Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Everyone Likes Their Jobs Better Than Health Care Workers: Survey
Fierce Healthcare: Healthcare Ranked Lowest For Employee Satisfaction, Survey Finds
Healthcare ranked last for employee satisfaction compared to 27 other industries, according to the 2023 Healthcare Experience Trends Report from Qualtrics. The survey of 3,000 healthcare employees across 27 countries paints a grim picture, reporting that only half of healthcare employees believe they are paid fairly, 38% report they are at risk of burnout and 39% are considering leaving their organizations. Qualtrics also surveyed 9,000 consumers, finding that hospitals ranked among the lowest across industries for satisfaction. (Burky, 1/19)
More on health care staffing —
The Boston Globe: New Legislation Would Boost Nurse-To-Patient Ratios In Mass
As hospitals continue to struggle with overcrowding and understaffing, Massachusetts nurses are making a new push to limit the number of patients that can be assigned to a registered nurse at one time — a measure that advocates say would increase patient safety and lure more nurses back to the workforce. (Bartlett, 1/19)
KHN: Luring Out-Of-State Professionals Is Just The First Step In Solving Montana’s Health Worker Shortage
Jenna Eisenhart spent nearly six years as a licensed therapist in Colorado before deciding to move to a place with a greater need for her services. She researched rural states facing a shortage of behavioral health providers and accepted a job as a lead clinical primary therapist at Shodair Children’s Hospital in Helena, Montana, in January 2018. But she couldn’t start her new job right away because state officials denied her application for a license to practice in Montana on the grounds that her master’s degree program required only 48 credits to complete instead of 60. (Larson, 1/20)
In other health care industry updates —
Axios: Study Finds Hospitals Are Still Not Posting Prices
Only 19% of hospitals fully comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule that requires facilities to post estimated costs for items and services, an analysis published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine has found. The U.S. continues to spend more on health care than other countries for less value, and federal efforts to bring transparency to pricing have so far yielded little. (Dreher, 1/19)
AP: Mississippi Board Approves Operation Of Burn Center At UMMC
The University of Mississippi Medical Center has received permission to provide care for burn patients, months after another hospital closed the only other burn center in the state. The governing board for the state’s eight public universities met Thursday and approved the medical center’s request to operate a burn center on UMMC’s main campus in Jackson. (1/19)
Fierce Healthcare: UnitedHealthcare launches behavioral health coaching program for commercial plans
UnitedHealthcare is rolling out a new virtual behavioral health coaching program backed by Optum. The offering is available as of Jan. 1 for 5 million fully insured members, and self-insured employers can also purchase the program as an employer benefit. Through the program, adults with symptoms of mild depression, stress and anxiety can access support for their mental health needs through virtual modules as well as one-on-one video conferences, phone calls or messaging with coaches. (Minemyer, 1/19)
NPR: Therapy By Chatbot? The Promise And Challenges In Using AI For Mental Health
Advances in artificial intelligence — such as Chat GPT — are increasingly being looked to as a way to help screen for, or support, people who dealing with isolation, or mild depression or anxiety. Human emotions are tracked, analyzed and responded to, using machine learning that tries to monitor a patient's mood, or mimic a human therapist's interactions with a patient. (Noguchi, 1/19)
