return to in-person schooling is underway. Many kids — not to mention their parents — eagerly await the day.  

Last week a series of emails that became public revealed communication between executives at UnitedHealth Group and researchers studying the frequency of surprise medical billing.

The opioid epidemic has been an incredibly challenging public health crisis in communities across our country. And it’s clear the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenges. 

COVID-19 has posed a steep learning curve for health care providers over the past 18 months. Hospitals and health systems have responded by sharing more knowledge, insight and best practices with each other than ever before.

Elisa Arespacochaga, AHA’s vice president of clinical affairs and workforce, outlines the critical importance of clinician well-being programs to help address physician burnout and suicides and workforce shortages, particularly during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Read more.

And it’s not only what we say to patients and their families that matters but how we talk with care teams in private. Many times we may not even realize we are being insensitive or spreading stigma. 

Given the recent upsurge in COVID-19 cases around the country, we can’t say how much longer the official public health emergency will last. But we do know that many regulatory waivers put into place by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at the start of the pandemic have worked very well and deserve to live on past the current crisis.