Thursday, November 8, 2018
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With Democrats winning control of the House while Republicans hold the Senate, there’s likely to be more gridlock than federal health care legislation passed—or repealed—over the next two years. One exception: Both parties vowed to lower drug prices, so bipartisanship may be found in efforts to squeeze pharmaceutical companies and their middlemen. Big changes are more likely at the state level with Medicaid expansion. Tellingly, Kansas and Maine voters gave the boot to anti-expansion Republican governors. Ballot measures for Medicaid expansion in Idaho, Utah and Nebraska passed, too.
(
Kaiser Health News
;
Stat
;
CNBC
)
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Many health care providers require patients to sign releases that allow them to use personal health data for research and financial transactions—before patients ever see the provider. The forms are seldom clear about whether or how the data will be used by insurance companies and other organizations. In this thought piece, technology researcher Mary Madden explores whether patients should be asked to provide personal data when they’re sick, in pain, and vulnerable—or when saying “no” may lead to negative consequences.
(
MIT Technology Review
)
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Innovation & Transformation
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The humble llama has advanced the scientific search for a universal flu vaccine. Scientists found that llamas naturally produce a host of tiny antibodies to battle the flu and enable them to fight more strains at one time. By collecting those antibodies from llama blood, researchers may be able to manufacture a more broad spectrum flu vaccine every year—one that could help humans fight multiple strains. The discovery is years from becoming mainstream; while testing in mice produced outstanding results, human testing is still to come.
(
Los Angeles Times
)
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Last year, the U.S. spent more than $350 billion to treat type 2 diabetes and related illnesses. But if 20 percent of the millions affected by diabetes could lower their blood glucose level by just one percent, treatment costs would drop by $10 billion each year, a new study finds. To achieve that, providers need to make education and personalized nutrition therapy a priority.
(
Consumer Affairs
;
Healthcare Finance News
)
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Retail medicine, telemedicine and digital tools dominate the health care headlines, but few consumers find new delivery modes compelling enough to adopt. A survey shows only 10 percent of consumers have experienced telemedicine or app-based care delivery, and only 8 percent have used retail clinics to access care. Consumers are less likely to choose a convenience or digital route for the kind of care that requires a trusted relationship with a provider, such as care for chronic conditions. (
Digital Commerce 360
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Oliver Wyman survey
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Young adults don’t understand why they should sit in a waiting room for a doctor when convenience care is faster and ready when they are. Retail clinics and virtual health apps, with their clear pricing and immediate access, are most appealing to millennials. They’re also less likely than older generations to establish a primary care doctor. The RAND corporation estimates there are more than 2,700 retail clinics serving patients now, offering the flexibility younger consumers value. Coupled with a shortage of primary care providers, the reliance on virtual and convenience care is likely to grow; some providers fear that could negatively impact this generation’s health. (
Healthline
)
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2019 fee schedule includes telehealth boost
:
The final 2019 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services quality payment program physician fee schedule was published last week, and included payments for doctors to communicate remotely with patients. It also expanded the list of Medicare-covered telehealth services. (
Healthcare-Informatics
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Venture capital playing in Medicare Advantage sandbox
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Big profit in Medicare Advantage plans has coaxed venture capital to fund innovative offerings that serve this growing market. Data analytics, care coordination platforms and tech suites, all backed by big venture dollars, are supporting health plans in the drive to improve health care delivery and member health.
(
Healthpayer Intelligence
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AMA to invest $15 million to prepare future physicians:
The American Medical Association will invest $15 million in new approaches to update medical training. The organization wants to standardize how doctors are trained in population health management, physician leadership, health care finance, and patient quality and safety. The organization will post a request for proposal for the “Reimagining Residency” initiative in January and announce grant recipients in June.
(
Modern Healthcare
)
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Rather than making doctors more efficient, electronic health records have expanded physician work hours and decreased face time with patients—both of which contribute to burnout. Patients, on the other hand, benefit from better safety, more efficient population health management activities and easy access to their records. Some innovators are customizing processes to make EHRs work
for
doctors rather than against them. Surgeon, author and health care CEO Atul Gawande reflects on what’s “gone terribly wrong” with the way digitalizing health records has complicated instead of simplified work—and why doctors “actively, viscerally, volubly hate their computers.”
(
The New Yorker
)
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MarketVoices...quotes worth reading
“There is indeed a hunger for a new healthcare experience, but what consumers want is not what most companies in healthcare are offering. This [survey] suggests if consumers are not yet buying, it’s because industry offerings are not yet compelling enough to overcome consumer resistance.”— Oliver Wyman health and life sciences principal John Rudoy, as quoted by
Digital Commerce 360
.
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Editor
Sandy Mau
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