The Connecticut Office of Health Strategy is questioning Covenant Health's potential acquisition of Putnam, Conn.-based Day Kimball Hospital, particularly over reproductive health, CT Insider reported June 9.

The annual face time patients spent with outpatient physicians rose from 40 to 60.4 minutes from 1979 to 2018, according to findings published June 6 in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. 

Seventy-three percent of insured Americans said getting mental healthcare was easy, according to a survey released June 7 by health insurer lobby and trade group America's Health Insurance Plans. 

Adult inpatient volumes will recover to pre-pandemic numbers but grow only 2 percent over the next decade, a new report from Sg2 forecasts.

Finding the exact location of an appointment at a healthcare campus can be stressful for patients, especially if they've never been there. UCHealth added Pointr's digital maps and location to their mobile app, to seamlessly guide patients from their home to their appointments. UCHealth uses a digital mapping application to seamlessly guide patients from their home to their appointment.

Virtually every adult inpatient hospital in America administers the HCAHPS survey to patients. The data from these surveys are publicly reported for all to see, and star ratings are assigned to hospitals based on this patient feedback. In addition, results of these surveys are a driver of the government’s Value-Based Purchasing program, which rewards or penalizes hospitals based on performance. HCAHPS and other CMS-mandated quality measures are ingrained into most hospitals’ goal setting and operations. The stakes on performance are high.

Young patients want their providers to ask about social determinants of health such as housing and food access, according to findings from a recent poll led by researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Many hospitals are reserving contrast dye for emergency situations amid a global shortage, leaving some patients waiting weeks or months for CT scans and other imaging procedures. 

The Joint Commission and Association of periOperative Registered Nurses are urging surgical teams to not rush through safety "timeouts" as they tackle a backlog of surgeries postponed amid the pandemic. 

Healthcare competition is fierce.

The Association of American Medical Colleges is planning to roll out new standards aimed at teaching physicians how to treat patients who are overweight in an equitable manner, reported NBC News May 21. 

Today's physicians are experiencing unprecedented burnout, financial pressures and workplace uncertainty. Some are retiring or closing their practices to become employed or have had their practices acquired by private equity firms. At the same time, physicians and practices are navigating the challenges of operating in a fee-for-service world while beginning value-based care arrangements. 

Keeping patients satisfied is a driving concern in healthcare today. Traditional healthcare providers face competition not just from other providers, but from new players in the consumer retail space and even pharmacies. In addition, patients increasingly expect convenient online access to healthcare, information and billing/financial services. 

Healthcare's affordability crisis is staggering — one in four patients put off care due to cost, and one in three working Americans have medical debt. Patients widely identify affordability as the single biggest problem with healthcare. Simultaneously, health systems are confronted with challenges related to patient affordability, care access and their own economic well-being.

Experience is a critical aspect of patient care and a key component of the Triple Aim, a framework focused on enhancing the care experience, improving population health and controlling costs.

Empathy has always been valuable in the patient-provider relationship.

Patients are reporting worse experiences receiving hospital-based care amid the pandemic for nine of 10 care domains measured by the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, according to a May 10 report from the Leapfrog Group.

Patient experience is one of the most important benchmarks of success in healthcare. Organizations that offer digital convenience consistently see better outcomes and competitive advantages.

The pandemic has shined a light on some of  the weaknesses that were present in the healthcare system before the arrival of COVID-19. Across the nation, this has included an escalation of incidences of verbal and physical violence in healthcare settings. Behaviors that were becoming more common before the pandemic have now intensified as tempers and patience have grown short and divisions within our nation have persisted. 

Patient access is one of the thorniest problems in healthcare. When patients need to schedule an appointment or have another time-sensitive concern, ensuring such issues can be addressed in an efficient and standardized manner is a growing priority for healthcare organizations.