Florida nursing workforce grows, but aging raises concerns
Florida’s nursing workforce continues to grow, driven largely by increases in registered nurse licensure, but new data from the Florida Center for Nursing highlights long-term challenges. The state reported more than 497,000 active nursing licenses in the 2023-24 cycle, with growth led by RNs. However, only 7.2% of nurses are younger than 30, signaling a limited pipeline as retirements increase. [Source: Gulfshore Business]
Senior Connection Center finds a way for Floridians to age at home
Senior Connection Center is one of 11 agencies across Florida that receive federal and state funding to help older adults age safely and independently at home. That can include help with paying for long-term care, meal delivery, help navigating Medicare, and health and wellness classes and workshops to keep seniors active. It can provide respite care for adults who need a break from caring for their parents. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Column: Florida is taking obesity seriously. Now is the time for the next step
Years ago, Florida took an important step to address its obesity rate by creating the Weight Management Pilot Program for state employees. The need for it is real; according to research from GlobalData, Florida’s state and local government currently pays $438.7 million in higher annual healthcare costs due to obesity. Now, the state has an opportunity to lower this amount by ensuring the program is adequately funded and expanded to reach more employees who need care. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
Is AI denying your insurance claim? It's happening way more than you think.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly used by insurance companies to make decisions on claims for medical procedures. Florida is one of 22 states without specific rules or guidance addressing the use of AI in the insurance industry. A failed Florida bill would have required a human to review any insurance claim denial that was initially generated by AI. A new pilot program is testing the use of AI for prior authorization in traditional Medicare, which has historically had fewer restrictions than commercial plans. [Source: Palm Beach Post]
Florida measles cases increase, but at slower pace
Measles cases in Florida continue to rise but the rate of the spread has slowed significantly in the last month. Florida has dropped to fourth-highest number of measles cases in the country. In the lead is South Carolina with 698, then Texas and Utah, according to the U.S. Measles Tracker, a dashboard hosted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. [Source: News Service of Florida]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› A Brevard woman owed her insurer a nickel, so it canceled her coverage
Last summer, Lorena Alvarado Hill received a series of unexpected medical bills. A teacher’s aide in Brevard County, Hill is a single mom who works shifts at J.Crew on the weekends to send her daughter to college. Hill and her mother, who lives with her, had been enrolled in an insurance plan through HealthFirst. Hill paid nothing toward the premiums for the government-subsidized plan, which previously had covered her scans and other appointments. Then the bills came.
› ‘Flying ICU’ aims to cut emergency response times in North Central Florida
Healthcare providers and community leaders from across north central Florida gathered Wednesday with the goal of bringing faster, more advanced care to patients in rural areas. It all happened outside of the brand-new HCA Florida North Florida Hospital at 4094 SW 41st Blvd. to celebrate the launch of HCA Florida’s helicopter-based emergency transport program. Providers said ground transport compared to air can reduce medical response time from hours to minutes. They said this could mean the difference between life and death.
› These Miami-area hospitals are tops in nation for patient safety, report says
Several hospitals in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are in the top 10% nationwide for preventing infections, medical errors and other complications, according to a new report by Healthgrades. Healthgrades, a popular website to find and review doctors, awards hospitals each year for patient safety and other measures based on three-years of Medicare data and “patient safety indicators,” which are defined by the federal government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
› India-based Infosys buying Optimum Healthcare IT in $465 million deal
India-based technology and consulting firm Infosys said March 25 it agreed to buy Jacksonville Beach-based Optimum Healthcare IT for up to $465 million. Optimum, founded in 2012, provides digital and consulting services to the health care industry and had $276 million in revenue last year, Infosys said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Private equity firm Achieve Partners acquired a controlling interest in Optimum in 2020.