Ella Jeffries
‘That’s what ChatGPT told me’: How AI is entering the exam room
When a patient came to Jon Ebbert, MD, with dizziness, he took her history, examined her and told her he suspected benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. “She looked at me and said, ‘That’s what ChatGPT told me,’” said Dr. Ebbert, a general internist and medical director of the Systems Innovation Accelerator…
Study: Why RTO mandates aren’t bringing teams back together
Many employees who now commute under stricter return-to-office policies still work virtually once they arrive, economists Natalia Emanuel and Emma Harrington wrote in The Atlantic Oct. 14. In a September survey of 1,835 college-educated U.S. workers, more than 70% of respondents said at least one teammate was working elsewhere on…
Current metrics measure nursing ‘by its absence,’ researchers argue
Nurse scientists are calling on hospitals, payers and credentialing bodies to overhaul how they measure nursing care, arguing that today’s metrics capture only a sliver of what nurses actually do. In a viewpoint published Oct. 19 in JAMA Internal Medicine, three nurse researchers — led by Lori Kennedy, PhD, RN,…
AI and pancreatic cancer detection: 4 notes
As healthcare leaders celebrate the FDA’s approval of daraxonrasib — a pancreatic cancer drug that nearly doubled survival in clinical trials — two harsh realities remain: most pancreatic cancer patients are still diagnosed at a late stage, and those treated with daraxonrasib will eventually develop resistance to it. Pancreatic cancer…
Healthcare on the ballot: 8 measures to watch
Voters in several states will weigh in on healthcare-related ballot measures Nov. 3, including proposals tied to Medicaid funding, clinic spending and abortion access. Here are eight healthcare-related ballot measures to know: Medicaid, funding and access 1. South Dakota, Amendment I: The constitutional amendment would end the state’s expanded Medicaid…
10 safest cities in America: WalletHub
WalletHub ranked Juneau, Alaska, as the safest U.S. city, according to an Oct. 19 analysis from the personal finance company. WalletHub compared 182 cities, including the 150 most populated U.S. cities and at least two of the most populated cities in each state, across 41 safety metrics. The metrics fall…
Hospital stocks gain ground: 4 things to know
Shares of three of the largest publicly traded hospital operators have outpaced the broader market since June 30, even as the systems split on their outlooks for the rest of 2026. The rally comes despite a hard year for payer mix: The expiration of enhanced ACA premium tax credits pushed…
How rural hospitals are building up cash reserves
Rural hospitals often operate with far fewer days of cash on hand than larger health systems, which can leave little room to absorb a financially challenging year, like unexpected capital needs or staffing shortages. Rural healthcare leaders have taken to tightening their revenue cycle operations, rethinking how and when they…
51% of nurses plan to stay with their employer: 6 study notes
Seventy-nine percent of nurses intend to remain in nursing, but only 51% plan to stay with their current employer, according to AMN Healthcare’s 2026 Healthcare Workforce Outlook Survey, released Sept. 15. AMN Healthcare, a healthcare staffing and workforce solutions company, conducted the online survey from Feb. 24 to March 31,…
Struggling Georgia hospital asks for local aid
Elbert (Ga.) Memorial Hospital has asked for a $250,000 contribution from the Elbert County Board of Commissioners to sustain the facility’s operations, including a matched contribution request from the City of Elberton, according to a Sept. 10 Facebook post from the hospital. The 25-bed critical access hospital said it has…
61 hospitals with 5 stars for quality and patient experience: CMS
Only 61 hospitals earned five-star ratings for both overall hospital quality and patient experience. Becker’s compared CMS’ Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, which captures patients’ experiences during a recent hospital stay, with the agency’s Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating, which factors mortality, safety of care, readmissions,…
82% of VA hospitals report severe shortage of practical nurses
The Veterans Health Administration stated that 82% of medical centers had severe shortages of practical nurses and 80% were severely short of psychology employees in the past 12 months, according to a Sept. 11 report. The report is the 13th iteration from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector…
