 (COVID-19) pandemic began in the United States in late winter and early spring last year, health care workers and first responders have reported extreme amounts of stress. 

 conducted in 2 counties in Utah and Colorado in April and early May 2020, before that region experienced its first surge of cases. 

The survey of first responders, including police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and health care workers, found that they are at risk for psychiatric illnesses at severity levels higher than other national disasters, including 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. On today’s episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Andrew Smith, PhD, a coauthor of the paper and a faculty member at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He is the founder and director of the Occupational Trauma Program and holds a joint appointment at the VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System as a health psychologist.

In addition to the University of Utah researchers, other scientists on the paper include those from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; University of Colorado, Colorado Springs; Central Arkansas VA Health Care System; Salt Lake City VA Healthcare System; and the National Institute for Human Resilience.

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On this episode, we speak with the coauthor of a paper looking at the mental health stressors facing first responders and health care workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The paper found that a sizable number of these frontline workers are at risk for psychiatric illnesses at severity levels higher than other national disasters, including 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.

Mental Health Dangers for the Front Lines During COVID-19

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

This week, the top managed care news included President Joe Biden's executive orders to reform public health; incoming CDC Director to prioritize communication, coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine rollout; CMS finalizes rule on electronic prior authorization.

Read more about the stories in this podcast:

Focusing on Public Health, Biden to Seek Change With Numerous Executive Orders

New CDC Guidance to Base State COVID-19 Vaccine Supply on Administration Rates

CMS Finalizes Rule on Electronic Prior Authorization

Promoting Equitable Access to Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Crisis

Podcast: This Week in Managed Care—Executive Orders on Public Health Reform and Other Health News

Even before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic prompted a sweeping shift toward telemedicine instead of in-person care, technological innovations were not reaching all patient populations evenly, creating a “digital divide” between those with access and those without. Understanding these disparities and ensuring more equitable use of telemedicine has become even more imperative during the pandemic.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we’re talking with 2 coauthors of an Original Research article published in our 

Differences in the Use of Telephone and Video Telemedicine Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic

,” describes patterns of telemedicine visits by patients’ race, ethnicity, age, and language amid the pandemic in Spring 2020.

The authors joining us are Dr Jorge A. Rodriguez and Dr Ishani Ganguli, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Barriers to Accessing Online Medical Records in the United States

Addressing Evolving Patient Concerns Around Telehealth in the COVID-19 Era

Patient Experience After Modifying Visit Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The authors of a Clinical research article in the January 2021 Health IT issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® discuss their findings and suggestions for making telehealth access more equitable for all.

This week, the top managed care news included new CDC guidance to base state COVID-19 vaccine supply on administration rates; a report finds record drop in cancer mortality but persistent disparities; Jardiance moves 1 step closer to FDA approval for use in heart failure.

ACS Cancer Statistics Report Shows Record Drop in Cancer Mortality, But Persistent Disparities

Jardiance 1 Step Closer to FDA Approval for Use in Heart Failure

Sleep Difficulties, Muscle Weakness May Persist 6 Months After COVID-19

Examining the Shift to Value-Based Kidney Care Delivery in 2021

Podcast: This Week in Managed Care—CDC Guidance on State Vaccine Supply and Other Health News

In 2021, CMS is launching new payment models to address the high cost of care for Medicare beneficiaries with kidney disease and to improve patient outcomes. 

 (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are among the most expensive conditions in Medicare; about 37 million Americans have CKD and 725,000 have ESRD. The situation is expected to get worse as the population ages, rates of diabetes and obesity soar, and demand for dialysis increases.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Brandi Riddle, who recently joined 

 as its chief financial officer. Strive Health is a value-based kidney care company that works with payers and providers to create an integrated care delivery system for CKD and ESRD. We discuss the changes coming to nephrology practices, as well as new ways of looking at the whole patient to try and halt the slide to irreversible ESRD.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the new chief financial officer of Strive Health, a value-based kidney care company that works with payers and providers to create an integrated care delivery system for chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). We discuss the changes coming to nephrology practices, as well as new ways of looking at the whole patient to halt the slide to irreversible ESRD.

This week, the top managed care news included FDA advising against changes to vaccine dose schedules; drop in mammography screenings during the first months of the pandemic; first anti-TIGIT therapy granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA.

