Inconsistent ICD-10 Codes Could Hinder COVID Symptom Tracking

CIDRAP: ICD-10 Codes For Common COVID-19 Symptoms Inaccurate, Study Finds
Standard, symptom-specific international disease codes lack sensitivity and have poor negative predictive value (NPV) for characteristic COVID-19 symptoms, which could skew conclusions derived from them, a cohort study published today in JAMA Network Open shows. Researchers compared the performance of International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes for fever, cough, and shortness of breath with the electronic medical records (EMRs) of 2,201 patients tested for COVID-19 infection at University of Utah Health from Mar 10 to Apr 6. ICD-10 codes are often used for data aggregation and analysis. (8/14)

Crain's Cleveland Business: As Hospitals' Volumes Climb, Leaders Urge Patients To Seek Needed Care
After significant drops in patient volumes in mid-March and April under a state mandate to postpone nonessential surgeries and procedures, Ohio health systems are working to help patients understand that it is safe and important that they return for care. The Cleveland Clinic's patient volumes have climbed to about 85% of previous levels in January and February. University Hospitals reports that it's pretty much back to its budgeted patient levels. And Summa Health is between 90% and 100% of its pre-COVID-19 volumes across services. (Coutre, 8/16)

Albuquerque Journal: Medical Malpractice Settlements Revealed 
Details of six such settlements were published on a state Sunshine Portal in the past six weeks. Last year, the Governor’s Office started publishing state settlements online, and in July and the first two weeks of August, 11 settlements were posted. They include a $10,000 settlement against New Mexico Workforce Solutions, a $24,000 settlement against Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court and a $45,000 settlement UNM made with independent journalist Daniel Libit for not complying with state open records law. (Boetel, 8/15)

Boston Globe: Health Care Institutions, Nonprofits Team Up To Battle Hunger And The Pandemic
During the pandemic surge in the spring, Dr. Amy Smith, a family medicine physician at Cambridge Health Alliance, received a desperate phone call from one of her colleagues. The respiratory clinician on the line was about to release a COVID-19 patient to recover at home, but the individual didn’t have enough money to buy food for their family. The clinician was crying on the phone, worried that the patient would expose themselves or others to the virus if they waited in line at a food pantry. (Nanos, 8/14)

In financial news —

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Jefferson Parish Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Selling East Jefferson General Hospital
By a huge margin, voters on the east bank of Jefferson Parish approved the long-sought sale of East Jefferson General Hospital, a venerable Metairie medical institution that in recent years has seen its financial health sink into bond defaults and looming insolvency. Of the nearly 31,000 votes cast in the election, 29,198 -- a whopping 95% -- were in favor of the sale. (Roberts III, 8/15)

Modern Healthcare: Prime Completes Sale Of Bankrupt Verity Hospital
Prime Healthcare has completed the purchase of a Los Angeles-area hospital from bankrupt Verity Health after successfully dodging some of the conditions sought by the state's top watchdog. Parties wrangled over fate of St. Francis Medical Center, a 384-bed hospital in Lynwood, Calif., for months before Judge Ernest Robles gave final approval this week. California's attorney general tried to impose higher charity-care obligations and other requirements, but Robles ultimately approved the sale "free and clear" of those conditions, noting in his order that "time is of the essence." (Bannow, 8/14)

Boston Globe: Mass. Health Insurers Fared Better Last Quarter Because Fewer People Went To The Doctor 
The finances of major health insurers in Massachusetts improved during the most recent financial quarter, as many patients deferred treatments and preventive care in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Tufts Health Plan, and Fallon Health all said Friday that their operating income had risen during the three-month period that ran through June, compared with the second quarter of 2019. A primary reason, the insurers said, was that fewer people went to the doctor. (Rosen, 8/14)

Modern Healthcare: Federal Aid And Health Plan Spur ProMedica's 10.8% Q2 Margin
Not-for-profit ProMedica boosted its operating income by more than $200 million in the second quarter year-over-year, posting a margin similar to some for-profit hospitals that performed better at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica generated $189.4 million in operating income in the quarter ended June 30 on nearly $1.8 billion in revenue—a 10.8% margin. That's compared with an $18 million operating loss on $1.7 billion in revenue in the 2019 period, a negative 1% margin. The dramatic swing was driven by federal stimulus grants and a particularly strong performance by its health plan, Paramount. (Bannow, 8/14)