Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Report Details Governor's Role In Boston Nursing Home's 76 Covid Deaths
The Boston Globe: Failure Of Command
Gov. Baker and a top deputy played key roles in events leading up to the COVID-19 tragedy at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, but publicly faulted others. A Boston Globe Spotlight team investigation examines what left it all but leaderless when the virus stormed in. (Ostriker and Estes, 5/20)
Politico: Nursing Homes Invoke Trump-Era Protections To Fight Lawsuits Over Covid Deaths
Nursing homes are increasingly seeking to shield themselves from a raft of wrongful death lawsuits from the families of Covid-19 victims by invoking new liability protections they received from Washington last year as the coronavirus tore through the facilities. About 200 lawsuits in nearly half the states have already been filed, and the industry says it’s bracing for many more in the coming months given the virus’ outsize toll on residents and staff. But an emergency preparedness law expanded by Congress last year limiting health providers’ exposure to coronavirus-related lawsuits — and the Trump administration’s broad interpretation of those protections — are upending litigation against nursing homes. (Luthi and Roubein, 5/22)
Axios: Pandemic Exacerbates Massive Shortage Of Health Care Workers
There are hundreds of open healthcare jobs for every applicant — and the shortfall is only growing. America is aging, and millions of recovering COVID patients will need long-term care, dramatically increasing the demand for physicians, nurses, and home health aides. But there aren't enough workers with the skills to fill these jobs. (Pandey, 5/21)
On future industry innovations —
KHN: Is Your Living Room The Future Of Hospital Care?
Major hospital systems are betting big money that the future of hospital care looks a lot like the inside of patients’ homes. Hospital-level care at home — some of it provided over the internet — is poised to grow after more than a decade as a niche offering, boosted both by hospitals eager to ease overcrowding during the pandemic and growing interest by insurers who want to slow health care spending. But a host of challenges remain, from deciding how much to pay for such services to which kinds of patients can safely benefit. (Appleby, 5/24)
KHN: No-Cancel Culture: How Telehealth Is Making It Easier To Keep That Therapy Session
When the covid-19 pandemic forced behavioral health providers to stop seeing patients in person and instead hold therapy sessions remotely, the switch produced an unintended, positive consequence: Fewer patients skipped appointments. That had long been a problem in mental health care. Some outpatient programs previously had no-show rates as high as 60%, according to several studies. (Berger, 5/24)
The Wall Street Journal: How Covid-19 Is Helping To Change The Doctor’s Waiting Room
Historically, the waiting room has served several functions. It is where doctors collect all of the necessary information (and then some) from patients via the dreaded clipboard. It is where patients settle their bills, often through a pane of glass or plastic with a receptionist behind it. And, of course, it is a holding pen for patients to wait until the doctor is ready to see them. Now healthcare providers are using technology and redesigning their facilities to change the experience and bring much of it out of the waiting room. “There should be no waiting room,” says Dr. Rahul Khare, chief executive of Innovative Care clinics in the Chicago area. “We should do what we can to eliminate that.” (Kornelis, 5/23)
