Category: Articles

Whitepaper: 2025 Cyber Threat Report: Healthcare Now Accounts for 17% of Cyberattacks

December 11, 2025

Whitepaper: 2025 Cyber Threat Report: Healthcare Now Accounts for 17% of Cyberattacks

In 2024, healthcare faced more targeted cyberattacks than any year on record. Threat actors used tactics once reserved for Fortune 500 companies against small clinics diagnostic centers and regional hospitals.

The 2025 Cyber Threat Report breaks down exactly how these attacks unfolded and what leaders can do now to prepare for future attacks. This report is not just a retrospective. It’s a proactive roadmap to help teams identify, isolate and shut down today’s most dangerous threats.

Learnings include:

  • Why malicious scripts are now the top threat vector in healthcare,
  • How threat actors are bypassing defenses via outdated systems and misused tools, and
  • The shift from ransomware encryption to high-leverage extortion and data theft.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

AHA Warns of Deepfake AI Schemes

December 11, 2025

AHA Warns of Deepfake AI Schemes

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is advising healthcare organizations to be on the lookout for deepfake AI scams aiming to deceive employees.

Cybercriminals are increasingly generating audio and video with AI to impersonate trusted individuals at hospitals and health systems, according to the December 3 news release.

“Deepfakes are used to manipulate unwitting individuals by having them click on phishing emails, provide their credentials, hire malicious remote IT workers or transfer funds to criminal accounts,” state John Riggi, AHA national advisor for cybersecurity and risk. “Constant vigilance and multilayered human verification processes are needed, especially as AI-synthetic video and audio capabilities continue to advance.”

The AHA pointed to an infographic from the FBI and American Bankers Association Foundation and a FBI public service announcement as useful resources to help prevent exploitation.

Click Here to Read the 10 Most Common Phishing Emails

Click Here to Read More About Deepfake Media Scams

Click Here to See FBI Public Service Announcement

Telehealth Policy Updates

December 11, 2025

Telehealth Policy Updates

Recent legislation authorized an extension of many of the Medicare telehealth flexibilities including waiving geographic and originating site restrictions through January 30, 2026. In support of the extensions, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a related FAQ document for calendar year 2026. To support access to care in rural communities, telehealth policies allow:

  • Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified health Centers (FQHCs) can serve as Medicare distant site providers for non-behavioral/mental telehealth services through January 30, 2026.
  • Non-behavioral/mental telehealth services in Medicare can be delivered using audio-only communication platforms through January 30, 2026, and
  • FQHCs and RHCs can permanently serve as a Medicare distant site provider for behavioral/mental telehealth services and the in-person visit requirement for mental health services furnished via communication technology to beneficiaries in their homes is not required through January 1, 2026.

Click Here to see FAQ document for calendar year 2026

Visit Tehealth.HHS.gov for FAQs on telehealth policies for RHCs and FQHCs.

Final Outpatient Hospital Payment Rule Released, Effective January 1

December 11, 2025

Final Outpatient Hospital Payment Rule Released, Effective January 1

In November, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued updates to Medicare payment policies and rates for hospital outpatient services under the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) for calendar year (CY) 2026.

In addition to finalizing the payment rates, this year’s rule includes an update to the methodology used to calculate the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating to emphasize the Safety of Care measure group in hospitals’ star ratings. It finalizes a new payment for drug administration services provided in off-campus outpatient departments, eliminates the ‘inpatient only’ list, changes the hospital price transparency requirements, and changes to the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) and Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting (REHQR) programs.

CMS is not finalizing their proposal to increase the annual offset amount for non-drug items and services per the 340B Remedy Rule at this time.  CMS anticipates finalizing a larger reduction (such as 2 percent or other reduction greater than 0.5 percent) beginning in CY 2027; CMS will instead implement the previously finalized 0.5 percent reduction for CY 2026.

Click Here to Read More

Rural Health Research Alert: Rural-Urban Differences in Barriers to Care and Utilization of Preventive Care Among Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries

December 11, 2025

Rural Health Research Alert: Rural-Urban Differences in Barriers to Care and Utilization of Preventive Care Among Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries

This policy brief examined rural and urban differences in barriers to care and use of preventive care services among enrollees in traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data was used to examine barriers to care, such as flu shots and cholesterol tests, comparing rural and urban Medicare Advantage enrollees, rural and urban traditional Medicare enrollees, and rural traditional and Medicare Advantage enrollees.

Key Findings:

  • Rural Medicare Advantage enrollees faced more barriers in accessing health services due to cost, compared to their urban counterparts and to all traditional Medicare enrollees, urban and rural.
  • A lower proportion of rural enrollees in both traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage received a flu shot compared to their urban counterparts.
  • Female traditional Medicare enrollees living in rural areas were the least likely to utilize health care services compared to both their urban counterparts and Medicare Advantage enrollees.

