Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospitals Among Biggest Polluters of Greenhouse Emissions
Modern Healthcare: Industry Accounts For 8% Of Greenhouse Gases In Recent Data
New research shows hospitals remain one of the largest polluters despite the industry's efforts to address climate change. The amount of greenhouse gas emissions that came from hospital systems increased 6% from 2010 to 2018, according to the findings of a Health Affairs study published Monday. Researchers found the healthcare industry accounted for more than 8% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2018, the highest rate among health systems of any industrialized nation. (Ross Johnson, 12/7)
In other health care industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Access Issues, Not Comorbidities, Drive Racial COVID-19 Disparities
Black and Latino COVID-19 patients' worse outcomes stem largely from not being able to access care quickly enough, rather than any underlying health conditions, according to a new study. A new study of more than 2,600 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 published Friday in JAMA Network Open found Black and Latino patients had a lower risk of mortality or critical illness and were less likely of being discharged to hospice compared to white patients. (Ross Johnson, 12/4)
Boston Globe: Baker Says Mass. Hospitals Will ‘Curtail’ Inpatient Elective Procedures Amid COVID-19 Spike
In a troubling echo of the pandemic’s early days, Governor Charlie Baker said Monday that Massachusetts hospitals will temporarily curtail inpatient elective surgeries to make room for a further influx of patients with COVID-19. Starting Friday, hospitals will limit “elective procedures that can be safely postponed,” Baker said at State House briefing. “This action will free up necessary staffing and beds.” (Abel and Andersen, 12/7)
Stat: Limbo At OpenBiome Put Fecal Matter Transplants On Hold Across U.S.
New regulations put in place because of Covid-19 have left one of the largest U.S. banks of donated stool unable to regularly ship samples to physicians and research collaborators, forcing a delay in fecal transplants across the country for most of the last six months. The extended quarantine of material from OpenBiome — a nonprofit based in Cambridge, Mass. — has likely affected fecal microbiota transplants at most academic medical centers. (Sheridan, 12/8)
Modern Healthcare: Baylor Scott & White To Cut A Third Of Its Corporate Finance Department
Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health will lay off around 100 accounting and finance employees as the largest health system in the state copes with the COVID-19 pandemic. The not-for-profit health system plans to outsource those roles to workers in India to free up capital for patient care as COVID-19 cases swell in Texas. The third-party vendor will hire some of the displaced Baylor Scott & White employees, the organization said, which has nearly 45,000 workers across its network. (Kacik, 12/7)
