About healthcare IT
Trump Administration Invests $72 Million in Distance Learning and Telemedicine Infrastructure in 40 States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands: This time the funds are coming from the Dept. of Agriculture.
Telehealth Patient Satisfaction Surges During Pandemic but Barriers to Access Persist, J.D. Power Finds: “The overall customer satisfaction score for telehealth services is 860 (on a 1,000-point scale), which is among the highest of all healthcare, insurance and financial services industry studies conducted by J.D. Power…
Though telehealth has been pitched as a solution to improve access to healthcare for everyone, more than half (52%) of telehealth users say they encountered at least one barrier that made it difficult to use telehealth. The most common hurdles are limited services (24%); confusing technology requirements (17%); and lack of awareness of cost (15%). Additionally, 35% of telehealth users indicate they experienced a problem during a visit. Tech audio issues (26%) are the most common problem…
Overall satisfaction is 117 points lower among patients with the lowest self-reported health status than among patients who consider themselves to be in excellent health. Similarly, healthier patients are significantly more likely to understand the information provided during the visit, receive clear explanations, feel their visits are highly personalized and obtain a high-quality diagnosis…
Among patients who used a telehealth offering this year, 46% say their top reason for choosing telehealth was safety. That compares with just 13% in 2019.”
About health insurance
HCA to return $6B in CARES Act funding, including more than $4B in Medicare accelerated payments: “In a release, officials at the Nashville, Tennessee-based health system giant said they took a conservative approach to address operational and financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Using available cash and future cash flows from operations, officials said they plan to repay the $1.6 billion in Provider Relief Funds HCA received and $4.4 billion in Medicare accelerated payments.”
CMS alerts providers to changes to Medicare advance loan repayments, giving hospitals more time: “Now, providers have until one year after the first payment was issued to start repaying. Once that first year ends, Medicare will automatically recoup 25% of the Medicare payments otherwise given to a provider or supplier for 11 months.
At the end of that 11-month period, the recoupment will increase to 50% for another six months.
If a provider or supplier can’t repay the total amount during this 29-month period, CMS will issue letters calling for the repayment of any outstanding balance with an interest rate of 4%.”
Average Family Premiums Rose 4% to $21,342 in 2020, Benchmark KFF Employer Health Benefit Survey Finds: “Annual family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose 4% to average $21,342 this year, according to the 2020 benchmark KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey. On average, workers this year are contributing $5,588 toward the cost of family coverage, with employers paying the rest.” Look through the executive summary and graphics for this report. It is an excellent summary of employer sponsored health insurance.
High-Quality Care for Medicare Beneficiaries Continues as Medicare Health and Drug Plans Receive Star Ratings: “Most Medicare beneficiaries – about 77 percent – who enroll in Medicare Advantage plans with drug coverage will be in plans with four or more stars in 2021. That compares with 69 percent of beneficiaries enrolled in such plans in 2017…
[Also}, Medicare beneficiaries will have access to higher-quality stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. Based on current enrollment, about 98 percent of beneficiaries enrolled in stand-alone prescription drug plans for 2021 will be in plans with 3.5 stars or higher, an increase from about 70 percent in 2020.”
About pharma
Final Results of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ ACTT-1 Trial Published in New England Journal of Medicine Expand Clinical Benefits of Veklury (remdesivir) for the Treatment of COVID-19: “Overall, treatment with Veklury Resulted in Five Days Faster Recovery and Reduced Disease Progression Compared with Placebo. Veklury Reduced Mortality by 70 Percent at Day 29 in Patients on Low-Flow Oxygen at Baseline in Post-Hoc Analysis.”
As Trump touts his ‘great’ COVID drugs, the pharma cash flows to Biden, not him: “Reversing a trend in which contributions from drugmakers’ political committees and their employees have gone largely to Republican candidates for president and Congress, so far for 2020 the industry has tilted toward Democrats.”
Trump pushes FDA to quickly clear coronavirus antibody treatments, erroneously calling them a ‘cure’: The headline speaks for itself. Of note is that the treatment was made from stem cells derived from aborted fetuses, which the Trump administration bars for use (the ones used were from before the ban, so are “allowed.”). See: Trump’s antibody treatment was tested using cells originally derived from an abortion.
Effect of Hydroxychloroquine in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19: From the RECOVERY Collaborative Group: “Among patients hospitalized with Covid-19, those who received hydroxychloroquine did not have a lower incidence of death at 28 days than those who received usual care.” Can we finally put this issue to rest?
About the public’s health
COVID-19 Is Now the Third Leading Cause of Death in the U.S.:”COVID-19 became the third biggest cause of deaths in the week of March 30 to April 4, trailing heart disease and cancer. It killed more people than stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, kidney disease or influenza.”
The bizarre abortion order just handed down by the Supreme Court, briefly explained: You will need to read the details to fully appreciate the issue. Briefly, the case hinges on whether relaxation of dispensing abortion medication during the COVID-19 pandemic should be allowed. The SCOTUS punted.
New test detects coronavirus in just 5 minutes:”Researchers have used CRISPR gene-editing technology to come up with a test that detects the pandemic coronavirus in just 5 minutes. The diagnostic doesn’t require expensive lab equipment to run and could potentially be deployed at doctor’s offices, schools, and office buildings”
.About healthcare quality
Effect of Patient Financial Incentives on Statin Adherence and Lipid Control: “Compared with the control group, different financial incentives improved measured statin adherence but not LDL-C levels. This result points to the importance of directly measuring health outcomes, rather than simply adherence, in trials aimed at improving health behaviors.” The study emphasizes the importance of measuring actual versus surrogate outcomes.
Ambulatory Follow-up and Outcomes Among Medicare Beneficiaries After Emergency Department Discharge: “In this cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries discharged from the ED, nearly 30% lacked ambulatory follow-up at 30 days, with variation in follow-up rates by patient and hospital characteristics. Having an ambulatory follow-up visit was associated with higher risk of subsequent hospitalization but lower risk of mortality. Ambulatory care access may be an important driver of clinical outcomes after an ED visit.” There needs to be actual, not presumed, handoffs to assure continuity of care.
About hospitals and health systems
Atrium, Wake Forest Baptist merge to create 42-hospital system:”With the transaction complete, Wake Forest Baptist Health and Wake Forest School of Medicine will become the "academic core" of Atrium Health. The health system said it plans to build a second campus of the school of medicine in Charlotte.”
About healthcare technology
CurveBeam’s CT Imaging System Gets CE Mark: “The system, which can scan anywhere along the lower extremity from the hip and pelvis to the feet, allows patients to stand naturally on both feet during a CT scan. It requires minimal patient radiation shielding and is designed for ease of use.”