February 4, 2021 | Who let the COVID dogs out? Miami did.

INDUSTRY NEWS

ACA exchanges to reopen Feb. 15

HealthCare.gov will reopen for general enrollment starting on Feb. 15. It will remain open until May 15. Last week, President Joe Biden issued an executive order calling for the reopening of the Affordable Care Act’s federal insurance marketplaces. CMS will allocate $50 million for outreach, advertising and enrollment assistance. The order affects those in the states that rely on the federal marketplaces, but other states are expected to follow suit, according to an administration official. Some have already reopened their exchanges. (The Washington Post)

Public health data sharing meet HIPAA

President Joe Biden issued an executive order directing Health and Human Services to study the level of interoperability in the nation's public health reporting systems; the goal is to collect and share information on local COVID-19 outbreaks and responses. “We don’t have a national health records system among health care providers, let alone public health authorities,” said Elizabeth Litten, partner and chief privacy and HIPAA compliance officer at Fox Rothschild LLP. But ensuring patient data is de-identified in compliance with HIPAA may complicate the effort, legal experts warn. For instance, even data that’s de-identified can occasionally be traced back to individuals. (Bloomberg Law)

At least a third of COVID-19 infections asymptomatic

A new systematic review suggests at least one third of COVID-19 infections occur in people who never develop symptoms. This suggests testing should be changed, according to the authors. "To reduce transmission from people who are presymptomatic or asymptomatic, we need to shift our testing focus to at-home screening," lead author Daniel Oran, AM, tells Medscape Medical News. "Inexpensive rapid antigen tests, provided to millions of people for frequent use, could help us significantly reduce the spread of the virus." (Medscape Medical News; Annals of Internal Medicine)

INNOVATION & TRANSFORMATION

Medical boards federation develops telehealth passport

The Federation of State Medical Boards has launched Provider Bridge, which enables license portability and offers health care professionals an opportunity to help overburdened health systems through telehealth. Physicians and physician assistants can register and receive a digital Provider Bridge Passport, which collects their active licenses, disciplinary history, specialty certifications DEA registration and NPI numbers. They can then submit that passport to a health system, hospital or other care provider in need of help. (mHealth Intelligence)

CONSUMERS & PROVIDERS

Statement: Pay attention to mind, heart and body

Health care professionals should consider psychological health in adults with or at risk for cardiovascular disease, the American Heart Association (AHA) advises in its new scientific statement, “Psychological Health, Well-Being, and the Mind–Heart–Body Connection.” The statement recognizes that that psychological health can positively or negatively impact a person's health and risk factors for heart disease and stroke. It is “the first such scientific statement to more broadly address the issue of psychological health," writing group chair Glenn N. Levine, MD, tells Medscape Cardiology. The statement was published January 25 in Circulation. (Medscape Medical News; Circulation)

Grundy: Let doctors be doctors

Primary care physicians are under tremendous pressure, writes Paul Grundy, MD, president, GTMRx Institute. We make them responsible for every aspect of patient care—including medication. This is a huge burden on the doctor—and the wrong approach to medication management. To relieve the burden and improve medication outcomes, comprehensive medication management is the solution. It’s “the best way to bring about the changes we need. Optimal patient care cannot happen without a systematic approach to medication use. It’s that simple. We have to get the medications right or we are failing our patients.” (Health IT Answers)

NEW & NOTED

New ONC chief: Micky Tripathi, PhD, MPP, is new head of the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; the position doesn’t require Senate approval. “He knows about EHR adoption, he knows about interfaces—the non-sexy, hard, grinding work—but he also is always among the people pushing the front in terms of 'We can make the system better,'" says a predecessors, Farzad Mostashari, MD. (MedPage Today)

Nitrous oxide misuse growing? Use and misuse of nitrous oxide appears to be on the rise, fueled at least in part by the stress and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The inhalant is responsible for almost none of the overdose or misuse drug deaths each year, but its use can lead to death. (New York Times)

Vaccine disparities persist: Kaiser Health News offers a roundup of stories related to how a lack of access and a lack of trust create disparities between Blacks and whites in the vaccine rollout. (KHN)

MULTI-MEDIA

YouTube wants to deliver health information

In YouTube’s quest to be a reliable source of health information, it has hired Garth Graham, MD, as director and global head of healthcare. YouTube has a wealth of influencers and creators who connect with people from different walks of life; they can be used as conduits for health information, he says. He offers the example of rapper Fat Joe interviewing infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, MD, in a video that has more than 500,000 views. (Fierce Healthcare; Fat Joe interview)

MARKETVOICES...QUOTES WORTH READING

“There’s an inherent tension between the privacy needs of an individual and the public health needs of society. …Here the stakes are really high.”—said Jo-Ellyn Sakowitz Klein, senior counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, quoted in Bloomberg Law