Gov. Inslee this week signed into law HB 1427, which enacts several recommendations made by the King County Heroin and Opioid Task Force to help cities and counties across the state confront the opioid epidemic by lowering barriers and reducing wait lists for treatment. The bill will give health care providers more information about their prescribing practices to boost the use of best practices.... Read More >>

When a patient demonstrates signs of imminent clinical deterioration, a team of providers — a Rapid Response Team (RRT) — is summoned to the bedside to immediately assess and treat the patient with the goal of rapid clinical assessment and prevention of harm. WSHA will conduct a survey to learn more about how members have initiated these programs.... Read More >>

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Monday issued updated ransomware and cyber threat guidance for health care organizations. Ransomware attacks — a type of cyberattack in which the actors demand the payment of ransom to regain access to a victim’s data — were reported Friday by companies and organizations in more than 150 countries, including hospitals and other clinical services in England’s National Health Service.... Read More >>

Hospitals and others can apply through July 17 for grants of up to $500,000 each for equipment and technical assistance to provide telemedicine services in rural areas, the Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday.... Read More >>

Recent member news from the May 17, 2017 Weekly Report.... Read More >>

All organizations needs more providers, but quantifying this need in a way that satisfies regulatory bodies as well as existing medical staff can be challenging. Washington Hospital Services Industry Partner Merritt Hawkins has released the white paper “Demonstrating Community Need for Physicians” to help hospital organizations understand what they need to know about this important piece of a successful recruiting program.... Read More >>

Despite the end of the regular legislative session, work continues on legislation regarding balance billing of patients that receive services from a provider not contracted with their health plan. HB 2114 earlier passed the House but was not voted by the full Senate.... Read More >>

A new lookup tool is available that will allow providers to check if a clinician or group who bills Medicare meets the volume thresholds and will need to submit quality data under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). The Medicare Administrative Contractors sent notices to qualifying entities via mail. Providers can check online by entering a provider or group’s national provider identifier on the Quality Payment Program website. ... Read More >>

WSHA recently produced and sent a series of hospital-specific analyses, described below, to the chief financial officer or other designated finance persons at each of our member hospitals.... Read More >>

WSHA industry partner Meridian Healthcare believes lease arrangements of new or used medical equipment can provide hospitals and other medical organizations the ability to meet equipment needs in a flexible and cost-effective manner, particularly as needs change quickly in today’s dynamic environment. ... Read More >>