March 2020 | Volume 3
MOVING INTELLIGENT CHANGE FORWARD
INNOVATION DIGEST
If you’re reading this, you’re a) healthy, b) not a first responder in the era of COVID-19 and c) looking for other sources of entertainment and enlightenment beyond the 24/7 news cycle. I’m not suggesting to downplay the importance of scientific evidence, evidence-based care or especially the heroic efforts of clinicians, nurses, epidemiologists, modelers, public health officials and anyone volunteering themselves on the front lines. Bravo to all! Meanwhile, a few articles to keep you thinking about things we need to attend to after we all get back to (normal) work. I think some of the takeaways I’ve had in recent weeks of reflection are the importance of open sharing of data, the need to identify and ensure affordability and accessibility to the most important care (preventive! Diagnostic!) and the notion that when we have the will (even if it’s forced on us by a pandemic), we definitely have the ability to solve major problems quickly and with the patient in mind. I hope we acknowledge and carry forward these lessons.
Cancer Treatment and the Cost of Time
The conversation around the “cost” of medical treatments usually involves a few key factors. There’s the literal cost and what it means for a patient’s medical bills, and then there’s the physical and emotional tolls some treatments can take. But there’s another cost that may not come to mind quite as quickly: Time.
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People with serious illness can teach us a lot about living with Covid-19
As the U.S. grapples with a potentially deadly pandemic, it can learn a lot from people like me who are living with serious illness.
Before you throw tomatoes, hear me out. People who live every day with chronic, advanced, and complex illnesses can help shape public attitudes toward following guidelines to reduce the spread of Covid-19.
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Clinical Practice Guidelines Have Problems
A Health Affairs blog post titled "Fixing Clinical Practice Guidelines" echoed several concerns I've discussed previously: practice guidelines are being produced in abundance but often have variable methodological quality, financial conflicts of interest that threaten objectivity, and/or poor applicability to the clinicians and populations for whom they are intended.
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Where Incentives Align (or Don’t) Among Health Care Stakeholders and How They Are Evolving
The goal of all health care stakeholders—payers, providers, and health systems—is to lower health care costs and improve patient health outcomes, yet the path to getting to this goal remains questionable, partially due to incentive misalignments and competing stakeholder priorities.
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ONC's Rucker: Interoperability puts American consumers in control of healthcare
Giving patients access to their health data on their smartphones will open up new business models of healthcare, the head of the Trump administration's health IT policy arm said this week. On March 9, the Department of Health and Human Services issued two rules, one each by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), that implement interoperability and patient access provisions of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act.
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Passion + Quality = Change That Matters
  
I embrace the powerful opportunities in our evolving health care landscape. I founded Momentum Health Strategies to be a catalyst for change through continuous learning, diverse engagement and thoughtful policy and practice initiatives. I deliver innovative, strategic thinking and a passion for improving the patient experience. My personal drive and dedication to high-quality results will help you navigate the competitive terrain you face and convert your vision to action.

Momentum Health Strategies

Jennifer L Bright, MPA
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