UnitedHealthcare delays ER claims policy following backlash
UnitedHealthcare's new policy, which could reject as many as 1 in 10 claims, was labeled as "dangerous" by the American Hospital Association. More
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Can a Subscription Model Fix Primary Care in the US?
Medical subscriptions, a $199 million CEO payday and the race to fix primary care in the U.S. One Medical is betting big that a subscription model can fix primary care. More
If pediatrics board can’t lead with its maternity leave policy, it should at least follow
The American Board of Pediatrics counts maternity leave as part of its 20-weeks-leave-over-three-years policy. That needs to change. More
Pharma funded more than 2,400 state lawmaker campaigns in 2020, new STAT analysis finds
STAT’s findings provide an unprecedented look at drug industry influence in state capitols across the 2020 election cycle. More
These bonuses for doctors create an immoral conflict
Many physicians' bonuses, 73% per data from 2019-2020, are tied to relative value units (RVUs), which measure time, skill and effort for each patient a physician sees. Fewer physician bonuses are tied to quality-of-care measures, or protocols and processes that encourage increased patient safety measures and decreased death rates. More
Kidney Experts Say It’s Time to Remove Race From Medical Algorithms. Doing So Is Complicated.
When estimating how well a patient’s kidneys are working, doctors frequently turn to an equation that depends on a question: Is the patient Black? More
With Roots in Civil Rights, Community Health Centers Push for Equity in the Pandemic
The covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the challenges facing rural health care, such as lack of broadband internet access and limited public transportation. For much of the vaccine rollout, those barriers have made it difficult for providers, like community health centers, to get shots into the arms of their patients. More
Racial equity is essential to hospital quality and some in Philly are falling short, new report says
“Hospitals reside in communities and are part of communities. Our view is they shouldn’t just serve a community, they should genuinely be part of a community,” said Vikas Saini, a physician and president of the Lown Institute. “A lot of the contemporary rankings that look at reputation or mortality, surgical complications, don’t capture that dimension. We set out to create a lens through which to view the hospital system that’s different.”
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Covid Was a Tipping Point for Telehealth. If Some Have Their Way, Virtual Visits Are Here to Stay.
Pressure is mounting on Congress and the Biden administration to make permanent pandemic-inspired rules that fueled telehealth growth. Some fear fraud and ballooning costs. More
Study: 1 in 5 physicians highly distressed during first COVID-19 triages
A survey of 164 New York physicians found that one in five were severely distressed during their first COVID-19 triage decisions and last-minute training did not appear to alleviate stress, according to a study yesterday in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. More
Fear of the American Health Care System Is Driving Vaccine Hesitancy
People don’t trust an industry known for bureaucratic traps and surprise billing to save them from the pandemic. More
A Tool Doctors Use Every Day Can Perpetuate Medical Racism
It’s called the “history of present illness,” or HPI, and it often includes a patient’s race—which is more likely to detract from care than to improve it More
Medicaid is a hassle for doctors. That’s hurting patients.
A new study challenges the conventional wisdom on why many doctors refuse to take Medicaid patients. More
Looking to Tackle Prescription Overload
Older adults often take more medications than they need, or than is safe. Increasingly, geriatric experts and their patients are exploring the benefits of “deprescribing.” More
At Georgia immigration jail, warnings about women’s medical care went unheeded
Federal immigration officials failed to monitor medical treatment at a South Georgia detention center where dozens of women say they underwent unwanted procedures, including hysterectomies, newly released documents show. More
‘Outrageous’: why was a US health worker charged with spreading Covid?
Attempt to hold a worker criminally liable for the spread of Covid resulted in Josefina Brito-Fernandez losing her license to work, fearing deportation More
And the ‘Shkreli Award’ goes to …
Through the years, we’ve learned not to underestimate the lengths to which institutions and individuals will go to protect their bottom lines. We like to think that no bad behavior can surprise us anymore—but then we learn better. Last year, we found a pharmaceutical company seeking the financially advantageous “orphan” drug designation for a drug it said was for a rare disease. The disease was COVID-19.
When we put all the examples of Shkreli-like behavior together, they stop looking like anecdotes and start looking like evidence. That’s the point of the awards: to highlight the structural weaknesses in health care that allow this kind of behavior to occur.
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Paid sick leave is a women’s health issue
The lack of paid sick leave for all disproportionately impacts women and exacerbates the disparities they already face in the workplace. More
Association of New Perioperative Benzodiazepine Use With Persistent Benzodiazepine Use
This cohort study examines the frequency of use and persistent use of benzodiazepines among patients undergoing major and minor surgical procedures. More
Reducing overuse of c-sections and cervical cancer screening
Overuse is ubiquitous across medical specialties, and obstetrics and gynecology are no exceptions. Two recent studies shine a light on the problem of overuse in women's health. More