Healthcare Spending News and Resources for Healthcare

CVS Health Cuts Red Tape with Real-Time Prescription Cost Data

March 13, 2018 - Access to real-time data at the point of care may be one of the healthcare industry’s highest priorities, yet it remains one of its most elusive goals. From interoperability issues, workflow barriers, and data aggregation woes to outdated information on patient financial responsibilities, many stakeholders have struggled to integrate timely data for decision-making into the workflow....

CVS Health to Bulk Up Big Data Analytics Ahead of Aetna Deal

February 09, 2018 by Jennifer Bresnick

Solid growth in the fourth quarter of 2017 and a massive income tax break are allowing CVS Health to invest in more big data analytics technologies ahead of its proposed acquisition of Aetna, the company said in its latest earnings report. Thanks...

CVS Health, Epic Systems Using Big Data to Control Drug Costs

October 17, 2017 by Jennifer Bresnick

CVS Health and Epic Systems have launched a strategic big data analytics initiative aimed at controlling prescription costs, the two companies announced this week. CVS Health, which uses Epic electronic health records (EHRs) in its MinuteClinic...

Cost is a Primary Driver of Medication Non-Adherence Rates

September 11, 2017 by Jennifer Bresnick

The high cost of prescription drugs is what drives 67 percent of patients into medication non-adherence, according to the latest Truven Health Analytics-NPR Health Poll, contributing to a multi-billion-dollar issue that is of particular concern...

How Many Emergency Department Visits are Really Avoidable?

September 05, 2017 by Jennifer Bresnick

Reducing emergency department utilization is a top goal for many population health management and value-based care initiatives, but how many trips to the ED could actually be classified as “avoidable” in the first place? According...

ICU Admissions from Opioid Overdoses Increase 34% Since 2009

August 17, 2017 by Jennifer Bresnick

The number of opioid overdoses requiring admission to intensive care has skyrocketed by more than a third since 2009, bringing higher death rates and significantly more spending on high-intensity hospital care, according to a new study from the...

Nutrition Risk Assessment Saves $4.8M, Cuts Hospital Readmissions

August 11, 2017 by Jennifer Bresnick

Implementing a patient nutrition care program at four Chicago-area hospitals helped Advocate Health Care accrue more than $4.8 million dollars in savings by reducing hospital readmissions and shortening inpatient stays, according to a new article...

Decision Support, Big Data Analytics Reduce Hospital Blood Use

July 25, 2017 by Jennifer Bresnick

Big data analytics and the implementation of clinical decision support guidelines can help hospitals and health systems reduce unnecessary blood use and associated spending, according to a pair of new studies released this week. At a cost of...

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Market to See 40% CAGR Surge

July 24, 2017 by Jennifer Bresnick

The advent of true artificial intelligence in healthcare may still be some way off, but strong interest in achieving the goals of AI is producing a significant surge of investment in advanced machine learning, predictive analytics, and cognitive...

Brown Gets $1.1M to Study Medicare Post-Discharge Care Quality

June 05, 2017 by Jennifer Bresnick

The Peterson Center on Healthcare has announced a two-year $1.1 million grant that will allow researchers at Brown University to study how to improve post-discharge care coordination for Medicare beneficiaries. The new initiative will combine...

Clinical Decision Support App May Cut CTs for Head Injuries

May 24, 2017 by Jennifer Bresnick

A clinical decision support (CDS) application that includes patient education and risk stratification may be able to reduce the delivery – and costs – of unnecessary CT scans for minor head injuries, says a new study in the Journal...

Cardiovascular Disease May Incur $1 Trillion in Costs by 2035

February 15, 2017 by Jennifer Bresnick

Over the next two decades, cardiovascular disease is likely to impact 45 percent of the United States population and generate more than $1.1 trillion in chronic disease management costs, acute care spending, and lost productivity per year, a...

EHR Use Correlated with Higher Rates of Blood, Imaging Tests

January 25, 2017 by Thomas Beaton

A recent study published in the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) found that physicians using electronic health records tended to order more CBCs, CT scans, and x-rays for their patients than non-EHR users, calling into question the idea...

Population Health, Big Data Strategies Could Reduce $2B Waste

January 16, 2017 by Jennifer Bresnick

The employer-based health insurance industry leaks approximately $2 billion each year due to wasteful or preventable spending across the care continuum, according to a new report by the American Health Policy Institute (AHPI). But a population...

EHR Data, Machine Learning Create Cost-Based Clinical Pathways

December 14, 2016 by Jennifer Bresnick

Healthcare organizations may be able to better identify variations in best practices for chronic disease management by utilizing EHR data and machine learning analytics to combine clinical and cost information, says a new article from Weill Cornell...

Healthcare Spending