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EPtalk by Dr. Jayne 12/23/21

December 23, 2021 Dr. Jayne 1 Comment

I haven’t been anywhere near the physician water cooler this week, but around the healthcare IT water cooler, the hot news (as expected) is the Oracle acquisition of Cerner.

I haven’t heard any optimism around it. Most of the comments are of the “lots of organizations have tried to succeed in healthcare and they all fail” variety. Many see it simply as a way for Oracle to increase its customer base as well as it being a win for Epic since customers who might have debated between it and Cerner choose the path that isn’t about to undergo changes to leadership and strategy.

I’ve been involved in a couple of EHR replacement evaluations where Cerner was a contender, but failed to win the deal despite being less costly than the alternative. Primary care physicians tend to find it underwhelming for high-volume ambulatory practices. It will be interesting to see if Oracle does any better at winning those hearts and minds with their promises of voice recognition-based workflows and automation of care delivery.

As far as the virtual hospital hallways are concerned, I’ve been in contact with several friends who are nurses, one of whom is currently infected with COVID-19. They’re irate at suggestions that infected healthcare workers should be subject to shorter isolation periods to avoid straining the US healthcare system. Especially with many healthcare organizations continuing to fail at providing adequate personal protective equipment, including N95 masks, asking those who have shouldered the burden of care to put themselves at additional risk working alongside COVID-positive colleagues is something we never imagined would be suggested at this stage of the game.

My COVID-positive friend, who happens to be an ICU nurse, commented on how beneficial it has been for her to actually sleep for as long as her body needs. She has found her isolation to be somewhat restorative even though she is having mild coronavirus-related symptoms. Asking for additional sacrifice from those workers to care for what truly has become a pandemic of the unvaccinated just rubs salt on existing wounds and will not bolster the morale of healthcare workers. I would propose that if anything, it makes them feel that people think they are expendable.

Another hot topic among healthcare policy friends is the jump in US health spending. The number topped $4.1 trillion for 2020 as we attempted to fight COVID-19 in our dysfunctional and misaligned way. Case in point: COVID testing. My county testing with no direct cost to patients through multiple drive-through clinics. Results are generally delivered same day via email. Appointments are readily available on its website, with dozens of unclaimed appointments each day. Despite this, I see dozens of posts every week in various community-focused Facebook groups and other forums where patients are looking for open slots at CVS, Walgreens, and other pharmacies because they are booked solid.

My former clinical employer is running four testing sites that do several hundred visits each day, but with a twist – they require each patient to be seen by a licensed provider (MD, DO, NP, PA), which results in a full visit billed to the insurance company. Since patients don’t incur that cost up front, they don’t understand that what could have been a relatively cost-effective testing visit has been inflated by a factor of 10. Even if they don’t pay the cost out of pocket, they’re going to pay it down the road through increased insurance premiums and shifts to cost sharing.

These processes are why spending has jumped nearly 10%, double its usual rate, with no corresponding improvement in outcomes. I don’t think people realize that $1 of every $5 in the economy is going to healthcare. Even if people did, I’m not sure it would have much meaning to them.

Other interesting tidbits in the report, since it’s hiding behind a paywall:

  • Health spending works out to approximately $12,500 per person.
  • The count of uninsured individuals held steady, although there was a shift in those covered from workplace-based policies to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
  • Medicare beneficiary counts grew more slowly due to significant numbers of deaths in those aged 65 and older.
  • Individual out-of-pocket spending decreased due to deferred care, such as postponed surgeries and screening procedures.

The latter two are certainly negatives in my book. Where senior citizens accounted for roughly 15% of all COVID-19 cases, they represented 80% of the deaths. The loss of so many family members and loved ones is tragic. I’m fortunate that the elders in our family are extremely healthy and their living situations allowed them to be protected thus far, but plenty of my friends and colleagues have lost an entire generation to the virus.

I’m hearing a lot more this year about people planning to test prior to family gatherings. Hopefully that will help prevent at least a small amount of transmission and reduce the strain on our overwhelmed healthcare workers. I’ve been generally pre-quarantining just to be on the safe side, but not everyone has the luxury of working from home.

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I enjoyed attending the Consumer Electronics Show last year, even though it was virtual. There were plenty of products to check out and many of the companies did a great job trying to engage the virtual audience. Obtaining a media registration last year was easy, but they made things trickier this year for me since a photo is required even for digital attendees. My credentials are still pending approval, so there’s no guarantee I’ll be on prowl in the virtual exhibit hall this year. I’ve lived a full year without the $16,000 bathtub I was eyeing last year, so I guess if I can’t attend, I will survive. One of my colleagues is attending in person and I’m a bit jealous, but I’ll be holding down the fort while he’s gone and will have to rely on him for the in-person buzz.

What conferences are you looking forward to attending this year, or do you think COVID-19 will keep us all close to home again? Leave a comment or email me.

Email Dr. Jayne.



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