Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Children's Hospitals In Texas, Minnesota Report Data Breaches
Houston Chronicle: Texas Children’s Patient And Donor Information Compromised In Cyberattack
The personal information of roughly 2,000 Texas Children’s Hospital patients and donors has been compromised as a result of a cyberattack against a third-party cloud software provider used by institutions around the country. Texas Children’s this week mailed letters advising the individuals of the ransomware attack involving Blackbaud, a company that hosts fundraising databases of hundreds of universities, health-care systems, charities and other institutions. The attack reportedly has exposed the information of hundreds of thousands of people. (Ackerman, 9/17)
AP: Health Care Patient, Donor Data May Have Been Breached
Patients and donors to at least four different health care providers in Minnesota are being notified that their personal information may have been compromised. The potential data breach involves hundreds of thousands of patients and donors at Children’s Minnesota, Allina Health, Regions Hospital and Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. (9/17)
Also —
Modern Healthcare: Nearly 60% Of Physicians Report Burnout Since COVID-19
Physicians are reporting feelings of burnout at high levels as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey from the not-for-profit Physicians Foundation. The survey, which involves responses gathered last month from more than 2,300 U.S. doctors, shows 58% of physicians report often feeling burned out, representing a 45% increase from two years ago when 40% of physicians reported often or always feeling burned out in another Physicians Foundation survey. The survey results were gathered in late-August and most questions were specific to physicians' emotional well-being in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Castellucci, 9/17)
AP: 300 Chiropractic Office Visitors Urged To Quarantine
Public health officials are urging nearly 300 people who visited a chiropractic office in southwestern Washington last week to quarantine immediately because they may have been exposed to COVID-19 by an infected worker. Clark County took the unusual step of publicly announcing the case Wednesday in an effort to quickly reach those visitors. Officials expect it will take contact tracers a few days to speak to everyone who had been there, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. (9/17)
The Wall Street Journal: Why Did Covid Overwhelm Hospitals? A Yearslong Drive For Efficiency
Banner Health had figured out how to get ahead in the modern health-care industry.The Phoenix-based nonprofit hospital system relentlessly focused on costs. It trimmed labor, the largest expense for any hospital. Last year, it carried 2.1% fewer employees for every bed filled, compared with the year before. It also moved away from pricey hospital settings. Visits at free-standing clinics and surgery centers grew 12% in 2019, while its hospital emergency rooms were flat. The result was a financial powerhouse with $6.2 billion in cash and investments and a bond rating that is the envy of corporate financial officers. But when the pandemic hit, the strategies that had helped it become a model for other hospital systems suddenly became weaknesses. (Gold and Evans, 9/17)
