September 10, 2020 | Larks 1, Owls 0
INDUSTRY NEWS
A fifth of docs considering leaving primary care
Primary care is shrinking just as it is needed to help the country get back on its feet, according to data released by The Larry A. Green Center, in collaboration with the Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC). In August, 2% of practices closed, another 2% are considering bankruptcy and 10% are uncertain of their solvency for the coming month. One in five clinicians is now considering leaving primary care, and 13% are uncertain of their future in the profession. (Fierce Healthcare; PCPCC announcement)
CBO: Medicare nearing insolvency
The Congressional Budget Office now expects the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, which finances Medicare Part A, to become insolvent by 2024, two years earlier than previously forecast, The reason: COVID-19. Without Congressional action, CBO estimates Medicare spending will have to be cut by 17%—about $1,000 per beneficiary—to keep the program viable. In fact, Healthcare Dive reports that all major trust funds—for Medicare, Social Security, highway construction, etc.—will run out of reserves in the next 11 years. (Healthcare Dive)
INNOVATION & TRANSFORMATION
Is remote palliative care viable?
Palliative care can improve a patient’s—and caregiver’s—quality of life. Providing it remotely can dramatically improve access during the pandemic—and anytime, for those who can’t leave home or lack transportation." But we have to make sure it's not just a substitute for in-person care but a service that adheres to quality standards. That includes principles of good, effective communication,” Ashwin Kotwal, MD, assistant professor of geriatrics at the UCSF, tells MedPage Today. Kotwal spent the last year building a tele-palliative care program at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. (MedPage Today)
Maybe consumers aren’t so fond of digital health…
Before the pandemic, consumer adoption of digital health tools was slowing, according to a new Accenture report. “Consumers are interested in virtual services, but a cumbersome digital experience turns them off.” For example, in 2018, 48% of respondents reported using a smartphone or tablet to manage their health; at the beginning of 2020 that dropped to 35%. “Amid the pandemic, consumers with nowhere else to turn were forced to lower their expectations for the quality of digital health experiences. But as things normalize, we believe that consumers will revert to prior expectations,” the authors wrote. (MobiHealth News; Accenture report)
CONSUMERS & PROVIDERS
Food insecurity linked to CV, all-cause mortality
People who experience food insecurity in the United States have a significantly higher probability of death from any cause and cardiovascular causes, according to a study published in Health Promotion Practice. “Comprehensive and interdisciplinary approaches to reducing food insecurity-related disparities and health risks should be implemented. Including food insecurity in health risk assessments and addressing food insecurity as a determinant of long-term outcomes may contribute to lower premature death rates,” the authors conclude. (Health Promotion Practice; Helio Primary Care)
CMS launched last week the updated Care Compare site, a redesigned website that consolidates its eight online consumer tools into a single platform. The site combines the previously existing sites that allow consumers to comparison shop based on the quality metrics for hospitals, nursing homes, physicians and others. According to Modern Healthcare, the redesign is an attempt by CMS to give users a more streamlined experience using its platform. (Modern Healthcare; Fierce Healthcare)
NEW & NOTED
Larks 1, Owls 0: The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is calling for permanent year-round standard time. The position paper was published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. (AASM announcement; JCSM)
Let the sunshine in: People who are deficient in vitamin D may be at higher risk of contracting the novel coronavirus than those with sufficient levels, according to the results of a new retrospective published in JAMA Network Open. “These findings appear to support a role of vitamin D status in COVID-19 risk,” the authors conclude. (JAMA Network Open; Medscape)
Too sensitive? Standard COVID-19 tests may be too sensitive in diagnosing people carrying relatively insignificant amounts of the virus. (New York Times)
MULTI-MEDIA
COVID’s mental health toll worse than Katrina or 9/11
The mental health toll of the coronavirus pandemic seems to be far worse than previous mass traumas, Catherine Ettman, a doctoral student in public health at Brown University, tells NPR. She’s an author of the study, published in JAMA Network Open. It found that nearly a fourth of the people in the U.S. are experiencing symptoms of depression. “We were surprised at the high levels of depression. These rates were higher than what we’ve seen in the general population after other large-scale traumas like September 11, Hurricane Katrina and the Hong Kong unrest.” (NPR; JAMA Network Open)
MARKETVOICES...QUOTES WORTH READING
“Primary care, as we know it now, was born during the civil unrest of the 1960s. Social justice is woven into its fabric. Clinicians’ workloads have increased, environmental threats have increased, and they are trying to address social issues that contribute to health inequities. And still, we watch them fall. When will policy makers acknowledge primary care is too critical to collapse?”—Rebecca Etz, PhD, co-director of The Larry A. Green Center, in discussing the latest findings from the Green Center and the Primary Care Collaborative