It’s been 4 years this month since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic. Where are we now? It’s time to take stock of the real impact of the pandemic. Aside from the burden of illness and mortality, the mental health toll, and the strains on the healthcare system, COVID even… Read More »
In this post, we examine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected frequencies of diagnoses and claims costs in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces in 2020 and 2021. The ACA marketplaces are critical sources of coverage for millions of Americans and were increasingly so during the COVID-19 pandemic due to job losses and coverage disruptions. The… Read More »
This entry was one of the winners of our Summer 2023 student blog contest! Trends in Life Expectancy The recent decline in life expectancy in the United States is largely attributed to the well-known COVID-19 pandemic and opioid epidemic. However, these recent crises are not the sole drivers of the stagnation and subsequent drop in… Read More »
The pandemic public health emergency declaration ends today in the United States. Here, I share a look back and what to expect going forward. One thing is clear: with this change in designation, the U.S. has revealed that its public health preparedness was always meant to be temporary. Where we started It was December 12,… Read More »
The rapid transition from in-person to care to telemedicine visits at the start of the COVID‑19 pandemic did not adversely affect the quality of care – and even improved some aspects of care – for patients with major depression in a major integrated health system, according to a new report. The study appears as part of… Read More »
Public health has preached a lot of things in the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has promoted social distancing, masks, vaccines, and quarantine to help prevent the spread. And it has helped spread awareness about antivirals for people infected with COVID-19. But what about “social fitnessing”? This is the premise that the… Read More »
As California settles into a third year of pandemic, covid-19 continues to pose a serious threat of death. But the number of people dying — and the demographics of those falling victim — has shifted notably from the first two years. Given the collective immunity people have garnered through a combination of mass vaccination and… Read More »
On this month’s episode of the Health Intersections Podcast, Samy Anand from the Medical Care Section recaps last month’s blog posts and previews September’s issue of the Medical Care journal. Check out these great reads. Next, Jess Williams, co-editor of the blog and podcast, interviews Dr. Cheryl Conner who is a Clinical Associate Professor at… Read More »
Today we continue our retrospective series with a look at articles on COVID published at The Medical Care Blog. As the U.S. approaches three full years with the pandemic, it continues to see roughly 100,000 diagnosed cases (and about 400 deaths) per day. This is a level of sickness that many other developed countries see… Read More »
On this month’s episode of the Healthy Intersections Podcast, Samy Anand from the Medical Care Section recaps last month’s blog posts and preview’s June’s issue of the Medical Care journal. Some great articles to check out for your summer reading list. Next, Lisa Lines, co-editor of the blog and podcast, interviews Dr. Pia MacDonald, an… Read More »
In this episode of our podcast series, Jess Williams discusses COVID-19 case and hospitalizations with Tami Gurley, an Associate Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Jess also recaps the blog posts published in April and previews some articles published in the May issue of Medical Care. Listen here or wherever you get your fine audio content.… Read More »
We’re in a new landscape, where citizens sees themselves as agents for community public health and as part of the public health infrastructure. My patient began to talk about COVID in her community. She first told me the rates of infection from the previous weeks. Then she told me what COVID strains were dominant at… Read More »
Almost 30 years ago I was working in the White House as part of a team working to win approval of President Bill Clinton’s proposal for universal health insurance. The effort was winding down. It was obvious it would fail. I was tired and depressed. One of my last appearances in support of the plan… Read More »
“You can’t improve what you don’t measure” is a common phrase highlighting the importance and power of data. Indeed, the importance of data was the central theme of the 2021 All In National Meeting. In case you’re unfamiliar, the host of the national meeting is All In: Data for Community Health: a learning network of… Read More »
COVID-19 has severely affected nursing homes. As of now, over 139,270 residents and 2,155 nursing home staff have died from COVID-19. This post provides insight on the questions researchers are asking to understand the impact of nursing facility factors on COVID-19. A Perfect Storm The combination of a frail, aging population, close living quarters, and… Read More »
Check out our November 2021 Podcast for a recap of recently published blogs and a preview of articles in the November 2021 issue of Medical Care.
