Providence

Providers, Legal

Providence Ordered to Pay $200M for ‘Systemic Wage Violations’

More than 33,000 Providence employees filed a class-action complaint against the health system in 2021, alleging that it had been withholding their wages by denying them breaks and rounding down their working hours. Last week, Providence was ordered to pay more than $200 million in damages — a decision that “sends a message to healthcare corporations,” according to an attorney representing the workers.

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Health Tech

Hospitals Should Take A Page Out of Amazon’s Digital Engagement Playbook, Argues Providence Digital Chief

In order for health systems to “not be commoditized fully,” they need to collect data to know their patients’ behaviors better and build stronger relationships with them, argued Sara Vaezy, Providence’s chief strategy and digital officer. Consumer brands like Amazon have been doing this for years so they can deliver personalized experiences to their users, and it's time hospitals take a page out of their playbook, she said.

Health Tech

Providence denies ‘disturbing’ debt collection practices alleged by senator

Providence issued a response to a letter sent by Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, in which she demanded the health system answer questions about its alleged efforts to aggressively bill patients who qualified for free or discounted care. The response denied that Providence aggressively pursued its poorest patients for medical debt, asserting that its “commitment to those in need has never been stronger.”