August 12, 2021 | Will primary care disappear by 2026?
INDUSTRY NEWS
Will primary care disappear by 2026?
Primary care is facing “existential threats,” and primary care clinicians are worried, according to the most recent survey from the from the Larry A. Green Center and the Primary Care Collaborative. Fully 40% of respondents say they worry that primary care will be gone in five years, and 21% say they expect to leave primary care within three years. Many clinicians see a role for the federal government in changing policy in primary care. Their top request: Protect primary care as a "common good" that is available to anyone regardless of ability to pay. (PCC announcement)
Telehealth: Some restrictions return
Many states allowed medical professionals licensed elsewhere to hold telehealth visits with residents of their state during the pandemic. Some are making the change permanent. Others are not. Among those that plan to return to pre-COVID restrictions are New York, Minnesota, Florida and Alaska. In contrast, Arizona made pandemic-related telehealth waivers permanent, including requiring insurers to cover audio-only visits and allowing out-of-state medical professionals to conduct telehealth visits with patients in the state. (Healthcare Dive)
INNOVATION & TRANSFORMATION
‘Hospital at home’ improves access, benefits patients
Delivering acute care at home for non-COVID patients freed up substantial inpatient capacity during the COVID-19 surge last spring, according to research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The Home Hospital program offered a care option for patients who may have otherwise deferred care during the pandemic. “There’s also great evidence for their use when there isn’t a pandemic—patients have good outcomes, and they report great experiences receiving care at home,” corresponding author David Levine, MD, MPH, said in a prepared statement. (announcement)
CONSUMERS & PROVIDERS
Study: Diabetes increases risk of infection
Diabetes is independently associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for infection, especially for younger people and Black people, according to research published in Diabetologia. The risk of infection mortality was also greater for those with diabetes. “Comprehensive clinical guidance to improve infection-related preventive measures and early treatment of infection may reduce related morbidity and mortality in people with diabetes,” the researchers conclude. (Diabetologia; Healio Endocrinology)
Misinformation: not only from the uneducated
Physicians on the professional networking site Doximity are being inundated with anti-vaccine comments—from fellow physicians. These comments are coming from fellow physicians, because users must be practicing U.S. health-care professionals. It’s frustrating, says Dr. Paul Malarik, a retired psychiatrist. “You rarely get to the level of microchips in vaccines, but a lot of this stuff is pretty close to it. […]They’re actively working against us.” (CNBC)
Drug utilization management costs $93.3B++
Drug utilization management, including prior authorization, not only delays care, it’s also costly: Researchers estimate that at least $93.3 billion a year is spent on navigating that administrative complexity. Patients and physicians pay for most of that, but insurers and drug manufacturers also carry some of the burden, according to research published last week in Health Affairs. “All stakeholders in the US pharmaceutical system would benefit from a de-escalation of utilization management, combining lower drug prices with lower barriers to patient access,” the authors conclude. (Health Affairs; Modern Healthcare*)
NEW & NOTED
ACA and decreased cancer deaths: Cancer deaths—especially pancreatic cancer, were lower in states that participated in early Medicaid than in the states that did not. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute)
Improving data validity: NCQA announced their Data Aggregator Validation program last week. It’s designed to ensure the validity of clinical data used for quality reporting and other initiatives. (HealthcareIT News)
Test drive an antiracism model: The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai announced a three-year project that will let other medical schools test its virtual Anti-Racist Transformation in Medical Education model. Application deadline: Aug. 16. (Becker's Hospital Review)
MULTI-MEDIA
Addressing HIPAA misinformation
HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is widely cited and widely misunderstood, especially when it comes to asking about vaccination status. ABC News offers a brief primer for consumers that includes a short video. (ABC News)
MARKETVOICES...QUOTES WORTH READING
“I’m tired.” – Primary care clinicians in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Washington, California, Texas, Illinois and Oregon, responding to a survey by the Larry A. Green Center and the Primary Care Collaborative.