In this edition:

• 👇Physician burnout rates drop

• 🚫 Industry pushes back against cyber standards

• 👆 Hospital M&A activity to rise in 2nd half of year

• 🔫 ER tool can help identify at risk of firearm violence

• And more!

Physician burnout rates drop

Physician burnout rate drops below 50% for first time in 4 years

Physician burnout has been a long-standing issue in the medical community. After skyrocketing to a record-high 62.8% in 2021, exclusive survey data from the AMA show doctor burnout has fallen below 50% for the first time since 2020.

he shift marks a milestone in the ongoing battle against physician burnout, but the fight is far from over. Continued efforts are essential to address the root causes of physician burnout and ensure that doctors receive the support they need to thrive.

Industry pushes back against cyber standards

A proposed rule that would require the nation's most critical industries to more quickly report cyberattacks is raising the ire of the health care industry, which claims the new directives could actually hinder its response in a crisis.

Why it matters: Cyberattacks have sent shockwaves across the health care industry, but regulators and providers don't agree on how to get a handle on the problem.

Driving the news: The comment period for new rules surrounding cyberattacks, which closed last Wednesday, illustrates that division.

• The Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 called for companies and organizations to report cyberattacks within 72 hours and ransoms paid within 24 hours.

• In rules proposed in April to implement the act, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) laid out which entities would be subject to reporting a cyberattack, defined what a "substantial" incident is and specified reporting requirements.

• It also included enforcement mechanisms if entities don't comply.

Hospital M&A activity to increase in second half of year

There have been 31 announced hospital mergers in the first half of 2024, according to Kaufman Hall, a healthcare consulting firm. In 2023, there were 65 announced hospital deals, up from 53 transactions in 2022, according to Kaufman Hall.

The first quarter of 2024 saw 20 deals, the highest number of transactions in a first quarter since 2020, but there were 11 announced mergers in the second quarter.

While there were fewer deals in the second quarter, the transacted revenue for the second quarter reached $10.8 billion, remaining near historic highs, Kaufman Hall says.

Beyond the number of deals or revenue, there are a number of factors that could lead to more deal-making in the second half of the year and beyond, says Anu Singh, managing director at Kaufman Hall.

In an interview with Chief Healthcare Executive®, Singh outlined a number of factors that should lead to more hospital mergers. And he says one big factor is that while some hospitals and health systems are performing better, many hospitals continue to struggle financially.

ER screening can identify at risk for gun violence

Doctors may be better able to identify young adults and youth at risk of firearm violence by implementing a new screening questionnaire, according to a study published by researchers at the University of Michigan.

The SaFETy (Serious fighting, Friend weapon-carrying, community Environment and firearm Threats) score is a clinical tool developed at U-M and is believed to be the only free resource of its kind.

It uses four items and a 10-point scale to specifically identify firearm violence risk among young adults and youth. The items include:

• Frequency of fighting behaviors

• Number of friends who carry weapons

• Frequency of hearing gunshots in their neighborhood

• Frequency of experiencing firearm violence threats

The findings, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, show that those who score higher on the SaFETy score scale are more likely to have experienced some form of firearm violence.