MOVING INTELLIGENT CHANGE FORWARD
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I love a good debate. So, it’s not surprising that many of the articles in this edition put out some unique viewpoints about transparency, what really drives patient decision-making and payment and structural aspects of our healthcare system. Regardless of your take on the issues, I think a universal opinion is that our current status quo isn’t delivering consistently or effectively for patients, for clinicians, for payers. Common sense solutions are emerging — expanding reimbursement to social determinants, outcomes based contracting, emphasizing transparency - but need vigorous leaders in all sectors to build momentum.
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Column: Health insurance companies are useless. Get rid of them
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The most perplexing aspect of our current debate over healthcare and health coverage is the notion that Americans love their health insurance companies.
This bizarre idea surfaced most recently in the hand-wringing over proposals to do away with private coverage advocated by some of the candidates for the Democratic nomination for president. Oddly, this position has been treated as a vote-loser.
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Why Doctors Should Organize
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In the fall of 2018, the American College of Physicians published a position paper on gun violence. “Firearm violence continues to be a public health crisis in the United States,” its authors wrote, in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. The report argued that assault weapons should be banned and that “physicians should counsel patients on the risk of having firearms in the home.”
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CMS takes steps to promote antibiotic drug development
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The CMS on Tuesday revealed the steps it will take to promote development of new antibiotics, including realigning financial incentives and looking at new stewardship guidelines. In a blog post, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said that the majority of drug-resistant infections and related hospital deaths affect Medicare beneficiaries, and the agency wants to do its part to combat that threat.
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Gain Insights About Your Patients' Preferences for Care Settings
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In a recent survey, out-of-pockets costs and wait times had a limited impact on patient choice of care settings.
When patients choose a care setting, the main drivers are the nature of medical conditions and patient characteristics, new survey data indicates.In recent decades, healthcare providers have developed several alternatives to traditional physician office and emergency room visits, including urgent care centers, retail clinics, telemedicine, and app-driven home health visits.
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Hospitals, Insurers Pan Proposed Price Transparency Rule - Will push prices, premiums higher, they say
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The Trump administration's recent efforts to make hospital prices more transparent are leaving hospitals and insurers cold. "We share the Administration's commitment to empowering patients with better information about the costs of their care and lowering costs," Matt Eyles, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group for health insurers, said in a statement Monday.
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Taking a More Active Role: The Main Ingredient for Controlling Prescription Drug Costs
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On a larger scale, employers know they can’t really do anything about the cost of drugs unless the government steps in, said Cheryl Larson, vice president of the Midwest Business Group on Health. But what they can do is review the performance of their PBM and work off that to manage costs.
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With the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, pharmaceutical and medical device firms were required to report payments that they make to physicians to the federal government. Administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Open Payments program aggregates this payment information and makes it publicly available.
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Big Data, Big Tech, and Protecting Patient Privacy
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The market for patient data has never been more active. Technology companies, from startups to giants, are eager to access electronic health record (EHR) data to build the next generation of health-focused products. Medical artificial intelligence (AI) is particularly data-hungry; large, representative data sets hold promise for advancing not only AI companies’ growth, but also the health of patients.
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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.
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Momentum Health Strategies
Jennifer L Bright, MPA
(703) 628 - 0534
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