Hospitals In Focus

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Better Data, Better Outcomes: New Data is Changing Care at Inpatient Rehab Facilities Apr 28, 2021

Show notes

COVID has drastically changed the health care delivery system, perhaps even permanently. Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs), like those operated by Encompass Health, stepped up during the pandemic by partnering with acute care hospitals to help patients recover from the virus. It once again showed how critical IRFs are to the care continuum by making sure patients received the right care in the right setting.

Encompass Health President and CEO Mark Tarr discusses the impact of COVID-19 on IRFs, as well as the innovative ways his company is using new sources of data to inform clinical decisions and improve patient outcomes. Additionally, Chip and Mark touch on the importance of relevant, up to date data on implementation of the IMPACT Act and the Review Choice Demonstration.

Learn more about post-acute care providers in the time of COVID by listening to The Role of Long-term Acute Care Hospitals During COVID-19 with Ben Breier.

Surviving COVID: How Physicians are Providing Vital Care and Keeping Practices Open Apr 07, 2021

Show notes

Patients often form strong and long-lasting bonds with their care providers and COVID-19 has drastically altered that ever-important doctor-patient relationship. Visits have moved online and fear of the virus has some patients skipping care altogether. This raises three concerning questions for physicians: how are patients with chronic diseases managing their treatment without regular in-person care; are patients putting their lives at risk unnecessarily by delaying care and screenings; and how will their practices survive through the pandemic so they can continue caring for their communities?

Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, and a practicing allergist/immunologist, joined Chip to discuss how private physician practices have been handling COVID while caring for their patients and how Congress is helping.

How Ingenuity & Innovation Helped a Hotspot Hospital Save Lives During COVID Surge Mar 24, 2021

Show notes

Just a few weeks ago, COVID was ravaging hospitals across the country as cases were surging following the December holidays. St. Francis Medical Center is already one of Los Angeles County’s busiest trauma centers. During the surge, St. Francis was up to 120% capacity – and still caring for every patient that came through its doors. With the ER turned into a COVID unit, some emergency services were moved to tents in the parking lot. Chip spoke with St. Francis’ CEO Dan Jones who explained how the hospital was able to meet the challenge with their extraordinary staff, how they are working with staff to mitigate burnout, and how Prime Healthcare is investing in the hospital and the community it serves.

The Role of Long-term Acute Care Hospitals During COVID-19 and Beyond with Ben Breier Mar 10, 2021

Show notes

Long-term acute care (LTAC) hospitals are caring for the some of the most medically complex patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a post-acute care provider, Kindred Healthcare has been right in the middle of the battle to defeat COVID-19 by partnering with short-term acute care hospitals to help treat patients and ease overcrowding in hot spots across the country. Kindred CEO Ben Breier spoke to Chip about how the company relied on its network of hospitals to ensure its staff were always prepared to provide patients with the highest quality of care.

Breier also discusses a recent report from the consulting firm ATI Advisory that highlights how LTAC providers have been able to bridge gaps and extend care within the care continuum during the pandemic. Based on the COVID experience, the report also recommends key considerations for LTAC hospitals as part of future health policy development. See the full report here.

Hear more about post-acute care from Chip’s conversation with Al Dobson, Getting back to Life: The Growing Demand for Post-Acute Care with Al Dobson.

COVID-19: A Year Later with Dr. Jonathan Perlin Feb 24, 2021

Show notes

It has been over a year since COVID-19 has disrupted life for Americans and everyone around the globe. We checked in with regular guest of the pod, Dr. Jonathan Perlin, to find out how HCA Healthcare has weathered the last year. The CMO and President of Clinical Services shared how HCA Healthcare is sharing the learnings from their millions of annual clinical interactions with others in a new consortium of private and public institutions to improve treatments, outcomes and patient care.

Check out Dr. Perlin’s previous appearances on Hospitals In Focus. Dr. Jon Perlin Discusses the Impact of Coronavirus on Hospitals and Dr. Jonathan Perlin Discusses How Patients Benefit from the Use of Big Data.

What the Nation Could Learn from ACA Health Coverage Expansion in California with Peter Lee Feb 09, 2021

Show notes

The ACA is starting a new era with President Biden at the helm of a new administration. We wanted to hear about what happens when a state not only fully embraces the ACA but keeps harmful regulations at bay that hurt marketplaces and patients. Chip is joined by the Executive Director of Covered California Peter Lee on the newest episode of Hospitals In Focus. The two discuss the basic tenets of the legislation, how and why California has been such a success at lowering its uninsured patient rate and what steps President Biden may take to encourage the hold out states to expand Medicaid.

Interested in learning more about Biden’s health agenda? Check out Building Biden’s Health Agenda with Chris Jennings and Doug Badger.

Building Biden’s Health Agenda with Chris Jennings and Doug Badger Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

Two health policy experts joined Chip to discuss the new Biden administration’s approach to developing and implementing health policy. With COVID-19 raging across the country, Chris Jennings and Doug Badger touch on Biden’s first 100 days in office and how they expect Biden’s health teams to tackle the health and economic fallout from COVID in contrast to the Trump administration. Importantly, they touch on how the ACA can shore up health care coverage for uninsured Americans. Then they each provide an analysis on how the White House staff, regulatory agencies and Congress work together to achieve their goals. Chris provides the Democratic perspective while Doug responds with the Republican.

Chris Jennings has spent decades working in the White House, Congress and private sector. He spent time in both the Clinton and Obama White Houses as Senior Advisor to the President for Health Policy and helped pass, enact and implement the ACA, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and numerous other health reforms. Most recently, President-elect Biden appointed Mr. Jennings to him on the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force.

Doug Badger has been in public policy for many decades and has been a policy advisor to the White House, U.S. Senate, Department of HHS and the SSA. Doug worked in the Bush (43) administration and developed the administration’s proposal for adding prescription drug coverage to Medicare. Badger represented the White House in negotiations with Congress that resulted in the enactment of the Medicare Modernization Act.

Interested in learning more about how health care coverage can affect a population’s access to care? Listen to Chip’s conversation Advancing Health Equity: Bridging Social Gaps in Health Care with Dr. Chidinma A. Ibe.

The ACA, Your Hospital, and the Supreme Court with Larry Levitt Nov 16, 2020

Show notes

The ACA is once again in front of the Supreme Court and a decision on its future will be likely handed down in June 2021. In the meantime, Larry Levitt joined Chip to discuss the ACA’s impact on hospitals and providers over the past decade. The EVP of Health Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation shared his views on what we could expect from the Supreme Court and if the ACA is settled law once and for all.

Dispelling Health Care Myths with Dr. Thomas LaVeist Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

How are America’s health care providers building trust with Black patients after years of historic racism? With time, says Dr. Thomas LaVeist. The Dean of the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine joined Chip to discuss dispelling health care myths around Covid-19, how we can ensure vaccines are fairly allocated, and what we can learn for the next health emergency. These things are all a part of Dr. LaVeist’s program The Skin You’re In. To learn more about The Skin You’re In, visit www.tsyi.org

Bridging Social Gaps in Health Care with Dr. Chidinma A. Ibe Oct 06, 2020

Show notes

Community health workers play a vital role in helping end racial disparities in our health care system. They break down barriers by fostering better relationships between the community and their health care providers. Dr. Chidinma A. Ibe is the Assistant Professor of General Internal Medicine and Health, Behavior and Society at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She joined Chip to discuss the growing importance of these workers and how we can better support them.

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