Friday Five: Top 5 healthcare business news items from the MCOL Weekend edition

Every business day, MCOL posts feature stories making news on the business of health care. Here are five we think are particularly important for this week:

Sutter, Kaiser among hospitals hit by Northern California blackouts

The blackouts created by the Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) utility in Northern California have led to numerous hospitals relying on their backup generators for power.

Healthcare Dive

Friday, October 11, 2019

Amazon Textract now HIPAA-eligible as tech giant expands AI portfolio

Amazon Textract, a machine learning service that automatically extracts selected text and data from scanned documents, is now HIPAA-eligible, Amazon Web Services announced in a blog post Thursday.

Healthcare Dive

Friday, October 11, 2019

How HHS wants to update anti-kickback rules to support value-based care

HHS on Wednesday issued long-anticipated proposed rules to update anti-kickback and physician-referral regulations so they do not interfere with physicians' ability to participate in value-based payment arrangements.

The Advisory Board

Thursday, October 10, 2019

VCU Health Will Halt Patient Lawsuits, Boost Aid In Wake Of KHN Investigation

VCU Health, the major Richmond medical system that includes the state’s largest teaching hospital, said it will no longer file lawsuits against its patients, ending a practice that has affected tens of thousands of people over the years.

Kaiser Health News

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Waste gobbles up 25% of US healthcare spending, JAMA study finds

The estimated cost of waste in the U.S. healthcare system ranges from $760 billion to $935 billion, or about 25% of the total healthcare spending, according to a report in JAMA issued Monday.

Healthcare Dive

Monday, October 7, 2019

These and more weekly news items on the business of healthcare are featured in the MCOL Weekend edition, along with the MCOL Tidbits, and more, for MCOL Premium level members.