Vital Signs, a newsletter from AdvancedMD, brings the healthcare industry’s top trends and insights to your inbox every month.
May was a busy month for the healthcare industry. The FTC voted on a noncompete ruling that could have major implications for physicians and the Joint Commission launched an accreditation program for providers who offer telehealth services. Also, patient visit volumes are up, private equity healthcare deals continue to trend downward, and a number of nurses say they are likely to leave their jobs in the next six months.
Here’s everything we learned:
- The Joint Commission launched a Telehealth Accreditation Program for healthcare providers who offer virtual visits, with the goal of helping to standardize processes and structures for delivering high-quality telehealth services and care.
- The FTC voted on a ruling to ban noncompete clauses, a move that could have far-reaching implications for healthcare providers and their employers. Industry experts estimate that the new ruling equalizes the balance of power between physicians and the organizations that employ them.
- A study conducted by the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health found that patients who were treated by female physicians lived longer than patients treated by male physicians.
- According to a recent Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) survey, 46% of medical group leaders report increased visit volumes compared to this time last year.
- Another survey from MGMA revealed that 41% of medical group owners have made changes to their practice’s payment plans in the last 12 months, aiming to improve, “the efficiency and reliability of collections.”
- New data from Kaufman Hall reveals hospital profitability dropped between February and March from 4.1% to 3.9%, with labor costs accounting for for 84% of total expenses.
- The market data research firm PitchBook reported that the first quarter of 2024 saw the continuation of fewer healthcare deals and investments by private equity firms, a downward trend that’s been happening since 2022.
- Thirty percent of the more than 5,700 nurses surveyed by the American Nurses Foundation in partnership with McKinsey & Company said they are, at least, somewhat likely to leave their jobs in the next six months.
- New research from the University of California in San Francisco revealed that a large language model (LLM), the technology that powers generative AI platforms, correctly identifed 89% of patient acuity scores when given pairs of patient histories extracted from more than 10 years of emergency department documentation.
Vital Signs is brought to you by AdvancedMD. It’s our way of helping you keep up on the trends and insights shaping our industry. Each month, we will send you a roundup of healthcare headlines so that you are in-the-know when it comes to the topics that matter most to you, your staff, and patients.