America’s top 25 colleges: Forbes
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology topped Forbes’ 2026 ranking of America’s top colleges, a list that includes several schools affiliated with academic health systems. Forbes’ “America’s Top Colleges” ranking, published Sept. 10, includes 500 four-year institutions. It evaluates schools using 14 data points, including graduation and retention rates, alumni salaries,…
The 20 most expensive conditions hospitals treat: Report
Septicemia is the most expensive condition treated in hospitals, amounting to $60 billion, a Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project report found. The report, published February 2026, used 2022 data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project on hospital costs of inpatient stays in nonfederal…
21 health systems warn of MyChart ‘Medicare Kit’ scam
A phishing scam impersonating MyChart is targeting patients at health systems across the country, with fraudulent emails and texts dangling a “MyChart Medicare Kit” or “Senior Health Package” to trick recipients into clicking malicious links or handing over personal information. The messages, which use subject lines such as “Your MyChart…
Gen X is delaying retirement. Here’s what it means for hospital CHROs
Hospitals and health systems are bracing for a potential wave of baby boomer retirements. Meanwhile, many Generation X workers could stay in their roles longer, according to an Aug. 19 Korn Ferry article. Professionals in their mid-50s used to be eyeing “one more move and a 10-year runway,” Renee Whalen,…
Costco enters Medicare market through insurer partnership
SCAN Health Plan and Costco will roll out insurance products for older adults in the coming years, according to an Aug. 18 news release. The Wall Street Journal reported that the companies would begin by selling jointly branded Medicare Advantage products in two states, as well as a Medicare supplement…
What 14,000 Gen Zers say would make them pursue leadership
Higher pay, flexible work arrangements and a clearer path to the top would make Gen Z and millennial workers more likely to pursue leadership roles, according to Deloitte’s 2026 Gen Z and Millennial Survey. The findings are based on responses from 14,384 Gen Zers and 8,211 millennials across 44 countries,…
Childhood vaccination rates continue to decline: CDC
Vaccination coverage among the nation’s kindergartners slipped again in the 2025-26 school year while the share of children claiming exemptions climbed to a record 4.2%, new CDC data shows. Coverage for the MMR vaccine fell to 92.4%, down from 92.5% a year earlier and below the 95% threshold public health…
83% of employers say rising healthcare costs are squeezing pay raises
More than 8 in 10 employers say rising healthcare costs are cutting into wage and salary increases, according to a survey conducted by The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. The 2026 Pulse of the Purchaser survey, released Aug. 12, includes responses from 408 employers in May and June. Four…
6 Penn Nursing studies on what staffing headcounts miss
A year of University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing research points to a consistent finding: the staffing numbers hospitals track most closely to predict patient safety are less reliable than nurses’ own read. Here is what Penn Nursing’s recent work has found: 1. A nurse’s read on staffing can beat…
9 takeaways from 3,700+ ranked hospitals
More than 3,700 hospitals — roughly 85% of U.S. acute care and critical access hospitals — received a score from at least one of five major hospital rankings this year. Becker’s compiled and compared the 2026 results of U.S. News & World Report‘s Best Hospitals, the CMS Overall Hospital Quality…
Who leads the workforces of US News’ top 20 hospitals?
The 20 hospitals on U.S. News and World Report’s 2026-27 Best Hospitals Honor Roll collectively employ hundreds of thousands of workers across some of the most competitive healthcare labor markets in the country. The HR and administrative leaders overseeing those workforces include longtime executives and leaders who stepped into their…
4 shifts in US News’ cardiology hospital rankings
U.S. News and World Report’s 2026-2027 rankings for cardiology, heart and vascular surgery look different from last year’s list in more than just the order of names. Here are four of the biggest shifts between this year’s ranking and the 2025-2026 edition. The methodology changed from a composite score to…