COVID-19 has uncovered and multiplied health workforce equity challenges across the US. In the early days of the pandemic, healthcare workers faced incredible personal risk from an unknown, highly contagious, deadly disease. Insufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) and reprimand and dismissal by employers for speaking out worsened this risk. As waves of COVID-19 swept across… Read More »
In March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed COVID-19 as a pandemic. More than 18 months later, the nation has yet to return to ‘normal’. Hope for normalcy increased with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the months that followed. Reluctance and resistance to vaccination, however, have made it difficult to… Read More »
Front-line workers are always at risk. It’s in the name. The COVID-19 pandemic has made this reality more salient for everyone. Risks of sickness from COVID-19 include death and morbidity. Front-line workers may also have lost more friends and co-workers than the average person. Healthcare workers have also been subject to violence and see the… Read More »
The pandemic has highlighted the challenge health care providers face in translating new scientific findings to actual patient care. The integration of COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment is a good example of this challenge. Frustration at a Local Hospital In a year of difficult days, my mom came home from work one evening in March especially… Read More »
The global Covid-19 pandemic came with financial, emotional, and physical health implications for just about everyone worldwide. Along with those burdens, a significant strain was placed on resources, people, and systems. Issues that were lingering just beneath the surface bubbled up, inequities became highlighted, and urgent outcries and demands for swift solutions became harder to… Read More »
During its recent mid-year meeting, the American Public Health Association’s Medical Care Section was honored to hear from two physician leaders serving at the heart of the fight against COVID-19. Hailing from opposite ends of the country, Drs. Atul Nakhasi (California) and Ayne Amjad (West Virginia) shared their insight about teamwork in a public health… Read More »
The inequitable distribution of COVID-19’s terrible burden has been well documented. There are notable disparities by race and ethnicity. COVID-19 rates, including incidence and fatality rates, are higher among Black, Indigenous, and other Persons of Color (BIPOC). This is structural racism at its worst, in which BIPOC individuals are disproportionately represented among essential workers and… Read More »
In military medicine, exercises, such as a mass vaccination points-of-dispensing (POD) scenario, test preparedness capacity, and drill for potential real-world public health emergency scenarios. Exercises are designed to challenge medical teams to work under pressure and problem solve according to conditions presented in the exercise scenario. A benefit of medical exercises in the military is… Read More »
What is telehealth? Telehealth involves using technology to facilitate healthcare interactions but has not been used extensively in Medicare in the past. The use of telehealth may be particularly relevant where there are geographic barriers such as a lack of local providers or a public health emergency such as the coronavirus pandemic. There are a… Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines social determinants of health (SDOH) as the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the “conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age.” Currently, SDOH is a hot topic as stakeholders try new ways to improve individual and population health, achieve health equity, and reduce… Read More »
COVID-19-related scams are spreading nearly as fast as COVID-19 and threatening the health and safety of our communities. Since January 2020, people across the country have filed over 426,000 COVID-19-related complaints to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about fraud, identify theft, and other consumer protection. They have reported losses totaling over $397 million. As trusted… Read More »
The pandemic has consistently exposed the underlying inequities and effects of systemic racism on American Indian (AI) and other marginalized communities. The health equity challenge of 2021 is around COVID-19 vaccine equity. Over the first months since the vaccine has become available, communities of color are not getting shots in the arm at the same… Read More »
During the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted health inequality created by social determinants of health (SDoH) in the United States. SDoH include all aspects of the living environment, social support, safety, well-being, and resource availability, directly or indirectly influencing physical health outcomes. Consideration of SDoH is critical for successful comprehensive COVID-19 vaccine rollout.… Read More »
How could alternative pediatric payment models help to address children’s broad health, social, and developmental needs? This post delves into funding and financing challenges and potential solutions. I recently collaborated on a report on alternative payment models for child health with colleagues from the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy and Mental Health America. The… Read More »
Historically, public health has served the nation through sanitation, immunization, and other disease-prevention activities (e.g., disease tracking and quarantine). For example, public health developed wastewater treatment programs to help fight typhoid fever during the industrial revolution. It also helped educate the public (and the food industry) on safely preparing and preserving foods. As a result,… Read More »
During the COVID-19 pandemic, health misinformation has been soaring across the internet and social media platforms. Despite a lack of supplement regulation, vitamin and supplement use have seen a sudden 28% increase in the US and a 25% increase globally during COVID-19. Vitamin C supplements have gained particular attention because of studies finding it might reduce… Read More »
National Rural Health Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the quality of medical care in rural and medically underserved communities. This year has posed additional challenges to fragile healthcare systems and vulnerable populations. Faced with new barriers, rural communities are adapting and innovating through telehealth. COVID-19 caught the entire country off balance, highlighting structural… Read More »