Click Here to Read Full Brief

Rural Health Research Alert: Availability of Higher-Level Neonatal Care Services in Rural U.S. Counties, 2010-2022

December 11, 2025

Rural Health Research Alert: Availability of Higher-Level Neonatal Care Services in Rural U.S. Counties, 2010-2022

Infant mortality is elevated in rural, compared with urban, communities. Neonatal health care includes basic well-infant/level 1 services, available at health care facilities that offer childbirth services, as well as higher-level care (neonatal intermediate and intensive care services, at level II or higher).

Access to higher-level neonatal care can be lifesaving for infants with high acuity clinical needs, and access to childbirth-related care has been declining in rural communities.

The purpose of this policy brief is to show the changes in the availability of higher-level neonatal care in rural United States (U.S.) counties from 2010 to 2022, and how this availability differs by rural county type (micropolitan vs. noncore).

Key Findings:

  • Researchers examined availability of higher-level neonatal care (intermediate level II or intensive level III or IV care) at short-term acute care hospitals in rural counties of the U.S., including all hospitals not involved in mergers between 2010 and 2022.
  • In the U.S., availability of any higher-level neonatal care declined from 2010-2022 in rural counties. Overall, 7.5% of rural counties (147/1958) had higher-level neonatal care in 2010, and 6.9% of rural counties (136/1958) had this care in 2022. In 2022, 93.1% of rural counties (1822/1958) had no higher-level neonatal care.
  • Among rural counties, researchers distinguished between noncore and micropolitan counties. Among noncore counties, the percentage with higher-level neonatal care declined from 2.1% (27/1300) in 2010 to 1.2% (16/1300) in 2022. In 2010, 18.2% of micropolitan counties (120/658) had higher-level neonatal care, remaining similar in 2022 (18.2%; 120/658).
  • Only about 1% of noncore rural counties had higher-level neonatal care availability in 2022; 20 of the 27 noncore counties that had higher-level neonatal care in 2010 lost this service by 2022.

Click Here to Read Full Brief

RHIhub This Week

December 11, 2025

RHIhub This Week

RHIhub This Week keeps you informed of the latest rural news, funding opportunities, publications and events.

Click Here to Read RHIhub

Whitepaper: The State of the Healthcare Consumer Experience

December 2, 2025

Whitepaper: The State of the Healthcare Consumer Experience

Eight five percent of healthcare consumers consider perceived safety when choosing a provider – and this assessment starts online, not at the front desk. Outdated listings, unclear communication and disjointed workflows can erode trust before a visit even begins.

Press Ganey’s recent Healthcare Consumer Experience report reveals how safety, digital transparency and social capital drive trust, loyalty and long-term growth. Based on insights from over 6.5 million patient encounters and a national survey, the report offers a strategic roadmap for executives.

Learnings include:

  • Why patient perceptions of safety directly impact likelihood to recommend (LTR),
  • How shared purpose among care teams builds loyalty from within, and
  • Where digital friction undermines trust and how to fix it.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

Whitepaper: When Caregivers are in Crisis: Rethinking Workforce Mental Health

December 2, 2025

Whitepaper: When Caregivers are in Crisis: Rethinking Workforce Mental Health

Healthcare workers operate under intense pressure: long shifts, critical decision-making, emotional labor, and exposure to trauma. These demands take a toll on mental health, and traditional support often falls short of what today’s clinicians and staff truly need.

This guide offers a clear framework for rethinking caregiver mental health, along with steps leaders can take to build healthier, more sustainable care environments.

Inside the guide, you’ll learn:

  • Why the emotional and operational burdens of clinical roles require a different approach to workforce mental health,
  • What integrated behavioral health looks like in practice and how it simplifies support for complex needs, and
  • Steps leaders can take to build psychologically safe, culturally responsive care environments.

Created specifically for healthcare leadership teams, this resource provides a path from reactive support to more proactive and sustainable workforce well-being.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

Whitepaper: Steps for a Scalable, Profitable Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring Program

December 1, 2025

Whitepaper:  Steps for a Scalable, Profitable Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring Program

Launching or expanding telehealth and remote patient monitoring without a clear plan puts clinical and financial ROI at risk. But some health systems are proving that success is achievable when the right foundation is in place.

This whitepaper offers a practical, step-by-step guide for building a scalable, sustainable virtual care program. Informed by national health system case studies and expert input from clinical, financial and implementation teams. It breaks down what works – and what doesn’t – when scaling digital care.

Download the Guide to Learn:

  • How to define clinical and financial goals that drive RPM success,
  • What to ask when evaluating telehealth technology partners – including 15 essential questions, and
  • Proven ways to build internal buy-in and assemble a high-performing virtual care team.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper