Hospitals in Polk County, Iowa, are operating at a limited capacity while they deal with rising COVID-19 cases and staff shortages, officials said May 25.

The World Health Organization released a report May 23 that advises UN member countries how to evaluate the performance of health systems. 

Becker's has reported on eight hospital and health system CFO moves since April 27.

Healthcare spending will decrease by $11.4 billion nationwide in 2023 and 3.1 million people will become uninsured if Congress does not extend the American Rescue Plan Act subsidies established last year, according to a study released May 25 by the Urban Institute.

Washington, D.C.-based MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute named Thomas MacGillivray, MD, physician executive director of cardiac surgery May 25, effective Sept. 1.

Decatur, Texas-based Wise Health System has partnered with AI-powered remote patient monitoring company Biofourmis to launch a hospital-at-home program. 

Microsoft has partnered with AI healthcare company BeeKeeperAI to develop and validate AI within a confidential computing environment. 

Six firsts in the cardiology field Becker's has covered since May 3:

Healthcare-associated infection rates fluctuated in conjunction with COVID-19 hospitalization trends in 2021, hitting a new high in the third quarter as the delta variant swept the country, according to a study published May 20 in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

Becker's has reported on the following eight donations of $20 million or more since April 29:

Boston-based Tufts Medicine worked with Amazon to move its entire digital healthcare ecosystem, including its Epic EHR infrastructure, to Amazon Web Services, according to a May 24 press release. 

CVS Health will stop filling prescriptions for controlled substances from the telehealth startups Cerebral and Done Health on May 26, according to The Wall Street Journal.

One of the top priorities for Michael Pfeffer, MD, as CIO of Stanford Health Care, is figuring out how to recruit and retain top talent. Stanford is in the heart of Silicon Valley, and competition is fierce.

Cutting out co-pays, deductibles and insurers would certainly disrupt the healthcare industry, and to serial entrepreneur Glen Tullman, it represents a just and more equitable system, Inc. reported May 24. 

The CDC issued a warning May 24 that a rebound in COVID-19 symptoms can occur after patients take the antiviral medication Paxlovid. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit alleging the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany evaded its fiduciary and legal responsibilities to former hospital employees by mishandling the hospital's pension.

ChristianaCare will integrate hospital robots directly into its Cerner EHR to anticipate clinician and patient needs and perform tasks without human involvement.

Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project still needs $16 million by Aug. 31 to buy Watsonville (Calif.) Community Hospital, Lookout Santa Cruz reported May 24.

Seymour, Ind.-based Schneck Medical Center notified patients that a data breach has exposed some of their personal health information. 

From big corporations to fast growing start-ups, women executives in the health tech industry are making a mark in their organizations. Twenty-five such leaders have been honored by the Healthcare Technology Report as exceptional in the healthcare software industry.