Our data says a lot about us – where we go, who we see, and what we do. And since our smartphones come with us everywhere, they are almost always collecting our data. To improve my understanding of how our data and devices can be used to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, I sat down with (over… Read More »
Health care and public health loom large today, on the eve of the presidential election. From COVID-19 to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this is now clearly a public health election. Let’s review what’s on people’s minds and what’s at stake. Where are voters on health issues? In February of this year, health care was… Read More »
Millions are losing sleep due to anxiety, fear, and the difficulty of maintaining a schedule during this pandemic. Research suggests that those who get insufficient sleep may be at risk for health conditions such as obesity and heart disease. Yet, too much sleep may increase the risk of other health conditions such as diabetes and… Read More »
It’s that time again! The annual meeting for the American Public Health Association starts on October 24th with a twist–this year, the meeting is being held virtually. Everything from social events to scientific sessions will take place online. While I will miss seeing old and new friends in person, I am excited about the meeting.… Read More »
Historically, women are disproportionately impacted by pandemic illness and COVID-19 is no exception. Addressing domestic violence (DV) and access to reproductive healthcare may reduce the gendered impact of COVID-19. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we piloted a program to enhance reproductive health literacy, Sexual Health Empowerment for Birth Control (SHE-BC). This program may offer insights to… Read More »
In March, CMS and other Federal agencies announced temporary telehealth policy changes in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. These changes promoted continued access to care while allowing for physical distancing. Virtual care encounters have increased since March. However, as the public health emergency has continued, there are questions about the future of virtual… Read More »
Preserving access to care is a high priority, even in a pandemic. We need to strengthen the existing coordinated regional treatment network for better preparedness. One consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic has been that people are scared to seek health care because they fear getting infected in clinics and hospitals. Although in many cases it… Read More »
Health equity and the disparities within our health care system were the predominant themes at AcademyHealth’s 2020 Annual Research Meeting (ARM), which concluded on August 6th. As usual, health services researchers gathered to disseminate the latest evidence across a broad range of health care topics and discuss the most pressing issues in health services research… Read More »
What are the potential impacts of COVID-19 on health care utilization? How will changes in healthcare use impact quality measures? Researchers are asking many key questions to understand the impacts of COVID-19. It is clear that trends in healthcare use are changing. These changes will likely affect quality measure scores in the future. This is… Read More »
In our battle against COVID-19, one of our unique challenges is the use of face-coverings. Despite evidence that supports wearing face coverings, this has become a polarizing issue in a highly politically-divided climate. After shifting mask guidance in the early days of the pandemic, the WHO and the CDC issued formal guidelines on wearing face… Read More »
Note from the Editors: Last week capped two jam-packed weeks of political nominating convention activities. COVID-19 was discussed at both conventions. The Washington Post fact-checked some of the health care claims at the Democratic convention. Here, with the permission of Kaiser Health News and Politifact, we are republishing their recent fact-checking of the COVID-19 content from the Republican… Read More »
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the gross underinvestment in public health, primary care, and the social determinants of health in the United States. Yet, this experience gives us a chance to rethink our health and social service systems, as these are often siloed. We see education, employment, healthcare, housing, and other social services… Read More »
To be at the intersection of technology and product development in a field as ripe for disruption as healthcare couldn’t be more opportune. But how can we use technology to improve community health, especially after COVID-19? Technology and Health: A Budding Relationship On April 10th 2020 the Apple-Google partnership announced a notification tool for contact tracing to support… Read More »
The U.S. government is reportedly harming people held in immigration detention centers with its excessive use of a common disinfectant. According to reports by immigrant advocacy groups, HDQ Neutral disinfectant is being sprayed dozens of times per day in enclosed environments. This is resulting in concerning health symptoms among detained people. This potentially egregious practice further… Read More »
Current healthcare reimbursements may create incentives for excess use of ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients. Recent research has shown that healthcare providers, including hospitals, have experienced substantial financial losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Alternative, less-invasive treatments for critically ill COVID-19 patients could potentially improve patient outcomes. But these approaches expose hospitals to… Read More »
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, the pandemic has spotlighted the heroic efforts of our nation’s healthcare workers. Healthcare workers are providing much needed front-line patient care. However, in doing so, they also place themselves at risk of exposure to infectious disease, psychological distress, and burnout. But as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, another concern for… Read More »
Like the rest of society, the US health insurance system is going to change in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The question is whether changes will be made deliberately, through policy actions, or reactively, through the markets. The American health care system has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 crisis in more ways… Read More »