Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
Federal Health Policy Update for February 6
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for the week of January 23 to February 6. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. 340B Pharmaceutical companies may restrict the ability of providers to use specialty and community pharmacies to distribute 340B-covered drugs, a federal appeals court has decided. See the court’s ruling here. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has revised its fact sheets about COVID-19 public health emergency waivers and flexibilities for different types of providers, updating which [...]
“Hospital at Home” Growing
The concept of treating “hospitalized” patients at home could play a more prominent role in the delivery of hospital services in the coming years. Hospital at home programs have been around for decades but took on greater importance when COVID-19 began filling hospital beds. With many communities experiencing a shortage of beds, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued an “acute hospital care at home waiver” in November of 2020 to help compensate for the bed shortage and encourage home programs. Now that the COVID crisis has passed, health [...]
Hospitals Improving Electronic Data Exchange
Hospitals are improving their interoperability and doing a better job of exchanging health data electronically, according to a review by the federal Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). According to a new ONC report, In 2021, more than 6 in 10 hospitals engaged in key aspects of electronically sharing health information (send, receive, query) and integrating of summary of care records into EHRs, a 51 percent increase since 2017. Availability and usage of electronic health information received from outside sources at the point of care significantly [...]
States Look to Take on Prior Authorization
The majority of states may act on insurer prior authorization practices in the coming year and even though the year is still only a month old, 16 states are already considering legislation to do so. The desire to act on prior authorization comes as providers continue to express dismay over delays in insurer review of the courses of treatment they seek to initiate for their patients, with some providers maintaining that those delays are jeopardizing the well-being of those patients. Insurers, meanwhile, insist that their reviews are necessary to ensure [...]
Telehealth Not Improving Opioid Treatment
Telehealth is not improving access to help for patients with opioid use disorders, a new study has found. Instead, use of telehealth is comparable to visits to providers’ offices when it comes to access. According to the analysis, Results of this study revealed that clinical outcomes were similar among patients who were treated by clinicians with high and low telemedicine use during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that telemedicine is a comparable alternative to in-person OUD care. There was no evidence that telemedicine was associated with increased access to or improved [...]