It’s time again to check out some of the highlights from the week that was. I’m Jeff Lagasse with Healthcare Finance News, and this is Top Stories.
In an alert sent out on Wednesday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI said they have credible information that cybercriminals are taking renewed aim at healthcare providers and public health agencies as COVID-19 continues to surge once again. In HealthcareITNews, (https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/fbi-hhs-warn-increased-and-imminent-cyber-threat-hospitals) we see that the agencies have warned of “malicious cyber actors” who are looking to infect systems with ransomware and Trickbot malware for financial gain at a rate not yet seen before in the U.S. They suggest that hospitals and other healthcare organizations take timely and reasonable precautions to protect their networks.
In Wisconsin this week, President Trump provoked backlash from hospital groups when he told supporters at a rally that doctors are overreporting COVID-19 deaths for financial gain. According to Healthcare Finance News, (https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/provider-groups-push-back-against-trump-claims-doctors-are-inflating-covid-19-numbers) these comments drew the ire of the American Medical Association, with AMA President Dr. Susan Bailey calling the president’s claims “wild and highly offensive,” and chalking it up to political intimidation. Hospitals and health systems are eligible to receive higher payments for complex coronavirus-related treatment under the CARES Act, under which they receive a Medicare add-on payment of 20%, but American Hospital Association President Rick Pollack said this is to offset significant financial losses due to the pandemic.
Lastly this week, CVS announced it’s launching a tool called QuickRenew, a new digital tool that lets customers renew contact lens prescriptions remotely through an online vision test and asynchronous telehealth interaction. According to MobiHealth News, (https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/cvs-launches-telemedicine-enabled-contact-renewal-service/) eligible customers have to have been fitted with contact lenses in the past and had an eye exam within the last four years. They then take a photo of their eye to send to an ophthalmologist. Globally, the eyewire industry is valued at more than $132 billion.
I’m Jeff Lagasse with Healthcare Finance News, and this has been Top Stories.