A Tebra survey (link) reveals a high interest among U.S. healthcare professionals in adopting Apple’s Vision Pro for medical applications, signaling the potential for transformative changes in healthcare delivery. The survey, which involved 130 healthcare professionals and 1,003 Americans, highlights the readiness of the healthcare industry to embrace spatial computing technologies for a variety of uses, including remote care, surgical planning, and medical training. The potential of these technologies to combine virtual and real worlds, enhance efficiency in medicine, and address the global shortage of medical professionals has been underscored, while also emphasizing Apple's commitment to privacy. Interest among healthcare practitioners and patients alike points towards a positive reception of technology-driven healthcare solutions, further supported by ongoing research and development in health-focused applications for visionOS.

Healthcare pros show interest in Apple's Vision Pro — survey Computerworld

The cyberattack on Change Healthcare, a claims processing system, has led to significant financial strain on hospitals, necessitating the development of alternative methods for claims submission. The parent company, UnitedHealth Group, is working to restore systems by March 18. In response, the Biden-Harris administration, through letters from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, has urged private insurance companies to make interim payments to alleviate financial pressures on hospitals and requested simplifications in electronic data interchange and a pause in prior authorizations. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has initiated accelerated payments to affected providers, while Moody's report highlights potential negative impacts on hospital credit ratings due to continued service disruptions.

HHS requests 'stopgap' payments to hospitals, pause on prior authorizations amid Change outage Beckers Hospital Review

In response to the cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare, CMS is expanding its aid to include advance payments for physicians and outpatient care providers facing claims processing disruptions. Following significant operational challenges caused by the attack, Medicare Part B suppliers can now access payments to mitigate financial strain. This decision builds on previous efforts to accelerate payments to hospitals and create workarounds. Physicians are facing considerable financial challenges due to delays in restoring Change Healthcare's claims processing capabilities, with estimates of large health systems losing over $100 million daily. Change Healthcare expects to reestablish connectivity for its electronic payment platform and begin testing its medical claims network by mid-March. Medicare providers affected by the service disruptions can apply for advance payments, calculated based on a recent three-month average of claims and the payments will be recuperated over 90 days.

CMS accelerates payments to physicians following Change attack Beckers Hospital Review

Health system operating margins have shown significant improvement in 2023, with a range from -6.8% to 12.2% across 34 health systems, after facing a challenging year in 2022. This change is attributed to increased patient volumes boosting revenue, which helped mitigate the effects of rising labor and supply costs. However, despite the overall progress, discrepancies persist as many hospitals still report financial losses, with high-performing institutions increasingly distancing themselves from lower-performing ones. Kaufman Hall's analysis highlights this divide, emphasizing the ongoing financial instability within the healthcare industry, reflected in the fluctuating average operating margins throughout the year.

From -6.8% to 12.2%: 34 health systems ranked by operating margins Becker's Hospital Review