Some Health Providers Are Getting Paid To Answer Emails

Stat: Why One Health System Is Paying Health Providers To Answer Their Emails
It’s not uncommon for primary care doctor Maria Byron to spend hours every single week sifting through emails from patients seeking her medical advice. These messages might contain medication questions or completely new concerns patients didn’t mention during face-to-face visits. And while the University of California, San Francisco, where Byron practices, has seen volumes surge from a few hundred thousand such emails in 2016 to about two million in 2021, she and other clinicians typically haven’t been paid for answering them. “It’s become sort of this extra thing that physicians are spending multiple hours a day doing… that starts to weigh on people,” Byron said. (Ravindranath, 1/21)

In other health care industry developments —

Modern Healthcare: Florida Providers, Insurers Won't Use Federal Surprise Billing Resolution Process
Healthcare providers and insurers in Florida will use the state's own dispute resolution process for out-of-network bills instead of the controversial methodology in the federal No Surprises Act. About 30 states, including Florida, already had their own laws governing balance billing when the new federal balance billing ban was passed. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is now determining whether those state laws can supersede the No Surprises Act when it comes to issues like payment dispute resolution. This week, the agency disclosed its finding that Florida's methodology will determine payment resolution in most situations. That's on top of about a dozen other states found to have so-called "specified state laws," meaning their own laws will supersede at least some aspects of the federal balance billing law. (Bannow, 1/20)

Modern Healthcare: Florida Orthopedic Surgeons Sue HCA Over Surgical Center Deals
A group of orthopedic surgeons sued HCA Healthcare on Wednesday, alleging the health system is engaging in anti-competitive conduct and attempting to dominate the orthopedic surgical services market by eliminating competitors. A dozen doctors who part of the Kennedy White Orthopaedic Center in Sarasota, Florida, allege HCA diminished the "quality, reputation and capability of the surgical practice" by prioritizing its wholly owned hospitals as a landowner and manager, according to the complaint. HCA and the Kennedy White Orthopaedic Center have been in a partnership since 1995, where HCA serves as the General Partner and has a majority ownership of the partnership, according to the complaint. (Devereaux, 1/20)

Modern Healthcare: Humana Grows Private Equity-Backed Primary Care
Humana is continuing its investment in primary care for older adults, with plans to operate up to 260 total health centers across 12 states by the end of 2022. Across Humana's CenterWell and Conviva brands, the insurer's primary-care organization currently operates approximately 200 centers across nine states. The company plans to expand its CenterWell clinics into Arizona, Kentucky and Texas and open 26 new sites this year. It did not specify growth targets for its Conviva arm. But the company's clinic expansion is funded, in part, through a three-year, $600 million deal the company inked with private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. WCAS is the majority stakeholder in the joint venture. (Tepper, 1/20)

In news about discrimination in health care —

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Tulane Medical School Discrimination Lawsuit Settled A Year After Public Battle
A high-profile court dispute between Tulane University's School of Medicine and a former director of its residency program over allegations of racial discrimination was quietly settled last month. The lawsuit, filed by Dr. Princess Dennar in federal court in New Orleans, alleged discrimination going back a decade, unfair rotations for doctors in training in Dennar's program and unsafe conditions for patients. But court records show it was dismissed Dec. 30. Neither party commented on the specifics of the suit or the terms of the settlement, with Tulane spokesperson Michael Strecker confirming only that the lawsuit and its claims "have been resolved." (Woodruff, 1/21)

Modern Healthcare: How To Identify, Prevent Bias In EHRs
Language norms used by providers in patient medical records have perpetuated racial and economic bias, identifying a need for clinicians to be more intentional at exploring and articulating the root of a person's health problems. Electronic health records carry negative patient descriptors based on race, insurance provider and marital status, according to a report published this week in Health Affairs. That's raising concerns about bias and stigma revealed through electronic health records and its potential to exacerbate healthcare disparities during a pivotal time in healthcare. (Hartnett, 1/20)