Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1455714
14 CFO / FINANCE 20 hospitals, health systems that provide the most 'unnecessary' care: Johns Hopkins By Alia Paavola H ealth systems that employed fewer primary care physicians, have high- er bed counts or are investor-owned were more likely to provide more unnec- essary or low-value care, a study published Jan. 14 in JAMA found. For the study, researchers from Balti- more-based Johns Hopkins University ana- lyzed Medicare claims data at 3,745 hospitals for 17 low-value services. e low-value ser- vices were previously identified as unnecessary and included services such as pap smears for women older than 65, an abdominal CT scan with and without contrast, and spinal fusions for back pain, according to the study. e researchers then rated the hospitals us- ing an overuse index, which was based on the Medicare claims for the low-value healthcare services. Health systems rated at least 1.5 standard deviations or more above the av- erage in the overuse index were considered over-users of low-value services. Here are the 20 hospitals that provided the most unnecessary care based on the overuse index:. 1. St. Dominic Health Services (Jackson, Miss.) 2. USMD Health System (Irving, Texas) 3. Community Medical Centers (Clovis, Calif.) 4. Care New England Health System (Provi- dence, R.I.) 5. East Alabama Medical Center (Opelika) 6. Pocono Health System (East Stroudsburg, Pa.) 7. University Health Care System (Augusta, Ga.) 8. Deaconess Health System (Evansville, Ind.) 9. Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.) 10. Iredell Health System (Statesville, N.C.) 11. Sacred Heart HealthCare System (Allen- town, Pa.) 12. Southeast Health (Dothan, Ala.) 13. Chesapeake (Va.) Regional Medical Center 14. Butler (Pa.) Health System 15. CarolinaEast Health System (New Bern, N.C.) 16. Ohio Valley Health Services and Educa- tion Corp. (Wheeling, W.Va.) 17. Slidell (La.) Memorial Hospital 18. Lakeland (Fla.) Regional Health System 19. North Kansas City (Mo.) Hospital 20. Temple University Health System (Phila- delphia) n Nonprofit hospital rating upgrades outpaced downgrades in 2021: Fitch By Marissa Plescia F itch Ratings upgraded the ratings of 17 non- profit hospitals and downgraded 12 in 2021, and 87.3 percent of the sector had stable rat- ing outlooks as of year-end 2021, according to a Jan. 18 report. In 2021, 8.8 percent of nonprofit hospitals had pos- itive rating outlooks and 3.1 percent had negative rating outlooks. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused prob- lems for the nonprofit hospital sector, the outlook is neutral for 2022, according to the report. However, Fitch said it will be difficult for nonprofit hospitals to maintain strong margins with expense inflation out- pacing revenue growth for most facilities. Fitch predicts that pressure from COVID-19 will slowly decrease over time, but this won't happen until the omicron variant has passed. It also pre- dicts cost pressures on labor supplies to continue into 2022. n AHA, HCA back $55M venture fund for Black- founded companies By Marissa Plescia J umpstart Health Investors launched a $55 million venture fund that is backed by multiple healthcare organizations and will invest exclusively in Black-founded healthcare companies. The fund is called Jumpstart Nova, according to a Jan. 12 news release. Partners include Eli Lilly; Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare; Dublin; Cardinal Health; Charlotte, N.C.-based Atri- um Health; Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System; LHC Group; Meharry Medical College; and American Hospital Association. The fund will support companies in health IT, digital health, tech-enabled services, diagnostic devices, biotech, medical de- vice manufacturing, and consumer health and wellness. Less than 5 percent of businesses in the U.S. healthcare sector are Black- or African American-owned, according to the news release. "Hospitals and health systems need strong partners to collabo- rate with to build healthier and more equitable communities," Rick Pollack, president and CEO of AHA, said. "Jumpstart Nova aims to provide talented but too-often overlooked entrepre- neurs with the capital they need to advance this important work. The AHA is excited about the investments this fund will make, which we believe can positively affect the double bottom line of financial and social impact." n