The Latest

When hospitals and health systems started charging patients for MyChart messages amid the pandemic, the reasoning was straightforward: Give clinicians a way to be compensated for the growing volume of medical advice flowing through patient portals, and perhaps slow that…

Nursing workforce planning formulas may carry a structural error embedded since at least 1960, one that has quietly caused hospitals to systematically underbudget nursing staff across decades of textbooks, credentialing programs and government frameworks. The finding raised a pointed question…

Epic’s past 30 days have brought a leadership shakeup, a fresh round of noncompete lawsuits and signs the EHR giant is still expanding, both at home and abroad.  Here are seven Epic updates Becker’s has reported in July:  

Lumberton, N.C.-based UNC Health Southeastern has invested close to $2 million in a new MRI machine designed to improve patient comfort and diagnostic imaging, according to a July 27 health system news release. The MRI system includes a larger opening…

Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola (Fla.) will open its new inpatient rehabilitation facility Aug. 6, WKRG reported July 29. The 40-bed, 41,000-square-foot inpatient rehabilitation facility will offer specialized physical, speech and occupational therapies. It will also feature a custom activities of…

The Massachusetts Senate voted July 29 to authorize the commonwealth to seize the shuttered Norwood (Mass.) Hospital site through eminent domain, clearing the path for a new nonprofit operator to take over.  “The legislation, S.3231, would initiate a public process…

The FDA has licensed Ezplaz Freeze Dried Plasma, the first freeze-dried plasma product approved for use in the U.S. Ezplaz is indicated for transfusion in adult patients who need plasma when other plasma products are unavailable, including patients with life-threatening…

Ashlee Hafford has been named assistant CFO of Saint Francis Hospital Memphis, according to a July 29 LinkedIn post. The hospital is part of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare. Prior to her new role, Ms. Hafford served as CFO and controller of…

An FDA advisory committee voted 9-3 against Capricor Therapeutics’ cell therapy deramiocel for Duchenne muscular dystrophy-associated cardiomyopathy after concluding the available evidence did not demonstrate the therapy’s effectiveness. The vote followed FDA briefing documents released ahead of the meeting that…