Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Eases Fears That Capping Hours For Doctors In Training Has Ill-Effect On Patients
The Associated Press: Shortening Trainee Doctor Hours Hasn't Harmed Patients
When reforms shortened working hours for U.S. doctors-in-training, some worried: Was that enough time to learn the art of medicine? Would future patients suffer? Now a study has answers, finding no difference in hospital deaths, readmissions or costs when comparing results from doctors trained before and after caps limiting duties to 80 hours per week took effect. (7/11)
Stat: Study Says Limits On Residency Work Hours Didn't Affect Doctor Performance
They compared the outcomes for patients of two groups of physicians: those trained before 2003, when the typical work week was 100 hours; and those trained later under the new rules, which capped weekly hours at a mere 80, with no individual shift exceeding 30 hours. For the three quality measures examined — mortality within 30 days of being hospitalized, readmissions, and hospital services used (a measure of efficiency) — they found no differences between the groups. (Joseph, 7/11)
In other news —
The Wall Street Journal: Doctor Visits Could Provide Relief To Uber And Lyft
Uber and Lyft have long been competing to take riders to work, to the movies or to the airport. Increasingly, they also are jockeying for the chance to give patients subsidized rides to the doctor’s office. Both ride-share giants have been hard at work to build a footprint in an industry known as nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT), which helps mostly elderly and low-income patients lacking reliable transportation options to get to medical appointments. (Forman, 7/10)
