Health IT Supports SDOH Work; Hospitals Fear Staffing Shortages with Vax Requirements

July 27, 2021 - One healthcare organization walks us through the process of implementing health IT designed to support social determinants of health work, while other hospitals fear staffing shortages should they require the COVID-19 vaccine among its workers. This, and more, as I cover for Kyle Murphy while he is on a well-deserved vacation.

Using health IT to support social determinants of health work

At Sentara Healthcare, new health technology will support providers working to enable social determinants of health referrals, a process long beleaguered by manual and outdated processes.

“In the past, to be quite honest with you, we wouldn't always know about the resources or have them,” Sherry Norquist, director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Sentara Healthcare, told PatientEngagementHIT in an interview. “Or when we called, the phone might not get answered.”

Sentara has adopted social determinants of health referral technology that has a digital directory of social services and mechanisms for referral and tracking patient access. READ MORE.

Hospital leaders fear staffing shortages amid vax requirements

Following the American Hospital Association’s statement encouraging vaccine mandates in hospital and health system settings, some experts are concerned about subsequent staffing shortages.

Although some hospitals agree with the sentiment behind vaccine requirements for healthcare workers, some leaders serve in markets where those requirements will not feasibly foster an adequate medical workforce.

“I agree fundamentally with what the hospital association is saying and with what other hospital systems are now doing with the mandates, but those systems are in different environments and markets,” Alan Levine, CEO of Ballad Health, said in a recent call with local news station News Channel 11.

“If today I said, ‘everybody’s required to take the vaccine or you’re terminated,’ then I have a problem being able to take care of people who show up to our ER with strokes, or chest pains, or medical admissions or surgical admissions,” Levine continued. READ MORE.

Nonprofits face onslaught of healthcare cyberattacks

Nonprofit healthcare organizations are increasingly under pressure from healthcare cyberattacks, according to recent research from Fitch Ratings. This may have come with the increased use of health IT, like remote patient monitoring and telehealth, seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This report serves as another validation point, which unfortunately has become very evident - cyberattacks, particularly ransomware attacks, targeting hospitals have grown in frequency and severity with wide ranging impact including disruption of care delivery, potential risk to patient safety and lost revenue due to disruption of services,” John Riggi, the American Hospital Association’s senior advisor for cybersecurity and risk, told HealthITSecurity in a statement.

“We have also seen firsthand how COVID-19 translated into a cyber ‘triple threat’ for hospitals.” READ MORE.

American Heart Association calls for diversity in genomic research

The American Heart Association said the industry can move further toward health equity if it could attain more diversity in genomic research, particularly research related to cardiovascular health.

"Profound breakthroughs in genetic and genomic science are rapidly improving our ability to prevent, detect and treat cardiovascular disease," Gia Mudd-Martin, PhD, MPH, RN, FAHA, associate professor of nursing at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and chair of the writing group for the scientific statement said in a press release.

"Conducting research in collaboration with diverse and underrepresented populations is critical to assuring equitable health benefits." READ MORE.

VA hits pause on EHR rollout… again

The Department of Veterans Affairs will yet again delay its EHR Modernization project through 2021, as the agency works to ensure the remaining sites poised for a go-live are truly ready for the new technology.

“This will enable us to evolve our processes, training, and change management – and test our approach to build evidence-based confidence in the success of our next deployment before we ‘go-live’ again,” Carolyn Clancy, MD, VA undersecretary, said in a House hearing on VA technology modernization.

This announcement comes after the VA has been slammed for underestimating the potential costs of the EHRM and the OIG found issues with VA’s EHR training protocol at the Spokane site. READ MORE.

State-level public option plans see continued success

New information from Manatt shows that public option health plans designed at the state level are seeing continued success. The report particularly looked at efforts in Washington, Nevada, Oregon, and Colorado, all of which have at least introduced legislation for creating a public option health plan. Washington and Nevada have both set up a public option plan.

This comes even as the federal government has encountered roadblocks to public option discussions. Instead, the Biden Administration has zeroed in on expanding the existing Affordable Care Act to bolster insurance access. READ MORE.

Pharma supply chain needs transparency boost

A group of business stakeholders issued a set of 70 priorities for improving transparency, access, and affordability in the pharmaceutical supply chain.

“To a great extent, the contractual arrangements and business practices of stakeholders along the pharmaceutical supply chain have contributed to unaffordable and unsustainable drug prices, prompting calls for market- and policy-based reforms, including possible government intervention to regulate drug prices,” Ellen Kelsay, president and CEO of Business Group on Health, said in the release. “By drawing upon their deep expertise and working in consensus, forum members identified potentially disruptive, yet necessary changes.” READ MORE.