About healthcare professionals
HCA to open nursing school in Virginia: “Galen College of Nursing, which is part of the HCA Healthcare network, will open a new nursing school in Richmond, Va., the organizations said Nov. 16.
This is the fourth new campus opening since Louisville, Ky.-based Galen College of Nursing joined Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA in 2020. The other new locations are in Nashville, Miami and Austin, Texas.”
About the public’s health
100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 12 months during the pandemic: “The U.S. drug epidemic reached another terrible milestone Wednesday when the government announced that more than 100,000 people had died of overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021. It is the first time that drug-related deaths have reached six figures in any 12-month period…
There are now more overdose deaths from the illegal syntheticopioid fentanyl than there were overdose deaths from all drugs in 2016.”
This excellent article also has international and interstate comparisons.
The Incidence of Breast Cancer Recurrence 10-32 Years after Primary Diagnosis: “Recurrences continued to occur up to 32 years after primary diagnosis. Women with high lymph node burden, large tumor size and ER-positive tumors had increased risk of late recurrence. Such patients may warrant extended surveillance, more aggressive treatment, or new therapy approaches.”
About hospitals and health systems
Providence posts $311M operating loss in Q3 due to higher expenses amid COVID-19 surge: “Providence Health posted a net operating loss of $311 million for the third quarter of the year as expenses for labor and other costs soared and reimbursement didn’t keep up.
The 52-hospital system announced Monday that it generated $20.2 billion in operating revenue for the first nine months of the year, a 7% bump compared to the same period in 2020. But operating expenses soared to $20.6 billion, an increase of 8%.”
CommonSpirit's quarterly patient, premium revenue up 12.3% year over year: “CommonSpirit Health reported $34 million in operating income during the first quarter of its fiscal year, down from $167 million in the same period the year before, according to financial data (PDF) released Tuesday.
With COVID-19 provider relief stripped out of its operating income, it reported $32 million, compared to an operating loss of $25 million in the prior-year quarter.”
UCI breaks ground on $1.3B medical complex: “University of California, Irvine and UCI Health began construction on their $1.3 billion medical complex, which includes a 350,000-square-foot, 144-bed acute care hospital with an emergency room.”
Despite rising personnel expenses and challenges of decreased elective procedures, hospitals are still investing in expensive new and expanded facilities.
About health insurance
New Report Finds Value-Based Care Agreements Benefited Humana Medicare Advantage Members with Reduced Hospitalizations, More Preventive Care During COVID-19 Pandemic: “The report, comprised of data collected during 2020 and representing the challenges providers and patients experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflects the outcomes and experiences of 2.65 million Humana Medicare Advantage members seeking care from 67,800 primary care physicians who are in value-based agreements.
Key Report Findings:
· Humana VBC MA members received more care and spent less time in the hospital. Incidents of costly hospital admissions were reduced by 7% and emergency room visits by 12% for members with VBC providers compared to those with Humana non-VBC providers. On average, hospital admission rates were 22% less than Original Medicare in 2020.
· Rates of telemedicine use for primary care rose faster in 2020 among Humana value-based MA members. During the initial wave of COVID cases, providers in VBC contracts used telehealth at five times the rate compared to practitioners in non-value-based agreements, according to a study of health maintenance organization (HMO) members between March 1-Sept. 30 by Humana Healthcare Research.
· Humana’s VBC agreements helped reduce total medical costs by 13.4%. More preventive care and lower rates of hospitalization led to an estimated reduction in medical costs of 13.4%, or $3.1 billion that would have been incurred by value-based members had they been enrolled in Original Medicare….
· Physicians in value-based contracts with Humana received more of the overall healthcare dollar, earning 17.5 cents of every dollar spent compared to 6.7 cents for non-value-based physicians.”
Global employer benefits costs set to rise 8.1% in 2022: Willis Towers Watson: “Employer-sponsored benefit costs are expected to rise by 8.1% on average globally for 2022, though increases vary between parts of the world, according to a new analysis from Willis Towers Watson.
The consulting firm estimates that U.S.-based benefits costs are projected to increase by 7.6%, while the highest increases are projected in Latin America, by 14.2%.”
About healthcare IT
South African company to bring health equity technologies to U.S. market: “Vantage Health Technologies, a South Africa-based company that provides cloud-based solutions for health equity challenges, is launching in the U.S.
Partnering with Microsoft, Vantage uses artificial intelligence to translate health data into actionable insights for payers, providers and government health organizations serving underserved populations.
Vantage’s platform integrates with Microsoft Teams and Outlook and is hosted on Azure, replacing health-equity-focused dashboards that require healthcare workers to run analytics and interpret the appropriate action steps themselves.”
Treatment and Follow-up Care Associated With Patient-Scheduled Primary Care Telemedicine and In-Person Visits in a Large Integrated Health System: “In this cohort study of 1 131 722 patients, adjusted rates of prescribing and nonmedication orders were significantly lower for telemedicine visits than for clinic visits, with slightly higher rates of follow-up office visits after telemedicine visits but no significant difference in rates of 7-day emergency visits or hospitalizations.
The findings suggest that video or telephone visits may offer a convenient way to address some primary care needs within ongoing patient-physician relationships, without substantially higher rates of follow-up office visits or health events (emergency department visits or hospitalizations).”
However, the population was comprised of Kaiser patients; so extrapolation of the findings to a fee-for-service setting is not a given.
Virtual Reality for Chronic Back Pain Wins FDA Nod: “An immersive virtual reality (VR) system incorporating cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and other methods was approved to help treat chronic lower back pain, the FDA announced Tuesday….
The prescription EaseVRx device consists of a VR headset and controller, with a breathing amplifier attached to the headset that directs a patient's breath during deep-breathing exercises. It is intended for home-based use.
The skill-based EaseVRx program incorporates CBT principles to engage patients in pain and symptom self-management, teaching deep relaxation, attention-shifting, awareness, healthy movement, visualization, knowledge of pain and rehabilitation, and other skills. It consists of 56 VR sessions 2 to 16 minutes long, which are part of a daily 8-week treatment plan.”