Stress, burnout hinder nurse performance

Nurses face some of the highest levels of work-related depression, stress and burnout of any profession. It may help to reduce that stress if hospitals rethink how nurses and staff fit into the healthcare chain of command while making the organizations better and more profitable places to work, according to National Public Radio.
o learn more:
- here's the NPR report
- read the Forbes article
- here's the New Haven Register article 
 

Florida governor signs law shielding patients from surprise medical bills

he movement to protect consumers from surprise medical bills won a major victory Thursday when Republican Gov. Rick Scott of Florida signed a bipartisan bill that will exempt patients from having to pay balance bills from out-of-network providers in certain situations.  Read More

Florida: Health Care Providers Not Waiting For Telehealth Bill

Gov. Rick Scott has a few more days left to sign a bill that would create a statewide telehealth advisory council, but health care providers aren't waiting.  For example, Tampa General Hospital next week will launch a mobile app to help patients connect with doctors any time and day of the week.  Tampa-based WellCare is already allowing Medicaid patients to meet virtually with doctors for mental health care.  Read More

So It WAS Ransomware: The Implications of the Attack on MedStar Health

Now that it has been revealed that the cyberattack on the 10-hospital MedStar Health system was in fact a ransomware attack, what are patient care organization leaders nationwide actually going to do to address this frightening new trend? Read More

4 ways to push healthcare into a new era

To grow and thrive, the healthcare industry must enter a "third era" combining the strongest features of previous healthcare landscapes, according to former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick, M.D. Read More

6 ways to improve hospitalist-patient communication

Frustrated by its low communications scores for its hospitalists in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Health­care Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, eight years ago Chicago's Rush University Medical Center set out to improve hospitalist-patient communication as part of a patient-centered care initiative. Its efforts have paid off, according to a NEJM Catalyst blog post... Read More