As a physician, I was taught to diagnose and treat. Sure, I knew your social situation outside of my office played a role in your overall wellbeing, but it really was not in my differential diagnosis. Undeniably, I did what I could to help with those situations, but only within the context of increasing the ability of the… Read More »
The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated the speed at which we have converted to virtual care. Physicians and consumers have substantially increased their use of virtual visits and digital applications. This care includes interactions concerning diagnosis, evaluation, and management of conditions that historically have occurred in person. Because of this, many questions arise concerning the quality and utilization of… Read More »
What the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light is the detrimental effect of medical misinformation. We must remember the “law of rumor” is proportional to the level of ambiguity and the importance of the spreading. When there is an overwhelming feeling of uncertainty, when people feel anxious, when the information is deemed important, and whether they believe the… Read More »
As we focus on the affordability of healthcare, some turn to high deductible health plans (HDHPs) to lower costs and as a result, creating situations where consumers are at greater risk for the cost of their care. The theory is that if I must pay out of pocket, I will be more discriminating concerning my purchases and shop… Read More »
As we continue to grapple with various disease states like obesity and diabetes, which impact a significant number of people, our ability to change human behaviors is minimal. We continuously design interventions that include education and behavioral modification with limited results. In essence, we appear to be attempting to prevent water from streaming out of the hose by… Read More »
Recently, there is a tremendous amount of focus on the value of social interventions and healthcare costs. To be of optimal help to the greater society, it is important for us to thoroughly understand how to investigate the value of such interventions. In the journal, Health Affairs, a recent study by Kangovi et al. investigates the return on… Read More »
As we continue to focus on value-based care, with special attention put on the social needs of those we serve, how these investments occur becomes paramount. Historically, the buckets of allocated dollars for social needs lived in the public health sector, either by governmental or philanthropic funding. However, as we move towards value-based payment models, other delivery entities… Read More »
As we continue to focus on the social determinants of health, we spend a significant amount of attention on the financial support needed for nutrition assistance. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest food and nutrition assistance program, tasked with improving food security among low-income households. This program works by providing fiscal supplements to low-income households.… Read More »
There is a tremendous amount of focus on the value of social interventions like housing and food stability, on the cost of healthcare. For the benefit of all, we must learn how to investigate the value of these interventions. A recent study in Health Affairs by Kangovi et al. examines the return on investment for an evidenced-based community… Read More »
As we continue to focus on value-based care, with particular attention being put on the social needs of those we serve, how these investments are made is important. Historically, funding for this was part of the public health sector, either by governmental or philanthropic funding. However, as we move towards value-based payment models, other delivery entities begin to… Read More »