In a manner that was not possible during “normal” times, the COVID crisis allowed us to implement much-needed changes and the expansion of virtual care is one of them. In addition to the growth of virtual care, increasing the healthcare workforce during a time of crisis was necessary. In all, 45 states extended licenses to out-of-state practitioners. Currently,… Read More »
Unfortunately, to date, the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve and reduce inequities in access, quality, and appropriateness of high-quality diagnosis and care, has remained more of an aspiration than a reality. There are numerous reasons for this situation; the newness of AI, the low sensitivity and specificity of the algorithms, the lack of health equity data… Read More »
Historically, healthcare systems and social safety net providers have worked in parallel to provide care to their constituents. There have been many instances of cross-pollination and mutual support, but this is not the norm, nor is it done in a manner that significantly enhances the value to all involved parties. The need for collaboration in a meaningful way… Read More »
Since the formation of the Medicare Advantage (MA) program, there has been continuous growth in the number of Medicare beneficiaries that have chosen this model of care. The reasons are numerous. For instance, the pace of growth in the number of company offerings and members has picked up over recent years, and the current projection is that MA… Read More »
As we begin to reflect on policy changes and how they impacted people during covid, It’s of utmost importance that we assess what enhanced our wellbeing and what did not. We know that a significant determinant of health, especially in children, is access to healthy food and permanent food security. One of the many policies during Covid was… Read More »
Currently, a significant portion of value-based care payments has focused on primary care-based models. Whether Medicare Advantage, Medicare Shared Savings Programs, Direct Primary Care, or other value-based programs, they all center on primary care clinicians and services. Though there are a few unique specialty-based models such as BPCI, the vast majority are not. These models have had a… Read More »
For many of us, certain technologies, including telemedicine, are viewed in a highly positive light as a methodology to increase access in a consumer-centric manner. However, there are concerns that such technology will potentially increase health disparities because of the lack of broadband access, hardware, and functional literacy. As a result of the pandemic, access to office-based visits… Read More »
The recent approval of Medicare to extend insurance reimbursement for the new Alzheimer’s drug, only when taken as part of randomized clinical trials, highlights the various issues surrounding the FDA approval of Aducanumab for treatment. This approval process for trial usage only accentuates the necessity for further investigation into this new drug that received an expedited review and… Read More »
There is considerable discussion regarding aligning incentives to lower the total cost of care, and even more specifically, on the importance of diagnostic testing, the value it might bring, its accuracy, and the shared decision-making when ordering tests. Therefore, aligning incentives around appropriate diagnostic testing is critical to both diagnostic excellence and affordability of healthcare. Additionally, an important… Read More »
As clinicians, we spend a significant amount of our time attempting to diagnose what is ailing those we treat. And we have an armament of tests to select from and an extensive list of differential diagnoses, ranging from the probable, to the extremely rare yet, potentially fatal. Understanding the effectiveness of our diagnostic tests is important from multiple… Read More »