Though the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated some aspects of health IT, it slowed others, including EHR replacements and back-office system upgrades. CIOs from some of the nation's leading health systems shared not only the projects they put on hold, but also how they made those decisions and the challenges they faced when trying to reignite their efforts.
Providers must report how they spent funding received via the CARES Act by Sept. 30, but they are still grappling with questions related to what expenses need to be reported amid shifting government guidance.
The total number of mergers and acquisitions in healthcare fell below historic figures for the second quarter of the year, but was offset by higher deal values. Trends in the space also appear to be shifting, with an increasing number of regional partnerships occurring among health systems as opposed to acquisitions of independent hospitals.
Though there has been a slew of failed merger plans in recent months, providers' interest in consolidation has not ebbed. Midwest-based Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health announced they are exploring a merger, as did Rush Health Systems and Ochsner Health, which are located in the South.
