March 4, 2021 | Impact of delayed care during pandemic

INDUSTRY NEWS

KFF: To lower spending, pay Medicare rates

Total health care spending for the privately insured population would be an estimated $352 billion lower in 2021 if employers and other insurers reimbursed health care providers at Medicare rates. This is a 41% decrease from the $859 billion projected to be spent in 2021, according to analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The resulting savings would be spread among employers ($194 billion) and employees ($116 billion), and the non-group market ($42 billion), assuming proportional savings throughout the private insurance market. (KFF)

JAMIA: Burnout potential of HITECH Act underestimated

Clinicians and health care experts alike dramatically underestimated the degree of clinician burnout that would result from passage of the HITECH Act in 2009 and the subsequent increase in EHR adoption. At the same time, they overestimated the concern over patient privacy and fraud, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. But they were warned: Back in 2009, experts made several recommendations that may have helped to mitigate some of that burnout. Few were implemented. (JAMIA; EHR Intelligence)

INNOVATION & TRANSFORMATION

Frist: Do these three things to reduce waste

To reduce health care spending and waste, create a centralized claims clearinghouse, streamline prior authorization and improve quality reporting, according to physician and former Senator Bill Frist. “While our nation’s health care delivery model has room for improvement in many areas, targeting waste and excess in the administration of the system is truly low-hanging fruit. Here, private-sector technological solutions, paired with effective public-sector guide rails, will be able to achieve a great deal of cost savings as well as introduce much-needed efficiencies,” he writes in a Health Affairs Blog post. (Health Affairs Blog)

CONSUMERS & PROVIDERS

Impact of delayed care during pandemic

Over a third of US adults aged 18-64 delayed or missed medical care in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, according to an Urban Institute report; 32.6% of them said the gap worsened their health conditions or limited their ability to work or perform daily activities. Dental care was the most common type of care that adults delayed or did not receive because of the pandemic (25.3%), followed by general doctor or specialist visits (20.6%) and preventive health screenings or medical tests (15.5%). (Medscape; Urban Institute report)

DIY COVID therapy keeps poison control busy

Toxicologists across the country have reported a pandemic-driven uptick in poisonings related to at-home coronavirus remedies. People are moving on from unproven treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, but they are turning to others. Poison centers are getting 40 to 50 calls per day over pre-pandemic times, and people are ingesting everything from equine medicine to hand sanitizers. WHO and the FDA have launched campaigns to investigate fraudulent claims and to help people identify and report potentially false information. (ABC News)

Interprofessional collaboration improves outcomes

Interprofessional collaborative practice (ICP) among providers in the primary care setting leads to markedly better patient outcomes in patients with hypertension and diabetes, according to analysis published in JAMA Network Open. The ICP approach can also help the practices themselves. “Concurrently, aging populations with chronic conditions may overwhelm primary care systems. ICP appears to be a plausible option for areas with limited access to care and in patients with poorer diabetes control.” The take-away: “Adults with diabetes and/or hypertension should receive team-based care to improve outcomes.” (JAMA Network Open; HCPLive)

NEW & NOTED

Upcoding more common? Hospital upcoding appears to be on the rise. The number of inpatient stays billed at the highest severity codes increased almost 20% from fiscal years 2014-19, according to the Health and Human Services Department's Office of Inspector General. However, the data indicate that patients aren't sicker. (Modern Healthcare*)

More benefits of collaborative care: Collaborative care with cognitive behavioral therapy may alleviate symptoms and improve functioning among adolescents with persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS), according to research published in JAMA Network Open. “Overall, this study suggests that collaborative care with CBT may be helpful to adolescents experiencing PPCS for symptom reduction and improving sleep, functioning, and suicidal ideation.” (JAMA Network Open; Helio)

Cover COVID tests: CMS released guidance last month requiring group health plans to cover COVID-19 tests even in the absence of symptoms or suspected exposure. Testing must be covered without cost-sharing, prior authorization or other medical management requirements. Becker’s Payer Issues offers details. (Becker's Payer Issues)

MULTI-MEDIA

A new doctor, a pandemic and the ICU

Kaiser Health News reporter Jenny Gold spent eight months following one first-year medical resident working on the front lines of the pandemic: Stanford med school grad Dr. Paloma Marin-Nevarez, who graduated in June. The story appeared as an episode of Reveal, a podcast from the Center for Investigative Reporting. (Reveal)

MARKETVOICES...QUOTES WORTH READING

"There have been some notable, very unfortunate occurrences of people who have fatally ingested pool cleaner because they were told it could kill COVID-19," —Dr. Joshua Nogar, the medical toxicology fellowship director at Northwell Health and an emergency medicine physician, quoted by ABC News