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The latest stories from AHA Today.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today issued reports on Zika virus infection among U.S. pregnant travelers, and transmission of Zika virus through sexual contact with travelers to areas of ongoing transmission. Based on tests performed at CDC as of Feb. 17, only nine pregnant…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today extended to July 1 the deadline for eligible hospitals/professionals and critical access hospitals to apply for a hardship exception from the 2015 Medicare Electronic Health Records Incentive Program. The previous deadlines were March 15 for…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued three new Frequently Asked Questions clarifying what hospitals and eligible professionals participating in the Medicare Electronic Health Records Incentive Program must do to meet the public health reporting objective in 2016. Feb. 29 is…
This season’s flu vaccine has been 59% effective against the flu, comparable to past seasons with a well-matched vaccine, according to preliminary data released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccine’s effectiveness varies with the strain of the…
Testifying Feb. 24 before a Senate Special Committee hearing on opioid use among seniors, Steven Diaz, M.D., MaineGeneral Health’s senior vice president and chief medical officer in Augusta, spoke about the alarming increase in opioid misuse among the elderly and the need for a…
The current blood supply in the continental U.S. is adequate to meet the transfusion needs of hospital patients in U.S. territories with active Zika virus transmission, the AABB Interorganizational Task Force on Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism announced yesterday.
The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) today released a new guide to help health care organizations use its risk management framework to implement the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s framework for reducing cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today issued a proposed rule that would implement additional program integrity requirements for health care providers and suppliers who participate in Medicare, as authorized by the Affordable Care Act.
Arguments that the Affordable Care Act’s medical loss ratio and rate review standards would protect consumers in the wake of the pending mergers of Anthem with Cigna and Aetna with Humana “do not withstand scrutiny,” AHA said yesterday in a letter to two state insurance…
There is no evidence that insurance market consolidation leads to greater innovation, according to a study by health economists highlighted in the Health Affairs Blog. “Given the history of slow innovation in health insurance, one could argue that a change in insurance markets is necessary to…