CVS Health to Leverage Community Reach to Expand Clinical Trial Access

February 08, 2022 - A recent collaboration between CVS Health and Medable looks to make use of the former’s influence in numerous communities to spur greater participation in clinical trials among hard-to-reach populations.

Staffing Shortages Are Top Concern for Healthcare CEOs

Hospital labor shortages replaced financial challenges as the top concern for hospitals in 2021, according to data from the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

The survey results consisted of responses from 310 chief executive officers of community hospitals. ACHE asked the respondents to rank 11 hospital issues in order of how they impact their facility. In addition, the CEOs pointed to specific areas of concern within each issue.

Personnel shortages of all types were the biggest concern for the hospitals, with a top spot ranking of 1.6. The lowest numbers indicated the greatest concerns, ACHE noted. Within personnel shortages, most respondents (94 percent) cited the shortage of registered nurses as a concern. Eighty-five percent were concerned with medical and lab technician shortages, followed by 67 percent concerned about therapist shortages.

The results revealed that hospitals are also worried about the shortage of primary care physicians, physician specialists, and physician extenders, including physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse-midwives. READ MORE

CVS Health Looking to Expand Clinical Trial Access, Patient Engagement

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CVS Health and Medable recently collaborated to expand clinical trial access and engagement for patients at select MinuteClinic locations.

The collaboration will combine Medable’s software platform with CVS Health’s community reach and experienced MinuteClinic providers to deliver trials that improve patient access, engagement, and retention to advance research effectiveness.

Less than four percent of Americans participate in clinical studies, while nearly 30 percent of participants drop out before study completion. And about 80 percent of studies do not meet enrollment deadlines. The most recurrent barriers in clinical trial enrollment include structural barriers, clinical barriers, and socioeconomic disparities.

Since May 2021, CVS Health Clinical Trial Services (CTS) has worked with key stakeholders in the biopharmaceutical industry and across the clinical trial ecosystem to design and deliver innovative approaches to research and evidence. READ MORE

Racial Health Disparities Loom Large Among Individuals with HIV

Black people still make up a disproportionate share of individuals diagnosed with HIV. The latest CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) reveals that those new diagnoses are among the most socially vulnerable, underscoring the link between social determinants of health and health disparities.

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Notably, about a half of the Black people diagnosed with HIV were also in the upper quartile on the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), a tool from the National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS) that looks at social need by geography. Scoring higher on the SVI equates to greater social need.

These findings come alongside existing industry knowledge about HIV racial health disparities. In 2018, 43 percent of all new HIV diagnoses were among Black people, CDC said. Overall, Black people were diagnosed with HIV at quadruple the rate of all other racial groups combined.

In an assessment looking at racial disparities in 2018 HIV diagnoses and SVI, the researchers found that Black adults living in areas in the highest SVI quartile were 1.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than those living in the lowest SVI quartile. This trend likely relates to the history of racism that has led to the marginalization and disadvantage seen today. READ MORE

Texas Blue to Fund Social Determinants of Health Grant Program

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) has launched a grant cycle for 2022-2023. The payer will support social determinants of health, health and wellness, and health equity initiatives through partnerships with nonprofit community-based organizations.

The Healthy Kids, Healthy Families (HKHF) program started in 2011 as a 3-year initiative. BCBSTX has since expanded the program and has awarded more than $17 million in grants to community-based organizations across Texas.

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The program has always sought to improve the health and wellbeing of families and children, but the coronavirus pandemic highlighted the importance of addressing health equity as well.

The program bases funding allocation on four key areas: disease prevention and management, nutrition, physical activity, and safe environments. In the past few years, the payer has committed to addressing social determinants of health, such as housing instability and education access. The payer stated that organizations must meet specific criteria to be eligible for the grants. READ MORE

Hackensack Meridian Health Launches Hospital-at-Home Program

Hackensack Meridian Health has established a hospital-at-home program at JFK University Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey.

The program will enable the hospital to provide acute care for Medicare patients in their own homes. Patients with diagnoses that result in frequent and expensive readmissions to hospitals, such as uncomplicated congestive heart failure, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cellulitis, will be able to receive care through the program.

Initially, JFK University Medical Center will admit a few hospital-at-home patients a week and provide them with two nursing visits every day; medications delivered to the home, including infusions; and rehabilitation visits. The program includes remote patient monitoring to track oxygen levels, blood pressure, heart rate, weight, and temperature.

In addition, health system leaders expect the program will help address social determinants of health. For example, the hospital can provide nutritious meals and other home health support to patients who need it. The program also eliminates the need for transportation, a critical access barrier to seeking healthcare. READ MORE

UCHealth Taps HealthRhythms for AI-Based Mental Healthcare Platform

UCHealth, based in Aurora, Colorado, is partnering with HealthRhythms, a digital mental health startup, to offer an artificial intelligence-based digital platform to millions of mental health patients.

The HealthRhythms app uses smartphone sensors to passively measure behavior relevant to mental health through daily activity and periodic surveys, leveraging AI to examine an individual’s mental health status. The technology then uses that data to deliver personalized, timely interventions to improve mental health. Additionally, this technology could assist in solving universal problems in patient monitoring and early detection by allowing providers to triage and treat patients across the risk continuum effectively.

UCHealth’s goal is to have HealthRhythms on the phone of every patient who consents to it systemwide. The nationally recognized academic health system operates 12 hospitals and hundreds of clinic locations, with the goal of improving behavioral healthcare access throughout Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. READ MORE