Data Breaches Add To Hospitals’ Troubles
A reported 28 data breaches affecting 1.1. million patients were reported in July. Hospital news is from Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Illinois and Pennsylvania, as well.
Modern Healthcare:
July-Reported Breaches Affect 1.1 Million Patients
Healthcare providers, insurers and their business associates reported 28 data breaches affecting more than 1.1 million patients to the federal government last month. 2020 is on track to be the year with the second-highest number of reported data breaches involving 100,000-plus people since HHS' Office for Civil Rights began maintaining its database of healthcare data breaches in 2010. (Cohen, 8/6)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wisconsin COVID-19 Testing: Aurora To Stop Testing At Most Sites
Advocate Aurora Health will stop testing some patients for COVID-19 before surgery and will close all but one of its community testing sites in Wisconsin. The changes are temporary and due to a shortage of tests, according to the hospital system. It is experiencing a "delay in anticipated shipments" of supplies, according to a news release. (Carson, 8/6)
State House News Service:
State Report Offers 'First Look' At Pandemic Impacts On Hospitals
Massachusetts hospitals experienced sharp declines in financial well-being at the onset of the pandemic, and many ended April and May in the red despite receiving a boost from federal stimulus money, according to a new analysis. Several dozen hospitals that participated in a Center for Health Information and Analysis survey reported a median profitability of -28.9% in March, followed by CARES Act-boosted margins of -14.9% in April and -3.3% in March, the center said in a Thursday report. (Lisinski, 8/6)
Modern Healthcare:
Oak Street Health Share Price Spikes 90% On Day One
Investor confidence in newly public Oak Street Health was obvious on the primary care provider's first day of trading Thursday, with share value spiking 90%. Oak Street initially priced its shares at $21, yielding a valuation of $328 million, and they topped out at $40 at market close. The Chicago-based provider has operated at a loss since its inception in 2012, but investors are betting that its capitated model of managing care for high-needs Medicare patients eventually will turn a profit. (Bannow, 8/6)
Modern Healthcare:
Geisinger-Evangelical Deal Raises Red Flags, Antitrust Experts Say
The Justice Department has a strong case as it looks to prove that Geisinger Health's partial acquisition of Evangelical Community Hospital will likely reduce competition, merger and acquisition experts said. Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger's 30% acquisition of the neighboring independent hospital in Lewisburg will lead to less independent expansion, sharing of competitively sensitive information, lower quality care and higher prices, the DOJ outlined in a complaint filed Wednesday that aims to block the deal. (Kacik, 8/6)
Boston Globe:
Mass. Regulators Fine Revolutionary Clinics $120,000 For Selling Tainted Marijuana Vapes
A Fitchburg marijuana company, Revolutionary Clinics, will pay Massachusetts $120,000 to settle charges it sold vaporizers containing excessive levels of ethanol to six other dispensaries, several of which then sold dozens of the tainted devices to consumers. The Cannabis Control Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve the fine and impose a four-month probation for the company over various violations related to the wholesale vape transactions, which occurred from December 2018 to early 2019. (Adams, 8/6)
In obituaries —
Modern Healthcare:
David Hunter Remembered As A 'Giant Of Healthcare'
David Hunter, a former hospital CEO and executive of Voluntary Hospitals of America, died Sunday at the age of 75 after a bout with pancreatic cancer. Hunter, who started a consulting firm in the late '80s that specialized in turning around embattled academic medical centers, had a way of breaking tough news in an honest and relatable way, said Larry Scanlan, who worked for Hunter at the Hunter Group. (Kacik, 8/6)
