Twice a week, Boston-area psychiatrist Elissa Ely volunteers at a US anonymous help line for physicians in crisis. The calls she takes are often from people in deep distress — physicians having panic attacks, abusing substances or alcohol, facing divorce or alienation from family and friends. A typical call, she said, could be from “an ER doctor who vomits before she goes in for her shifts; despair and depression; suicidality.” But despite her callers’ high levels of mental distress, they’re often very resistant to her suggestions that they seek mental health care, said Ely. When she suggests doctors consider even just a “tincture” of an antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication, or find a therapist, she inevitably gets the same response, a long pause followed by a question: “Is this call really anonymous?”

Numerous studies have shown that the failure to address individuals’ housing, food, transportation, and other health-related social needs (HRSNs) can result in poorer health outcomes and increased health care costs. Elizabeth Bradley and colleagues have published several empirical research studies and a book illustrating that the underinvestment in social services relative to health care, at least in part, explains why the United States has worse health outcomes compared to other developed countries. In the absence of broader social welfare programs, the burden of trying to address HRSNs often falls on health care stakeholders, especially providers and payers.

Broken Alignment Between Physicians, Nursing Homes Must Improve for Value-Based Care Era

Skilled Nursing News | October 19, 2023

The way physicians and nursing home organizations work together must improve, especially with value-based care continuing to grow in prominence among all care settings. More specifically, C-suite executives, nursing staff and other leaders – from both the physician group side and nursing home operator end – must have a close partnership and aligned business strategies to best serve nearby communities, Dr. Arif Nazir, chief medical officer for Abode Care Partners, told Skilled Nursing News.

A broad coalition of physician groups and health care organizations is calling on Congress to continue incentives for participating in advanced alternative payment models (APMs) that include financial risk. In a letter to leaders of the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, 23 physician and health care associations and more than 600 health systems, hospitals, physician practices, health clinics and accountable care organizations asked legislators to extend the 5% incentive payments for APM participation that were part of the 2015 Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). The incentives are due to expire at the end of 2023. “The advanced APM incentive payments have allowed clinicians to cover some of the investment costs of moving to new payment models, including expanding care teams, developing programs to improve beneficiary care, and adopting population health infrastructure,” the letter states.

FLASH INTERVIEW

On occasion, we showcase one of our solution providers in a 4-5 minute interview and ask them what they bring to the VBC Community and what sets them apart. 

Today's guest:

Propelled by the vision of a healthcare system that makes better, data-informed decisions, Health Data Analytics Institute (HDAI) offers a versatile analytic platform that creates a shared understanding of quantified health risks and personalized care profiles to inform actions with the greatest potential to benefit patients. The HDAI team has extensive experience working with healthcare organizations, life science, medical technology, big data, enterprise software, and data security companies, making them experts in predictive analytics with a deep commitment to making a positive impact on US healthcare by providing a platform that can be used to improve care delivery, especially for vulnerable populations. HDAI is driven to support the clinicians and patients they serve by transforming data into insights, and insights into solutions.

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