June 11, 2020 | Triple the psychological distress

INDUSTRY NEWS

Neurological complications common in COVID-19

More than half of COVID-19 cases feature neurologic symptoms, according to a retrospective study of two hospitals published in Neurology. The symptoms emerged through all phases of infection, with severe complications such as stroke and inflammatory diseases emerging in the late stages. Neurological complications even emerged in the recovery phase. In 4.1% of COVID-19 deaths in the study, neurologic complications were considered the fundamental cause, MedPage Today reports. “Clinicians need to maintain close neurological surveillance for prompt recognition of these complications,” the researchers conclude. (MedPage Today; Neurology)

HHS calls for more demographic data on COVID tests 

U.S. laboratories testing patients for COVID-19 now must report a patient’s age, race, ethnicity, sex, zip code and type of test performed when reporting results, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced last week. The move aims to better understand why the respiratory illness affects certain demographics more severely than others, HHS said in a statement. (Reuters)

INNOVATION & TRANSFORMATION

Behavioral health integration requires tailored support

Practices currently using behavioral health integration face cultural, informational and financial barriers. Providing technical support and improved payment models may enhance the long-term sustainability of the approach, according to a new RAND/AMA study. However, that support must be tailored and context-specific, the authors warn. “We found that behavioral health integration is possible in a wide variety of medical practices, not just in primary care,” RAND’s Dr. Peggy G. Chen, a co-author of the study, said in a prepared statement. “The key factor in the success of behavioral health integration was adaptation to each practice’s needs and resources.” (Annals of Internal Medicine; announcement)

QR codes could reduce ED visits

Adding a QR code to a child’s cast can lead to fewer emergency department visits, according to a study released as part of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ Virtual Education Experience. “[M]ost patients don’t recall what you tell them in the clinic or office,” co-author John Schlechter, DO, FAAOS, explained in a statement. “If we put the QR code on the cast, they have on-demand access to instructions.” Or, as the study concludes, using QR codes “has the potential to enhance patient and parent knowledge, prevent unnecessary calls to the treating physician, and is non-inferior to current written/verbal cast care instructions.” (AAOS announcement; poster presentation)

CONSUMERS & PROVIDERS

Time for a revamp of senior care?

A “systemic underinvestment” in elder care has left workers and the seniors they care for exposed to unnecessary risk, experts tell Modern Healthcare. They expressed hope that the pandemic will lead to a new approach to post-acute and long-term care—operationally and philosophically. “Our entire healthcare system is set up to do transactions as efficiently as possible because they all follow the money, whether you are for-profit or not-for-profit,” said Dr. Vincent Mor, professor of health services, policy and practice at Brown University’s School of Public Health. “The virus has shown all the flaws that are apparent in a maximally efficient, transaction-based healthcare system.” (*Modern Healthcare)

COVID-19 era: Triple the psychological distress

Psychological distress more than tripled, jumping from 3.9% in 2018 to 13.6% in April 2020, according to a research letter published in JAMA. The survey found only a slight increase in feelings of loneliness, from 11% in 2018 to 13.8% in 2020, suggesting that loneliness is not driving increased psychological distress. “We need to prepare for higher rates of mental illness among U.S. adults post-COVID,” Beth McGinty, PhD, associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a prepared statement. “The study suggests that the distress experienced during COVID-19 may transfer to longer-term psychiatric disorders requiring clinical care.” (Science Daily; JAMA)

NEW & NOTED

Understanding PIMS: We’re learning a bit more about pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19 (PIMS). Last week, French researchers reported 108 confirmed, probable, or possible cases of PIMS in children with COVID-19. Because the number cases peaked four to five weeks after the peak of COVID-19 cases, researchers think it’s a post-infection syndrome. And a separate small prospective observational study published in BMJ suggests that PIMS is most common in children of African ancestry. (CIDRAP)

Pandemic, protests and WHO: The current episode of Kaiser Health News’ “What the Health” explores protests in the time of pandemic and the ramifications of withdrawal from WHO. It features an interview with Dr. Jonathan Oberlander, a University of North Carolina health policy professor and the editor of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, about articles examining the pandemic through the lens of health inequity and structural racism. (KHN)

Breathing room: Last week, CMS announced it is decreasing the risk requirements and moving some deadlines for value-based payment models in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes are aimed at minimizing reporting-burden and increasing flexibility for providers—something provider organizations have been lobbying for. The agency has developed a table outlining the changes for various programs. (Healthcare Dive; CMS)

MULTI-MEDIA

Balancing the need to protest with COVID-19 risk

In this 15-minute episode of Coronavirus in Context, John Whyte, MD, MPH, chief medical officer at WebMD, interviews Vice Admiral Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, the U.S. Surgeon General, about the pandemic, racism, civil unrest and public health. Adams talks about how simply protesting puts people at higher risk of COVID-19. “Really, it’s incumbent upon the leaders of this country to provide opportunities for people to feel heard in a way that doesn’t cause harm to them or their communities. That’s one of the things that I’m focused on.” (Medscape)

MARKETVOICES...QUOTES WORTH READING

“Our nation has decided that elderly people are dispensable. We are prepared to reopen the country knowing that most of the people who will suffer and die are the old and infirmed people in nursing homes, instead of recognizing the ageism in this country.”—Daniel Reingold, CEO of Hebrew Home at Riverdale in New York City, quoted in *Modern Healthcare