CMS has issued updated guidance for surveyors and healthcare providers on addressing immediate jeopardy, the most severe type of noncompliance warning as the findings can place organizations at risk of losing federal funding.

The Arkansas State Medical Board voted to delay action in the case of a physician seeking to return to practice after being accused of rape and sexual assault until after his charges are heard in court, effectively denying his request, the Arkansas Advocate reported Dec. 5.

Social media is highly present in the lives of many patients and physicians, which can sometimes lead patients to encounter medical misinformation that physicians must manage in their patient relationships. 

Here are 10 layoffs and closures by hospitals or health systems that physicians need to know in 2024: 

Rising labor expenses and shrinking reimbursements are putting significant pressure on hospitals’ financial health, according to Kaufman Hall's National Hospital Flash Report. 

Mara Groom, DO, has been named CMO for Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Avera Medical Group, the physician network affiliated with Avera Health, KIWA Radio reported Dec. 1. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened Houston-based Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine's Medicare and Medicaid funding in a Nov. 24 post to social media platform X, the San Antonio Current reported Nov. 27. 

The Indiana Attorney General's office will drop its case against a Carmel, Ind., physician it had previously accused of misconduct and being "unfit to practice," WRTV Indianapolis reported Nov. 26. 

Physician staffing firm NES Health is planning to shutter operations following financial challenges. 

Here are five major physician group deals Becker's has reported on in 2024:

Residents and physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston filed for unionization with the National Labor Relations Board Nov. 21, The Harvard Crimson reported Nov. 25.

Resident physicians and fellows from three Philadelphia-based systems are considering unionizing. 

A physician told Alabama's Medicaid Agency that the state must utilize newly available federal funding to address child gun violence cases, the Alabama Reflector reported Nov. 22. 

Physicians in private practices have been fighting for survival over the last several years as reimbursement rate declines paired with rising practice costs have forced many practice owners to make difficult choices. 

CMS has published its list of teaching hospitals that were awarded new Medicare-supported graduate medical education positions.

Physician-owned hospitals charge less for the same services compared to their non-physician-owned counterparts, according to multiple studies.

Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Avera Medical Group has tapped Mara Groom, DO, as its new chief medical officer. 

Jennifer Rogers, MD, has been named the new chief medical officer of Olean (N.Y.) General Hospital and Bradford (Pa.) Regional Medical Center, the Olean Times Herald reported Nov. 18. 

Medical residents and fellows at four Rhode Island hospitals affiliated with Brown University's Warren Alpert School of Medicine in Providence are looking to unionize, The Brown Daily Herald reported Nov. 19. 

Primary care physicians at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's hospitals, both part of Mass General Brigham in Boston, are eyeing a unionization vote.