A new study commissioned by the American Hospital Association has found patients treated in hospital outpatient departments typically are sicker and require more medically complex treatment than those seen in independent physician offices.  The study, published in September and conducted…

Rural, independent hospitals are teaming up to keep from shutting down, joining large health systems or reducing services, NPR reported Sept. 2. What to know: 1. Since 2010, about 153 rural hospitals have closed or stopped offering inpatient services, according…

Florida will move to scrap all vaccine mandates in the state, including routine immunization requirements for children entering kindergarten, state officials said Sept. 3.  Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD, the state’s surgeon general, shared plans to eliminate vaccine requirements during an…

California, Oregon and Washington are forming a health alliance that would coordinate vaccine recommendations for their residents, according to a Sept. 3 joint news release. Here is what to know: 1. The West Coast Health Alliance is intended to provide…

As the number of COVID-19 cases begin to increase, there have been shifts in the vaccine landscape, especially regarding updated COVID-19 shots. Through the week ending Aug. 23, 11.2% of the 37,732 tested were positive for COVID-19, an increase from…

Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, based in Nutley, N.J., is aiming to strengthen its primary care physician workforce by addressing the financial burden of medical education.  Seventy percent of medical students in the class of 2023 graduated with educational debt,…

The American Nurses Association expressed “alarm” over the abrupt removal of the CDC director and string of resignations among key leaders of the agency. These changes, along with liaisons being removed from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, raise critical…

“First, do no harm” may be the most well-known adage in the medical profession, but it’s far more than an admonishment. Preventing harm by investing in patient safety is a smart business strategy that returns incalculable direct and indirect financial…

More than 1 in 5 medical students in the U.S. experience food insecurity, pointing to the need for institution and policy-level interventions to support basic student needs, according to a new study led by researchers at New Haven, Conn.-based Yale…

In mid-September, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will discuss — and potentially vote on — vaccines for COVID-19, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and respiratory syncytial virus.  According to an ACIP agenda posted Aug. 29, the meeting…