About health insurance/insurers
NCQA annual report You can search by state and/or number of stars. Only 5 Five star plans this year.
About pharma
DIY medicine draws frustrated patients to online forums An interesting article about how patients are looking to lower costs for medications by adopting DIY solutions.
About the public’s health
Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance [AMR] 1990–2021: a systematic analysis with forecasts to 2050 “Our findings show the importance of infection prevention, as shown by the reduction of AMR deaths in those younger than 5 years. Simultaneously, our results underscore the concerning trend of AMR burden among those older than 70 years, alongside a rapidly ageing global community.”
For more details, read the “Findings” section. Unfortunately antibiotics are much less profitable than other medications, so the desire to invest in these medications is not great. Government intervention would be helpful in promoting drug development.
Vaping Is Harming College Students' Brains, Study Shows “Students who vaped 10 to 20 puffs per day had scores 9% lower than those who did not vape or smoke, while those who vaped more than 20 puffs a day had scores nearly 14% lower, researchers found.”
Microplastics in the Olfactory Bulb of the Human Brain “The presence of microplastics in the human olfactory bulb suggests the olfactory pathway as a potential entry route for microplastics into the brain, highlighting the need for further research on their neurotoxic effects and implications for human health.”
Evidence for widespread human exposure to food contact chemicals[FCCs] “Over 1800 food contact chemicals (FCCs) are known to migrate from food contact articles used to store, process, package, and serve foodstuffs. Many of these FCCs have hazard properties of concern, and still others have never been tested for toxicity. Humans are known to be exposed to FCCs via foods, but the full extent of human exposure to all FCCs is unknown…
Based on two subsets totalling 410 FCCs, this study further identifies 105 FCCs of high concern due to their hazard properties and highlights the many data gaps related to hazards and human health risks. We make these data accessible in the user-friendly, freely accessible FCChumon dashboard…
UK urged to tax ‘unhealthy’ food companies to boost national health “Reduced illness could save NHS £18bn per year by mid-2030s, says think-tank.
The UK should increase tax on tobacco, alcohol and “unhealthy food companies” to raise £10bn a year by the end of the decade to boost the nation’s health, a leading think-tank has said.”
Such taxation works to reduce unhealthy consumotion, but the push-back from affected interest groups makes their enactment very difficult.
About healthcare IT
Healthcare IT spend balloons “Healthcare providers and payers increased their IT spend in the last year and many see additional budget bumps in the future, according to a report compiled by KLAS and Bain & Co.
The report surveys 150 healthcare provider and payer executives across the U.S. More than half of providers said software and technology investments were in the top three priorities for their organizations, and around 80% indicated their IT budgets increased in the last 12 months.
The top five software and digital technology priorities for providers this year include:
1. Infrastructure and services (with cybersecurity)
2. Clinical workflow optimization
3. Data platforms and interoperability
4. Revenue cycle management
5. Patient engagement
EHRs were No. 6 on the list and telehealth was No. 8. The top pain points for new technology were costs, EHR integration and streamlined data access. The leaders surveyed also cited interoperability and cybersecurity vulnerability as big challenges for new technology integration.”
About healthcare personnel
Future of the U.S. Healthcare Industry:Healthcare Labor Market Projections by 2028 You can download the full report from this site; but first look at the excellent interactive map.
About health technology
Class I Recalls of Cardiovascular Devices Between 2013 and 2022: A Cross-Sectional Analysis “Cardiovascular devices with Class I recalls were infrequently subjected to premarket or postmarket testing, with recalls affecting thousands of patients annually.”