Advancing Health

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[SPONSORED] Strategic Planning Imperatives for Hospitals and Health Systems to Get Right Jun 10, 2022

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Strategy. Transformation. Both are integral to today’s most successful health care planning agendas and associated initiatives. Accenture’s perspective on what, why, and how hospitals and health systems are planning strategic agendas brings new perspective on these approaches. Rather than taking a more traditional linear approach to strategic planning, hospitals and health systems that successfully plan focus on creating an integrated “Connected” plan leading to more actionable and sustainable outcomes. BayCare understands this well. Join us for a discussion on various approaches hospitals and health systems can take when establishing their strategic plans, and hear insights from BayCare about their experiences and benefits from adopting a “Connected” transformation planning approach and the lessons they learned along the way. Today’s podcast is brought to you by Accenture.

#WeAreHealthcare : Sustaining a Healthy Workforce with Phelps Health Jun 08, 2022

Show notes

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the health care workforce. Despite these challenges, the staff team at Phelps Health continue to grow through a series of initiatives designed to create a culture of trust and bring all staff members into crucial decision-making processes. In today's episode Elisa Arespacochaga, AHA vice president of clinical affairs and workforce, sits down with Jason Shenefield, CEO at Phelps Health in Rolla, Missouri to discuss the innovative approaches Phelps has taken to grow and sustain a healthy workforce.

Encouraging COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant women Jun 01, 2022

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Pregnant women around the country faced uncertainty upon the arrival of COVID-19. The medical community identified significant knowledge gaps in the impact of the virus on mothers’ and babies’ health at all stages of pregnancy. Knowing more about the impact of the virus on pregnancy and the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women is vital for treatment and prevention. In this episode, Dr. Rachel Humphrey, director of AdventHealth for Women’s Maternal-Fetal Medicine, joins Kathy Cummings, director of communications at AHA, to talk about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines for both mom and baby, the critical role physicians play in addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, and how doctor-patient relationships are strengthening during this pandemic.

Transforming Pediatric Mental Health: Partnerships and Integration at Rady Children's Hospital May 27, 2022

Show notes

Between 2011 and 2015, the number of children presenting to the ED for behavioral health concerns at Rady Children’s Hospital increased by 500%. To decrease the need for emergency behavioral health care services and to improve the early identification and treatment of symptoms, the Rady team developed their Transforming Mental Health Initiative, which integrates behavioral health services into the pediatric primary care setting. In this Members in Action podcast, Rebecca Chickey, AHA’s senior director of behavioral health, is joined by Domonique Hensler, Senior Director of Care Redesign Planning and Mental Health Integration, and Dr. Benjamin Maxwell, Interim Division Director of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, to discuss this care model’s positive outcomes for patients, families and providers.

Celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month May 26, 2022

Show notes

May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and it is an opportunity to reflect on the generations of Asian Americans who have enriched America’s history and celebrate the nearly 20 million Asian American individuals who are instrumental to our country’s future success. In this podcast, Joy Lewis, AHA’s senior vice president of Health Equity Strategies and executive director of the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity is joined by Janet A. Liang, executive vice president, group president and chief operating officer, care delivery, Kaiser Permanente to discuss her experience as an Asian American health care leader, challenges within the Asian American community and what this month means to her.

[Special Edition]: Insurers’ “white bagging” drug policy threatens patient safety May 24, 2022

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Increases in consolidation and alignment between commercial health plans and pharmacy benefit managers have resulted in a series of business practices designed to steer patients to insurer-affiliated pharmacies and away from patients’ longstanding providers to the detriment of patient care. Under new policies being implemented by a number of large commercial insurance companies, they steer patients to third-party specialty pharmacies – often owned by the same parent company as the insurer – to acquire medication necessary for clinician-administered treatments, such as chemo infusions. Commonly referred to as “white bagging,” this practice raises significant patient safety issues, results in frequent delays in care and shifts tremendous administrative burden to hospitals to reconcile these policies on behalf of their patients. To examine this concerning trend, we hear from Mark Howell, AHA’s director of policy and patient safety, and Michelle Millerick AHA’s senior associate director of health insurance coverage policy.

[SPONSORED] Loyola University Health System’s Pop-Up Laboratory Strengthens Clinical Collaborations May 20, 2022

Show notes

Join us to hear how Loyola University Health System’s new laboratory approach during the COVID pandemic was able to broaden communication and collaboration between clinicians and hospital leadership, improve patient outcomes and streamline process efficiencies while also increasing visibility for the system and reinforcing Loyola as a premiere resource for diagnosing and treating illnesses. Today’s podcast is brought to you by the College of American Pathologists.

A Sustainable Community HUB and Wellbeing Collaborative in Winona Minnesota May 18, 2022

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Winona Health and the Winona Wellbeing Collaborative have addressed the fragmentation and silos between local agencies and providers. Hear from Rachelle Schultz, Ed.D., CEO, Winona Health and community leaders how the Pathways Community HUB model was used as a framework in designing the Winona Community HUB to serve the unique needs of the region. A community connector from Live Well Winona tracks the progress of clients through the HUB model, which is sustained by commercial payments for completed pathways.

[Special Edition]: Medicare Advantage: New Trends Raise Concerns about Access to Care May 13, 2022

Show notes

Medicare Advantage or MA Plans are another way for beneficiaries to get Medicare Part A and Part B coverage delivered through private insurance companies. MA Plans adhere to the rules set by Medicare to cover beneficiaries, but their benefits are delivered by Medicare approved private companies. MA plans are part of a broader trend towards public sources of coverage, like Medicare and Medicaid, increasingly relying on private health plans to provide or administer their health benefits. Last year 42 % of all Medicare beneficiaries got their. benefits through private MA plans. Enrollment in these plans is growing at nearly 10% per year. There is serious concerns that coverage and patient access are being eroded as a result of health insurer efforts to restrict access and that there is a tremendous burden on health care providers to manage these insurer policies. In fact the HHS Office of Inspector General recently published a report finding that MA plans have exhibited a pattern of denying prior authorization and payment requests that would have covered by original Medicare. These types of denials have raised fears about certain insurer practices, which may impede beneficiary access to medically necessary care. Joining the podcast today to discuss the trends of how Medicare Advantage plans may affect patient care is Michelle Millerick, AHA's Senior Associate Director of Health Insurance Coverage. (Recorded at AHA's Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.)

Applying an Equity Lens to Digital Health May 11, 2022

Show notes

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital solutions, including mobile health apps, patient portals and telehealth serve as a critical access point for health care providers to reach patients. However, many individuals have not been able to benefit from these digital solutions. In this podcast, Julia Resnick, director of AHA’s Strategic Initiatives is joined by Priya Bathija, vice president of AHA’s Strategic Initiatives and Sarah Swank, Counsel at Nixon Peabody. Priya and Sarah will discuss their upcoming article on digital health equity in a special edition of the American Health Law Association Journal of Health and Life Sciences Law. Here, they discuss barriers to access digital solutions and the role of health care leaders, including attorneys, in improving digital health equity.

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