Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospitals To Get $103 Million In Covid Funds To Tackle Worker Burnout
Modern Healthcare: HHS Slates Funding To Address Healthcare Workforce Burnout
HHS on Friday said it would make approximately $103 million in American Rescue Plan funding available to tackle healthcare worker burnout and promote mental health in the industry. The funds, released by the Health Resources and Services Administration, will go toward several programs to help healthcare organizations in rural and medically underserved communities build resiliency among newer healthcare workers and mentor providers on how to respond to stressful situations. HRSA will distribute the money over a three-year period. (Devereaux, 7/16)
Modern Healthcare: First Half 2021 Marks Record High Healthcare Data Breaches
Healthcare providers, insurers and their business associates have already reported 360 data breaches to the federal government in the first half of 2021—outpacing the same period for all previous years. Those 360 breaches exposed data on nearly 23 million patients, according to data from HHS' Office for Civil Rights, which began maintaining a database of healthcare data breaches in 2010. Last year, organizations reported 270 breaches of 8 million patients' data in the first six months of the year; in 2019, around 230 breaches that exposed data on 11.2 million patients. (Kim Cohen, 7/16)
Modern Healthcare: Hospital-Run Retail Pharmacies At Risk Of Extinction
Intermountain Healthcare's decision to shutter most of its outpatient pharmacies underscores the increasing reality that hospital-owned retail pharmacies are a dying breed. Health systems have shown they're increasingly willing to outsource outpatient pharmacy services to CVS Health or Walgreens and part ways with what's often a money-losing endeavor. Only about one-quarter of health systems had a centralized retail or mail order pharmacy in 2019, according to the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. "I haven't seen too many of those left, to be honest," said Brian Tanquilut, a healthcare services analyst with Jefferies. (Bannow, 7/16)
Axios: Patients Cared For By Female Physicians Had Lower In-Hospital Mortality
The in-hospital mortality rate among patients treated by physicians who were women was lower compared with those cared for by physicians who were men, a recent study published in JAMA found. To be clear, the difference was small. But it supports previous evidence that suggested women often have different behavioral characteristics in care such as spending longer time communicating with patients, showing higher levels of empathic concern or providing more time researching studies and observing health records. (Fernandez, 7/19)
In corporate news —
The Boston Globe: Hasbro Children’s Hospital Selected To Help Improve Equity In Children’s Health Care
Hasbro Children’s Hospital is one of 12 pediatric facilities chosen to help transform child health care delivery in the U.S. The Providence-based hospital, which is owned by Lifespan Corp., is participating in a program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will work with the Center for Health Care Strategies to develop ways to make child health care “more equitable and family focused.” Each hospital in the program will receive a $2,500 stipend. Representatives from the 12 hospitals will meet once a month for nine months to create a guide to making pediatric health care more equitable. The work will focus on adopting anti-racist practices to advance health equity, co-creating equitable partnerships with families and providers, and identifying family strengths and health-related social needs to “promote resilience.” (Gagosz, 7/16)
Georgia Health News: What A Controversial List Says About Nonprofit Hospitals’ Charity Record
Grady Memorial Hospital ranks first, and Piedmont Hospital last, in a report rating the 10 largest nonprofit Atlanta/Athens area hospitals on their spending on charity care and other community health initiatives. The “Fair Share’’ ranking, from the Lown Institute, was released this week and has already generated controversy. (Miller, 7/16)
North Carolina Health News: The Demise Of Cardinal Innovations
Beset by “greed” and “avarice.” “Irresponsible” and “unconscionable” behavior. “Extravagant” and “excessive” spending that “eroded the public trust. ”These are just some of the ways that lawmakers and health care experts across the state have described the life – and ultimate demise – of Cardinal Innovations, the state’s first mental health local management entity-managed care organization (LME-MCO) since it launched in the early 2000s. (Gulledge, 7/19)
