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What We're Reading: Retail Clinics Do Not Alleviate Emergency Department Burden
What we’re reading, November 15, 2016: retail health clinics are not associated with decreased emergency department visits; House Speaker Paul Ryan will push for Medicare reform along with repeal of the Affordable Care Act; screening of donated blood finds just a fraction of units are contaminated with the Zika virus.
The increasing popularity of retail health clinics has not lowered the amount of emergency department (ED) visits for low-acuity conditions, according to a study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. The authors report that the major effect of retail clinics is “new use,” when people who would not otherwise have sought treatment visit these convenient retail settings for minor issues. People can generally discern whether they are having a true medical emergency and pick the most appropriate care setting, meaning that retail clinics do not directly compete with EDs.
House Speaker Paul Ryan is preparing for a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, and he has recently suggested that the replacement would include Medicare reforms. In a Fox News interview, he blamed the ACA for Medicare’s financial troubles, which he said would be addressed by the Republican plan to replace the healthcare law. Trump’s transition website states his administration would “modernize Medicare,” but does not include specifics.
Many American blood banks have been testing donated blood for the Zika virus at a cost of $6 to $10 per unit, even though they are not yet legally required to. They report that screenings have found only 40 positive results out of around 800,000 blood donations tested over the last 6 months. In contrast, about 1% of blood donors in Puerto Rico were infected with Zika in July.
Commonwealth Fund Report Details Pervasive Racial and Ethnic Disparities in US Health Care, Outcomes
April 18th 2024Using 25 health system performance indicators, the Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Health Disparities Report evaluated racial and ethnic disparities in health care and health outcomes both within and across US states and highlighted the urgent need for equitable health care policies and practices in the US.
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Navigating Health Policy in an Election Year: Insights From Dr Dennis Scanlon
April 2nd 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Dennis Scanlon, PhD, the editor in chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®, about prior authorization, price transparency, the impact of health policy on the upcoming election, and more.
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Study Links COVID-19 Pandemic to Rise in Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer in US
April 17th 2024There was greater use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy among US patients with ovarian cancer (OC) during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce potential COVID-19 exposure and cancer treatment-related complications.
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Exploring Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization Variations
March 26th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the March 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on variations in prior authorization use across Medicare Advantage plans.
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Need for Pharmacogenomic Testing in Mental Health Care Explored at AMCP 2024
April 17th 2024Presenters from Mayo Clinic discussed the benefits of implementing pharmacogenomic testing in mental health care for the betterment of patient outcomes, reducing medical costs, and more at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) 2024 annual meeting.
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