May 20, 2021 | Nickeled, dimed and demoralized
INDUSTRY NEWS
Mayo/Kaiser invest in at-home acute care
The pandemic accelerated the trend of moving care out of inpatient settings, and it shows no signs of abating. Just last week, Kaiser Permanente and the Mayo Clinic announced a $100 million investment in a hospital-at-home company, Boston-based Medically Home. The model is intended to allow providers to shift acute care typically administered in a hospital to a patient's home. This will allow patients to be treated at home for infusions and conditions like cancer, infections and COVID-19, according to the companies. (Healthcare Dive)
Price Transparency: CMS issues warnings
CMS recently sent its first wave of warning letters to hospitals breaking the Hospital Price Transparency rule—specifically, failing to disclose payer-negotiated prices. Reports from the past few months indicate that hospitals and health systems are not complying with the rule, FierceHealthcare reports. Hospitals that received the warning have a 90 day window to address shortcomings. Many hospitals complain that the rule is confusing and poorly written. (FierceHealthcare)
Purchasers push for Leapfrog participation
Employers are demanding transparency. Last week several national employer groups sent letters urging hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to participate in the Leapfrog Group's safety grades, Fierce Healthcare reports. Among those behind the effort: The Health Transformation Alliance, ERISA Industry Committee, National Alliance of Health Care Purchaser Coalitions and the Business Group on Health. The organizations represent in total over 12,000 employers providing benefits for more than 55 million lives. (Fierce Healthcare; announcement)
INNOVATION & TRANSFORMATION
As part of its Health Interoperability Outcomes 2030 project, ONC wants help creating aspirational and achievable “health interoperability outcome statements.” Specifically, it wants help completing these statements: “Because of interoperability, ______ before/by 2030,” and “Because of interoperability, before/by 2030 [who] will [what].” In a recent blog post, Steve Posnack, ONC deputy national coordinator calls it “interoperability Mad Lib.” To submit, visit HealthIT.gov/HealthInterop2030 or Twitter @ONC_HealthIT with #HealthInterop2030. Submissions will be accepted through July 30, 2021. (Fierce Healthcare; blog post)
CONSUMERS & PROVIDERS
Biggest problem? Silos and lack of communication
The biggest problem in health care today? Professional silos that prevent integrated patient-centered care, according to a quarter of those surveyed in a new GTMRx survey of health care leaders. When asked specifically about managing medications, 50.3% chose lack of communication between prescribers and pharmacists. Medication costs, somewhat surprisingly, came in second (36%). “The major discussion around pharmacy benefits centers on access to and affordability of drugs, but the elephant in the room is appropriate use of all medications,” Katherine H. Capps, executive director of The GTMRx Institute, said in a prepared statement. (GTMRx Institute)
House panel hears about mental health emergencies
Police departments and mental health providers need to be better coordinated to respond to those having mental health crises, witnesses told a House hearing last week. "This patchwork typically relies too much on emergency rooms and police departments, and can result in patients languishing in emergency rooms, criminalization of persons with mental health and substance use disorders, and at times, the unnecessary and tragic loss of life," Charles Dike, MD, the medical director of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, told the panel. (MedPage Today*)
NEW & NOTED
Broken through the wall? A new Axios/Ipsos poll finds that 67% of American adults have either gotten a COVID-19 vaccine or will get it as soon as possible. The same poll shows on a separate question that 75% of respondents said they either had gotten the vaccine or were likely to get it. Both were all-time highs in Ipsos polling, CNN reports. (CNN; Axios/Ipsos)
Nickeled, dimed and demoralized: When hospitals charge patients double-digit parking fees, patients can leave the garage utterly demoralized, Kaiser Health News reports. One study found that cancer patients can pay $1,680 over the course of treatment. (Kaiser Health News)
Power outages pose threat to patients: Power outages have become more common. At the same time, Americans have increasingly benefited from in-home technology. But that technology depends on a reliable power supply. Without it, patients are at risk. (NPR/Undark)
MULTI-MEDIA
Safety, burnout and mental health
In this 6-minute video, Anne Marie Benedicto of the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare talks about mental health in health care—especially in the context of COVID-19. She also discusses “safety culture” as an antidote for burnout. (Yahoo!Finance)
MARKETVOICES...QUOTES WORTH READING
“Charging cancer patients for parking is like a knife in the back. We can’t control copays, but we can control what patients pay for parking.” — Dr. Vijay Trisal, a surgical oncologist and City of Hope’s chief medical officer, quoted in Kaiser Health News. City of Hope National Medical Center in Los Angeles is one of only 20 NCI-designated hospitals that do not charge patients for parking.