What We're Reading: FDA Stands Fast on COVID-19 Vaccine Dosing; Haven Dissolves; Moderna Boosts Dose Supply

Mammography Screenings Dropped, Advanced Breast Cancer Cases Increased in First Months of COVID-19

FDA Grants Tiragolumab Breakthrough Therapy Designation for PD-L1–High NSCLC

Azacitidine Shown to Improve Overall, Relapse-Free Survival in Older Adults With AML

Podcast: This Week in Managed Care—FDA Addresses Vaccine Dose Schedules and Other Health News

This week, the top managed care news included the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine shipments arriving nationwide; FDA panel votes to expand use of heart failure drug; efforts to address social determinants of health amid the pandemic.

What We’re Reading: AstraZeneca to Buy Alexion; CDC Guidance on Vaccine, Allergy Concerns; First Vaccines Headed to States

FDA Panel Votes to Expand Use of Heart Failure Drug, but Doesn't Agree How

Managing Social Determinants of Health During COVID-19

COVID-19 and Health Disparities: An Opportunity to Refocus Resources?

Poll: The Top 5 Non–COVID-19 News Stories in 2020

Paper of the Week: Regulating the Pharmaceutical Industry: Who Really Benefits?

Podcast: This Week in Managed Care—First COVID-19 Vaccine Shipments and Other Health News

As 2020 ends, the last interview in a year-long series running during the 25th anniversary of 

) is with the journal’s co-editors-in-chief, Michael E. Chernew, PhD, and A. Mark Fendrick, MD.

This episode of Managed Care Cast is a preview of that conversation, which appears in the December issue. Chernew and Fendrick discuss which issues they think President-elect Joe Biden should prioritize, including the sustainability of Medicare, a continued way forward for the Affordable Care Act, and value-based insurance design, particularly as the continued coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic continues to stress every aspect of health care.

This episode of Managed Care Cast is a preview of an interview with Michael E. Chernew, PhD, and A. Mark Fendrick, MD, the co-editors-in-chief of The American Journal of Managed Care®, which appears in the December issue of the journal.

Advice for the Biden Administration About the Challenges in Health Care

 for more severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). But recently reported cases of 

 among those with no preexisting risk factors suggest the 2 conditions may have a bidirectional relationship.

Interested in these rare cases, which don’t appear to fit the typical 2 types of 

, Francesco Rubino, MD, a professor of metabolic and bariatric surgery at King’s College London, along with a cohort of clinicians from around the world, devised a global registry of COVID-19-related diabetes to better track and understand this condition.

 Registry was created to establish the extent and characteristics of new-onset, COVID-19-related diabetes, and to investigate its pathogenesis, management and outcomes. On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Rubino about these new cases, the registry’s progress, and future implications of COVID-19-related diabetes.

Diabetes Risk Factors Dominate Top Causes of Global Mortality, Heighten COVID-19 Risks

Kaiser Study: Severe Obesity Boosts Risk of COVID-19 Death, Especially for the Young

Hyperglycemia Is an Independent Risk Factor of COVID-19 Mortality

Experts Issue Guidance on Concurrent COVID-19, Diabetes Treatment

COVID-19 Risk Demonstrates Importance of Keeping Diabetes Under Control

In this episode of Managed Care Cast, Francesco Rubino, MD, discusses the potential bidirectional relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and diabetes.

Database Helps Clinicians Determine Whether COVID-19 Causes Diabetes

 indicate encouraging steps forward in the global fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). But all 3 vaccines are still a long way from becoming readily available to the wider public, prompting the question, who should be prioritized once doses become available?

To provide guidance on this front, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and CDC requested The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to construct a 

 assisting US policy makers and global health communities to plan for an equitable allocation of a COVID-19 vaccine.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Jewel Mullen, MD, MPH, the associate dean for health equity and associate professor of population health and internal medicine at the University of Texas at Austin, 

. Mullen is the former principal deputy assistant secretary for health in HHS and a member of the National Academies committee which developed the framework for vaccine allocation.

Mullen discusses criteria used to prioritize vaccine recipients, barriers to equitable distribution, and the role of misinformation in the push for an effective COVID-19 vaccine.

Pfizer Says Vaccine 90% Effective; Biden Team Announces COVID-19 Transition Panel

Study Backs Decision to Move Forward With Pfizer Vaccine Candidate

Moderna SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Elicits Response in Older Adults

Dr Maura Abbott: Talk to Your Patients About Their Vaccine Fears

Dr Maura Abbott: COVID-19 Vaccine Development Process Is Safe Despite a Quicker Timeline

Dr Victoria Smith on Experience Taking Part in a COVID-19 Vaccine Trial

Recently released vaccine data indicate encouraging steps forward in the global fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). When vaccine doses first become available, who should be prioritized? 