About the public’s health
Association of State Opioid Prescription Duration Limits With Changes in Opioid Prescribing for Medicare Beneficiaries: “This cohort study found that in the Medicare population, total days of opioid prescribed per enrollee decreased from 2013 to 2018, with a slightly greater reduction in states with laws restricting initial opioid prescriptions to 7 days or less, suggesting a significant but limited outcome for such legislation.”
About hospitals and health systems
Mass General Brigham posts $2.9B gain over 9 months: “Looking at the first nine months of 2021, revenues were up nearly 18 percent year over year. Mass General Brigham ended the first three quarters of this year with operating income of $507.9 million, including $232 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds to reimburse the system for lost revenue and higher expenses tied to the pandemic as well as $30 million in ACA risk corridor program subsidies for insurance coverage provided from 2014-16. In the first nine months of 2020, the system reported an operating loss of $506 million.
Mass General Brigham reported a nonoperating gain of $2.39 billion in the first nine months of 2021 and an overall gain of $2.9 billion. In the same period last year, the system reported a nonoperating loss of $192.2 million and an overall loss of $698 million.”
The results do show attention to efficiencies, but also highlight the importance of government funds as well as non-operating income, like investments. (The S&P was up 19% the first three quarters of this calendar year.)
About pharma
Pharmacies Face Extra Audit Burdens That Threaten Their Existence: “According to data from PAAS National, a pharmacy audit assistance service, while the number of pharmacy audits in 2020 declined nearly 14% from the year before, the overall number of prescriptions reviewed went up 40%. That meant pharmacies had to provide more documentation and stood to lose much more money if auditors could find any reason — even minor clerical errors — to deny payments.
The average audit in 2020 cost pharmacies $23,978, 35% more than the annual average over the previous five years, the PAAS data shows. And the number of prescriptions reviewed in September and October was fourfold over what PAAS members had seen in previous years.”
Performance evaluation of a prescription medication image classification model: an observational cohort: A fascinating look at the use of AI in making sure the medication filling process is accurate. One finding, however, was that a major source of mistakes was “system error”… “medications that share similar color, shape, and imprints with at least one common character accounted for almost 50% of the errors.” If the FDA reviewed such features before allowing manufacture, it would cut down on errors by both machines and humans.
About health insurance
CVS Health launches first nationwide virtual primary care solution: “Aetna Virtual Primary Care is available for self-funded employers and provides eligible members access to health services remotely and in person…”
Among its features are $0 co-pay for virtual primary care visits and select in-person services at MinuteClinic® and CVS® HealthHUB™ locations (which starts after the deductible is met) and in-person visits with in-network health care providers with no referral requirements.
”This new care experience is powered by Teladoc Health's longitudinal, physician-led care team model…”
Insurers came back down to Earth in Q2 following sky-high profits a year ago: A good, short overview of the top six companies in this sector.
Health Care Service Corporation Launches Biggest Expansion of Medicare Advantage Plans in Company's History: “Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), which operates health plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, announced the company is increasing its footprint in the Medicare Advantage market to serve more than 90 new counties, increasing access to new coverage options for more than 1.1M additional Medicare-eligible individuals. The expansion is the company's largest service area and product expansion in its history, particularly in rural and underserved areas.”
About healthcare IT
This week is the HIMSS annual conference. People are attending in person, though in reduced numbers. For free updates subscribe to STAT. Here is another update.
Cigna Launches World's First Voice-Activated Stress Test: Test your stress level through the links provided in this article.
New Salesforce Care from Anywhere Innovations Improve Patient Access and Deepen Relationships: Interesting to read what this company is doing in the healthcare space.