Literature Review

Top 5 digital health priorities for health systemsBecker's Health IT, by Giles Bruce; 1/31/24Nearly two-thirds of health system C-suite leaders say digital health is easing access to care, though using it to improve patient experience has fallen as a tech priority for executives, a new study found. ... [According] to the Jan. 22 report from management consultant Sage Growth Partners ... [here are] the top five digital health priorities for the next 12 months, per the survey of 108 hospital and health system C-suite executives:

The new source of power is not money in the hands of a few, but information in the hands of many. - John Naisbitt

Northwestern’s medical residents and fellows vote to unionizeChicago Sun Times, by Violet Miller; 1/29/24Interns, residents, chief residents and fellows at the McGaw Medical Center voted 794 to 148 in favor of union representation, an NLRB spokesperson said.

Medical aid in dying waiting period would shorten from 15 days to 48 hours under Colorado billThe Denver Post, by Meg Wingerter; 1/28/24A bill (SB 24-068) in the Colorado legislature would shorten the mandatory waiting period for medical aid in dying from more than two weeks to two days, opening the option to more critically ill people, but raising concerns for some about rushed decisions. It would also allow people who aren’t Colorado residents to end their lives under the state’s law, and let advanced practice registered nurses prescribe the drug cocktail.Publisher's note: The Denver Post is the source article. If you run into a paywall, the Greeley Tribune is running the same story without a paywall. A similar story is running in the Colorado Sun without a paywall.

Has Medicare Advantage lost its luster?Becker's Payer Issues, by Rylee Wilson; 1/29/24Though Medicare Advantage enrollment keeps climbing, the program may not have the profitability it once did for insurers. In a January analysis shared with Becker's, Moody's analysts wrote that the program "seems to be losing some of its luster," facing a significant increase in medical costs and lower reimbursement rates from CMS. Earnings in Medicare Advantage shrunk by 2.1% among the insurers Moody's rated from 2019 to 2022, despite premiums and members growing by 40% in the same time period.

NJ Governor signs Medicaid palliative care bill into lawC+TAC press release; 1/23/24New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed AB 5225 into law on December 21, 2023, requiring the development of a palliative care services benefit aimed to improve the quality of life for Medicaid beneficiaries with serious illness and their caregivers. 

Introducing the expanded JAMA Internal Medicine Editorial FellowshipJAMA Intern Med, by Michael A. Incze, MD, MSEd; Kenneth E. Covinsky, MD, MPH; Sharon K. Inouye, MD, MPH; 1/29/24We are pleased to announce the launch of our new Editorial Fellowship program at JAMA Internal Medicine. Educating clinicians and future leaders in internal medicine is a core part of JAMA Internal Medicine’s mission, and the journal has had a robust Fellowship program for medical trainees since 2015. This year, we will grow our Fellowship program, inviting early-career faculty to apply for an immersive 1-year program that provides longitudinal mentorship and hands-on experience in learning how to work as a member of the editorial team at a leading, widely read, high-impact internal medicine journal.

New, grant-funded health care high schools aim to help address N.C. staffing shortagesNC Health News, by Jennifer Fernandez; 1/30/24Efforts in Durham, Charlotte will graduate hundreds of students who are ready to fill jobs in health care professions facing shortages. ... A new $29.5 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies will provide more opportunities for students in Durham Public Schools to explore health care careers. Those students will be able to get jobs that pay well right out of high school.

CMS must ‘ease burdens’ if it wants more long-stay residents in value-based care: report McKnights Long-Term Care News, by Kimberly Marselas; 1/29/24The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must do more to move states away from an “extremely bifurcated” Medicare and Medicaid system that sometimes leaves dually eligible beneficiaries confused about their care and coverage, analysts said Monday. Roughly 1 million long-stay nursing home residents are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. In its new report, ATI Advisory found that they were more likely to be hospitalized and have a Medicare-covered SNF stay than their community-dwelling peers.

In the hospital? Don't overlook the chaplainNext Avenue, by Alice Tremaine; 1/30/24Chaplains are the hospital's best-kept secret. Best-kept secret from patients, that is. Most of the hospital staff has figured out just how helpful chaplains can be, and will call the chaplain for everything that's difficult, scary or just plain weird: an unruly patient, a patient who received terrible news, a nurse who believes a hospital room is haunted, a mistress who showed up while the patient's wife is in the room.Editor's Note: Click here for "Common Qualifications and Competencies for Professional Chaplains," by the Board of Chaplaincy Certification, Inc.

Recommendations for supporting healthcare workers' psychological well-being: Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemicHealthc Manage Forum, by Melissa B Korman, Lisa Di Prospero, Tracey DasGupta, Mark Sinyor, Samantha J Anthony, Monika Kastner, Janet Ellis, Rosalie Steinberg, Robert Maunder; 1/30/24 Healthcare workers are at risk of adverse mental health outcomes due to occupational stress. Many organizations introduced initiatives to proactively support staff's psychological well-being in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, ... [such as] the STEADY wellness program, ... in a large trauma centre in Toronto, Canada. Program implementors engaged teams in peer support sessions, psychoeducation workshops, critical incident stress debriefing, and community-building initiatives. ... [This] article describes recommendations for future hospital wellness programs.

First-ever survey of LGBTQIA+ older adults cheered by senior living provider groupsMcKnights Senior Living, by Lois A. Bowers; 1/29/24A planned first-ever statewide survey of LGBTQIA+ older adults in California is drawing cheers from senior living industry advocates. Responses to the online survey, conducted by the California Department of Aging and a statewide coalition of LGBTQIA+ community-based organizations and research partners, will form a baseline data set to inform plans for tailored services, the CDA said in an announcement, which described the survey as “groundbreaking.”

Aging Media Network, a WTWH Healthcare Company, announces the Frontline Honors Class of 2023Home Health Care News, by Jessica Longly; 1/30/24Aging Media Network, a WTWH Healthcare company, is proud to announce the Frontline Honors Class of 2023. With nominations in the categories of Behavioral Health, Home Health & Home Care, Hospice & Palliative Care, Senior Housing & Senior Living, and Skilled Nursing (SNF), the program showcases exemplary character and performance of frontline workers across the care continuum.