Top News From Distilinfo Publication Of The Week - 8 Recent Payer Partnerships | Poor Personalized Healthcare Limits Healthcare Consumerism
Sunil Kumar
Founder Member & Chief Managing Editor at DistilNFO Publications / Managing Editor at Omnitalk Retail
Welcome to DistilINFO News of The Week!
Here you will find the latest news and updates from DistillINFO, our news and information platform for the Payer, Provider, IT
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1) 8 Recent Payer Partnerships
From?UnitedHealthcare?expanding its partnership with Peloton to new payer-provider health plans, these are eight payer partnerships reported by?Becker’s?
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts?said Sept. 22 it is introducing a virtual primary care offering for members through a partnership with Carbon Health and Firefly Health.
UnitedHealthcare?and Peloton said Sept. 21 they are renewing and expanding their partnership to reach more commercial members.
2) Inflation, Labor Costs Will Increase Healthcare Spending By $370B
Inflation and rising labor costs will increase US national healthcare spending by $370 billion in the next five years, according to a McKinsey?report.
Consumer prices are rising faster than healthcare inflation, but general inflation has recently driven up healthcare supply input costs.
Between 2019 and 2022, labor costs per adjusted hospital discharge rose 25 percent, pharmaceutical costs increased by 21 percent, supplies grew 18 percent, and services rose 16 percent. These costs have somewhat stabilized in 2022, but they remain high above the norm.
3) 51% of Businesses Struggle to Afford Insurance for Their Employees: Survey
Many owners of small and midsize businesses say they are struggling with the cost of healthcare premiums for their employees, a new?survey?found.?
The survey included over 250 business owners and over 1,000 general population respondents and was commissioned by online health insurance marketplace eHealth. Of the business owners, 40 percent said they are struggling to afford the cost of providing group insurance coverage to their employees, and 11 percent say they may have to stop offering coverage entirely in the future.?
4) Aetna, CVS Adding Resources and Crisis Support for Members Affected By Hurricane Ian
Aetna is?expanding?eligibility for its Resources for Living program, which connects members to community resources, to support members affected by Hurricane Ian.?
According to a Sept. 27 news release, the insurer will expand access to phone mental health support, add a dedicated crisis support website and provide community resource information. Resources for Living is typically only available to Aetna Medicare Advantage members and their families.?
5) Cigna Launches Pathwell Service for Managing Chronic Conditions
Cigna is?launching?a new concierge service, Pathwell, combining elements from Evernorth, its health services arm, to treat complex conditions.?
The Pathwell service is launching for patients who need infusions or injectable medicines and patients with musculoskeletal conditions, according to a Sept. 28 news release. The service will expand to include additional conditions in the future.?
Pathwell Service is designed to improve outcomes and reduce costs for customers and employers, the company said in the news release.?
1) Improved EHR Usability Needed to Support Care Coordination, Communication-
Efforts to optimize EHR usability for patients, caregivers, and clinicians are necessary to improve care coordination, according to a National Quality Forum (NQF)?report.
With funding from CMS, NQF convened a multistakeholder committee to identify opportunities to measure and improve care communication and coordination using EHRs.
2) ‘Meaningful Use’ EHRs May be Key to Improved Quality of Care
The use of EHRs has resulted in improved quality of care, according to a?study?published in?Journal for Healthcare Quality.
In 2011,?CMS established?the “Meaningful Use” program, now known as the “Promoting Interoperability Program,” which offers financial incentives to providers who effectively use EHRs in a way that promotes public health reporting and interoperability.
University of Missouri researchers analyzed the impact of EHRs on mortality rates for patients with various medical procedures and conditions.
3) USA Health Cuts Sepsis Mortality Rate with Oracle Cerner EHR Workflows
After?implementing?new Oracle Cerner EHR workflows and alert algorithms, USA Health reduced its sepsis mortality rate by 16.5 percent.
The health system initiated a performance improvement effort in early 2021 to reduce mortality by improving early identification and evidence-based treatment of sepsis.
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The team set out to identify opportunities to support staff in providing evidence-based care to patients through cross-department collaboration among pharmacy, nursing, quality, IT, and physicians. Ultimately, they implemented a sepsis alert algorithm in August 2021. Oracle Cerner deployed alert workflows and PowerPlans with client-developed sepsis content in October 2021.
4) Poor Personalized Healthcare Limits Healthcare Consumerism
The survey of over 3,500 healthcare consumers showed that?patient engagement and self-management are on the rise, but seven in 10 said they want their healthcare providers to be more involved in that engagement.
Specifically, patients are taking wellness and health management into their own hands, with 34 percent saying they are managing their diet and nutrition and 31 percent saying they use a?fitness tracker. Another 29 percent said they engage in physical health activities, 22 percent receive mental health services, 18 percent practice self-care activities, 12 percent use at-home diagnostics, and 12 percent use alternative therapies.
5) Patient Portal Use in Mental Health is Up, But Digital Literacy Key
This latest study looked at four years of data (2017 to 2020) from the Health Information National Trends Survey and found that patient portal use isn’t that common among those with self-reported mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.
During the study period, patient portal use rates increased from 36.3 percent to 50.4 percent, a notable increase in utilization. Overall, 47.3 percent of respondents said they use the online patient portal to manage their own mental healthcare.
1) Google CEO Pichai Tells Employees Not to ‘equate Fun with Money’ in Heated All-hands Meeting
As?Google?tries to navigate an unfamiliar environment of slowing growth, cost-cutting and employee dissent over cultural changes, CEO?Sundar Pichai?is finding himself on the defensive.
At a companywide all-hands meeting this week, Pichai was faced with tough questions from employees related to cuts to travel and entertainment budgets, managing productivity, and potential layoffs, according to audio obtained by CNBC.
Pichai was asked, in a question that was highly rated by staffers on Google’s internal Dory system, why the company is “nickel-and-diming employees”
2) Meta Makes IT Easier to Switch Between Facebook and Instagram Accounts
Meta?said?Monday it’s testing new features intended to help people easily manage their Facebook and Instagram accounts through one interface.
The move underscores Meta’s attempt to consolidate its family of apps so they aren’t so distinct from one another.
3) YouTube Shorts Adds Narration Voiceovers, a Popular TikTok Feature
YouTube Shorts continues to compete with TikTok by adding loads of new features that are popular on the other app. Today, the Google-owned platform is rolling out a?narration voiceover feature?on iOS, a tool that is already often used on TikTok.
Creators use narration to add commentary on top of already recorded videos. Such content might include cooking tutorials with instructional voiceovers, live reactions to funny videos or narrative accompaniment to “day in the life” or “my morning routine”-style videos.
4) Tesla Appoints Airbnb Co-Founder to Board
Tesla has appointed Airbnb co-founder and billionaire Joe Gebbia to its board of directors, according to a securities filing.
Gebbia, a designer who co-founded Airbnb, officially joined the board on September 25 as an independent director.
His appointment comes a?few months after leaving day-to-day operations at Airbnb. He is now an advisor to the short-term rental company and also serves on its board. Gebbia also is on the board of Airbnb.org, an organization that encourages its hosts to open homes in times of crisis.
5) Instacart Plans to Expand Its EBT SNAP Program and Enable TANF Payments
Instacart announced today that it will?expand its EBT SNAP?payments program to all Instacart retail grocery partners by 2030. The company launched EBT SNAP payments in November 2020 and has?since expanded the program?to include over 60 retailers.
The payments program is available in 49 states and will expand to Alaska next year. Instacart offers EBT SNAP acceptance through the Instacart Platform, a suite of enterprise-grade solutions that help enhance and digitize retail experiences.