News

The Food and Drug Administration granted full approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for individuals age 16 and over.

An estimated 72% of the two largest commercial health insurers in each state and the District of Columbia are no longer waiving patient cost sharing for COVID-19 treatment, according to an analysis released by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

AHA urged the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to withdraw its Emergency Temporary Standard for occupational exposure to COVID-19, or at least allow the interim final rule to expire rather than issue a final rule. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a Health Plan Management System memo to all Medicare Advantage Organizations and Medicare-Medicaid Plans to strongly encourage them to waive or relax plan prior authorization requirements and utilization management processes to facilitate the movement of patients from general acute-care hospitals to post-acute care and other clinically-appropriate settings, including skilled nursing facilities, long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and home health agencies.

Patient-to-nurse staffing ratios are a static and ineffective tool that cannot guarantee a safe heath care environment, writes Mary Ann Fuchs, president of AHA’s American Organization for Nursing Leadership affiliate, responding to a recent op-ed in the New York Times.

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.  

The AHA’s American Society for Health Care Engineering presented its 2021 Crystal Eagle Leadership Award to Timothy Eugene Adams, program director for system environment of care and life safety at Indiana University Health, during its Annual Conference and Technical Exhibition in Nashville, Tenn.

In this Members in Action podcast, Aisha Syeda, program manager at the AHA, speaks with Nicole Lamborne, M.D., vice president of clinical operations for women’s services at Virtua Health in southern New Jersey, who shares how the health system identified gaps in maternal care and invested in laborists, nurses and evidence-based practices to lower C-section, hypertension, hemorrhage and sepsis rates.

In a federally funded study that enrolled more than 500 patients from U.S. hospital emergency departments, administering COVID-19 convalescent plasma to high-risk COVID-19 outpatients with early symptoms did not prevent disease progression, according to final results reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Hospitals and other eligible entities can apply through Sept. 20 for $3 million in fiscal year 2021 funding from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response to establish a Regional Disaster Health Response System demonstration site.

The AHA released its latest edition of the COVID-19 Snapshot, underscoring the persisting challenges facing hospitals and health systems during the ongoing public health emergency.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will use American Rescue Plan Act funds to create a Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics to anticipate public health threats, the agency announced.

The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded $19 million in grants through five programs to expand access to telehealth services in rural and underserved communities. 

In evaluating whether to temporarily suspend survey activities if a hospital experiences a COVID-19 surge, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in June told AHA it will consider whether the hospital has notified the appropriate state public health agency and activated its emergency preparedness plan, and the proportion of hospital staff and resources dedicated to managing COVID-19 patients.

President Biden extended through Dec. 31, 2021, 100% federal reimbursement through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance Program for eligible costs to safely reopen and operate certain private nonprofits in response to the COVID-19 emergency, including private nonprofit medical facilities.

COVID-19 vaccine booster shots will be widely available to the American public, starting next month, according to a joint statement from Biden administration health officials.

AHA shared with the National Economic Council, Federal Trade Commission, and departments of Health and Human Services and Justice an updated study by Charles River Associates on the benefits of mergers within the hospital field.

BlackBerry announced a set of cyber vulnerabilities in its QNX Real Time Operating System for medical devices and other products, which a remote attacker could exploit to cause a denial-of-service condition or execute arbitrary code on affected devices.

The AHA has released its next People Matter, Words Matter poster, which can be downloaded, shared and hung in clinical, office or other care settings.

The American Medical Association published a Current Procedural Terminology code for providers administering a potential third dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.