December 2, 2021 | Doctors must ensure data sharing doesn’t confuse patients

INDUSTRY NEWS

10x: HHS provides numbers on surprise billing

Surprise medical bills are relatively common among privately insured patients and can average more than $2,600 for surgical assistants, according to a new HHS report issued in advance of the No Surprises Act taking effect. Patients who receive an unexpected bill for emergency care pay more than 10 times the amount paid by emergency department patients who don't receive such bills. Employer-sponsored insurance doesn’t necessarily protect consumers: Roughly 18% of emergency department visits by individuals with large employer coverage resulted in one or more out-of-network charges. (Healthcare Finance; report)

Unsupported drug price hikes cost $1.67B in 2020

Of 10 drugs that had substantial 2020 price hikes, seven didn’t have any evidence supporting the increase. The result: Patients and health insurers in the U.S. will have spent an additional $1.67 billion last year, according to analysis by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. “Even more concerning, several of these treatments have been on the market for many years, with scant evidence that they are any more effective than we understood them to be years ago when they cost far less,” says ICER Chief Medical Officer. (STAT News; Institute for Clinical and Economic Review)

INNOVATION & TRANSFORMATION

Patients with active portal have shorter LOS

Having an active patient portal account is linked to a shorter average hospital length of stay for both COVID-19 and heart failure patients, according to a recent analysis of data from Epic's Health Research Network. The portal users with COVID-19 had an average stay length that was 0.09 to 1.1 days shorter, and the users with heart failure had an average stay length that was 0.3 to 0.6 days shorter. “[O]ur data show that a more engaged patient, as defined by an active patient portal account, may contribute to a decreased length of stay,” the researchers write. (Becker's Health IT; EHRN)

Look up to the skies and see….

In an agreement with Intermountain Healthcare, drone startup Zipline plans to begin delivering medicine and other supplies to homes in Salt Lake City. Its fixed-wing drones have been transporting medical supplies to rural clinics in Rwanda and Ghana since 2016. Zipline said it expects to make its first deliveries in the spring of 2022. Intermountain Healthcare plans to expand to deliver a range of medications and products, including prescriptions, specialty pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter items, and to reach hundreds per day within four years of launching the service. (Bloomberg*; announcement)

CONSUMERS & PROVIDERS

Doctors must ensure data sharing doesn’t confuse patients

The new rule on medical information-sharing has come into effect before providers and patients are ready to communicate clearly, warns Dr. Eliana Perrin, a primary care pediatrician and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins’ schools of nursing and medicine. Transparency can strengthen doctor-patient relationships, but there are two problems: First, most providers write their notes so that other medical professionals can understand them. Second, labs often share results before the physician can review them. (Bloomberg*)

Telehealth results in fewer lab, imaging referrals

Primary care visits conducted via video or the phone result in fewer imaging orders, according to research published in JAMA Network Open. Primary care physicians ordered lab tests or imaging after 59% of in-person visits, while only 29% of video visits and 27% of phone consultations resulted in lab tests or imaging. “In contrast to direct-to-consumer telemedicine, in this cohort study of patients using telemedicine to visit their own primary care physicians, we did not find evidence of overordering or overprescribing,” researchers concluded. (Radiology Business; JAMA Network Open)

NEW & NOTED

COVID risk and mental illness: Several studies linked mental health disorders with higher risk of both COVID-19 infection and of serious outcomes. Why are people with mental illness at higher risk of COVID? Experts explain some of the reasons why. (NPR)

Dogsomnia? Roughly half of all pet owners let their pets sleep in bed with them. Do you? It could impair the quality of your sleep—but probably not much. (New York Times*)

A foot in the door? Embedding what was termed a “comprehensive” medication management program in a podiatrist-led multidisciplinary wound care clinic provided evidence that supported potential benefits of CMM services to patients with lower extremity ulcers. It also gives pharmacists the opportunity to collaborate with other disciplines such as podiatry and promote the importance of comprehensive medication management. (Journal of the American Pharmacists Association)

MULTI-MEDIA

Blood draws could replace invasive cancer screening

So for decades, scientists have been working on ways to screen for cancers using a simple blood draw—a blood biopsy. We’re getting closer. (ABC News)

MARKETVOICES…QUOTES WORTH READING

“The 21st Century Cures Act had the right intention, but it has come into effect before the health-care system was ready. Now, action is needed to make sure transparency leads to better health, not greater confusion and anxiety for patients and burnout for providers. Only then can the legislation achieve its ambition."—Dr. Eliana Perrin, a primary care pediatrician and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins’ schools of nursing and medicine, quoted in a Bloomberg* opinion piece