Several healthcare provisions, including drug reforms, were left out of the government funding bill, angering some healthcare leaders. The post Healthcare Leaders Slam Exclusion of Key Healthcare Provisions in Spending Package appeared first on MedCity News.
About six months after rolling out voice AI in its call centers, Allina Health is already seeing signs that the tool is doing a good job of improving the patient experience. The technology is reducing patients’ average call times by 5-10 seconds, and 80% of calls are now answered in 45 seconds or less. The…
How can a dental procedure impact a prosthetic joint? When you have a dental procedure, bacteria in your mouth can enter your bloodstream. This also happens during normal daily activities, such as brushing and flossing your teeth. For most people, the immune system kills the bacteria and prevents them from causing infection somewhere else in…
In this JAMA Health Forum post, Executive Vice President Larry Levitt recalls the mid-1990s’ public backlash against Health Maintenance Organizations (commonly known as HMOs) – all of which preceded the recent outpouring of health insurance concerns – as well as how consumer protections against coverage restrictions have evolved and fallen short.
It’s that time of year again: In most states, the Affordable Care Act’s annual open enrollment season for health plans begins Nov. 1 and lasts through Jan. 15. Current enrollees who do not update their information or select an alternative will be automatically reenrolled in their current plan or, if that plan is no longer…
In this brief, we explore avenues for expanding hormonal contraceptive care and supplies through pharmacies, as well as how and where pharmacies and pharmacists may be positioned to fill gaps in contraceptive care where there are few brick-and-mortar family planning providers, as well as the challenges in expanding these pathways.
By GEORGE HALVORSON MedPac has just released a report on Medicare Advantage that’s incorrect on multiple key points that need to be corrected. Medicare Advantage currently enrolls the majority of Medicare members in the country, and it’s now the new basic plan for the Medicare program because of that majority enrollment level. That’s very good…
The rapid advances in AI and smartphone technologies hold promise for many stakeholders in the healthcare system — providers, payers, pharmaceutical drugmakers and public health agencies — that need to understand what’s happening with the patient in real time. The post The Secret To Improved Population Health Management May Be In Our Pockets appeared first on…
Dr. Shantanu Nundy describes how care navigation company Accolade can help self-insured employers lower costs for providing health coverage to their employees. The post MedCity Pivot: A Chat with Accolade’s Chief Health Officer appeared first on MedCity News.
The U.S territories – American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) – have faced longstanding fiscal and health challenges exacerbated by recent emergencies. This issue brief provides background on how Medicaid financing differs between U.S. territories and states and what these differences mean…