Health care compliance — adhering to rules, standards, policies, laws, and regulations related to medical practices — is about keeping operations running smoothly. It also promotes safe, high-quality care, and in a high-risk industry where decision-making is sometimes measured in minutes or seconds, proper compliance is essential. Community health centers must adhere to the regulations set forth by the Health…
This article is sponsored by the THA Retirement Plan. Turning 65 in 2024 is big — roughly 4.1million big. According to a report from the educational non-profit Alliance for Lifetime Income, a record 11,200 Americans a day are set to hit the birthday milestone this year, up from the daily average of 10,000 the decade before. The surge, projected to…
Beginning in 2024, every March 4 in Texas is observed as “COVID-19 Heroes and Memorial Day” under a state law developed by Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen, which establishes a uniform statewide date to honor and recognize the contributions and sacrifices of Texans who played crucial roles during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes health care professionals, first responders, essential workers,…
The threat of a data breach in a health care facility is daunting. Privacy is the foundation of hospitals’ information systems, and compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)– along with the facility’s reputation–will be jeopardized if just one patient’s information falls into the wrong hands. Health care facilities are particular targets for two reasons: It is…
Laying the Groundwork for 2025 In 2024, Texas hospital CEOs need to be engaged with THA like never before. A series of bills with devastating implications for hospitals found traction in the Texas Legislature’s 2023 regular session. These proposals included attempts to ban all hospital outpatient payments and institute government rate-setting. And, while none of them passed, the concepts at…
Mark your calendars for March 5-6, 2026. You are invited to join the Texas Hospital Association for an in-person Texas hospital communications summit to be held in Austin at THA headquarters. March 5-6, 2026THA Headquarters1108 Lavaca St.Austin, Texas Registration for this event has closed. Please contact the THA Service Center at 512/465-1057 if you have questions regarding the event. The…
Following the passage earlier this year of two crucial new laws to address and prevent workplace violence in health care settings, hospitals and nurses in Texas have partnered to launch a new workplace violence prevention toolkit to guide hospitals in implementing those laws. The toolkit, released today by the Texas Hospital Association and the Texas Nurses Association, puts legal analysis,…
Providing high-quality patient care is at the center of every decision we make at US Acute Care Solutions (USACS). For this reason, we purposely look to create long term partnerships with non-profit health systems which focus on excellence and high-quality patient care. When the opportunity arose for USACS to partner with Houston Methodist, we jumped at the chance. In just…
More than 631 rural hospitals, including 76 in Texas, are at risk of closing because of financial hardship. And they’re not alone–many urban or suburban health systems also struggle with revenue shortages. Medicare has created multiple value-based care programs to generate revenue for providers and practices. Out of these, Chronic Care Management has consistently emerged as one of the most…
A joint study from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and Jackson Physician Search found physicians who completed training in the last six years stayed in their first jobs for an average of just two years – a number significantly lower than the average first-job tenure reported by physician respondents of all ages. This study, conducted in the fall of…
