Nearly half (49%) of radiologists report signs of burnout1, no doubt in part owing to radiology’s increased complexity in recent years, including a five-fold jump in the number of MRI images produced per scan2. And, in a sign that radiology departments are being pushed to their limits with huge volumes of data and not enough professionals to hire, an estimated 40 million diagnostic errors involving imaging occur annually worldwide3. 

With the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade, physicians, hospitals and health systems fearful of violating state restrictions on abortion are delaying some lifesaving pregnancy care, The Washington Post reported July 16.

Beverly (Mass.) Hospital is being urged by members of Congress from Massachusetts to hold off on closing its birth center, according to a July 13 announcement on Sen. Elizabeth Warren's website. 

The number of transplantation operations, both for solid organs and stem cells, has increased steadily for over a decade. Every transplantation requires comprehensive testing of both donor and recipient, and recipients require regular and frequent testing for infectious disease, involving an average of 500 separate tests over the course of a patient’s life. This testing regimen helps ensure that the patient remains free of infection despite lifelong immunosuppression.

Cleveland-based University Hospitals is scaling back care at two hospitals and consolidating services. 

Stafford Conn.-based Johnson Memorial Hospital plans to close its labor and delivery, intensive care and medical/surgical units, and end surgical services, according to a press release from the Trinity Health Network of New England and reported by The Connecticut News Project.

Williamston, N.C.-based Martin General Hospital said it will close its intensive care unit temporarily on Aug. 1, WITN, an NBC affiliate, reported July 12. 

Orem, Utah-based Nomi Health has opened its first infant and pediatric COVID-19 vaccine site in West Valley, Utah.

Several hospitals are scaling back services for a variety of reasons, including financial challenges and staffing issues. 

While many health systems have home health and hospice services, few have expanded these services to incorporate hospital-at-home models. However, as expectations for lower-cost care and higher quality continue to rise, the further expansion to home hospital models will be necessary.

A California physician plans to offer abortions via a boat-based clinic in federal waters to bypass states where the procedure is banned or limited, KCBS Radio reported July 8.

COVID-19 hospitalizations have steadily increased to reach the highest national average since early March, with more than 33,000 people in U.S. hospitals with coronavirus on a given day.

The value-based care (VBC) journey has been a long and bumpy road for many health systems, while for other health systems, the journey has yet to begin. Quoting Michael Porter, Harvard Professor and acclaimed author “Value-based health care's central tenant is that the overarching principle in redesigning health care delivery systems must be value for patients. We define value as the outcomes that matter to patients and the costs to achieve those outcomes.”  Or if were looking at this in terms of an equation it would be Value= Quality Outcomes/Cost.

Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare's Windham Hospital has been denied its initial request to close the site's labor and delivery unit, Connecticut Public reported July 7.

Tenet Healthcare's Framingham, Mass.-based MetroWest Medical Center will continue to offer its oncology services, at least for the time being, NBC Boston reports. 

Ascension St. Vincent gave one day's notice that it was closing 11 immediate care centers by the end of the day June 30, according to the Indianapolis Star.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has scheduled a public hearing next month regarding Beverly (Mass.) Hospital's plans to permanently close its freestanding birth center in September because of staffing shortages.

Many states with strong legal protections for abortion — such as California and Illinois — are preparing for a surge in patients whose home states have or are planning to ban the medical procedure.

A group of U.S. senators announced on June 27, 2022, that they would block the appointment of a commission that would review the closing of some Veterans Affairs hospitals. 

BHSH System, the 22-hospital organization formed by the February merger of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Spectrum Health with Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health, said it has evolved its approach on abortion.