JAMA Internal Medicine: Sex, Racial, and Ethnic Representation in COVID-19 Clinical Trials A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found systemwide differences in representation for several key demographic groups in COVID-19 prevention and treatment trials in the U.S. In this systematic review, female participants were underrepresented in treatment trials, Asian and Black participants [...]
Health Affairs: Audio-Only Telemedicine In Primary Care: Embraced in the NHS, Second Rate in the U.S. Use of telemedicine in primary care soared in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and remains well above pre-pandemic levels. In the US, a major enabler of this shift is equal reimbursement across video, audio, and [...]
This update includes: Alliance for Connected Care Response to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Health Care Subgroup report Senate Finance Committee Mental Health Parity Discussion Draft PRAC Health Care Subgroup report and notable research and news developments
Safety, tolerability and efficacy of up-titration of guideline-directed medical therapies for acute heart failure (STRONG-HF): a multinational, open-label, randomised, trial Background: There is a paucity of evidence for dose and pace of up-titration of guideline-directed medical therapies after admission to hospital for acute heart failure. Methods: In this multinational, open-label, randomised, parallel-group trial (STRONG-HF), patients aged 18-85 [...]
JAMA Ophthalmology: Longitudinal Use of Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Utility of Asynchronous Testing for Subspecialty-Level Ophthalmic Care A quality improvement study published in JAMA Ophthalmology demonstrated the potential to enhance ophthalmic telehealth using asynchronous testing, which was effective in subspecialty-level care. The volume of in-person outpatient visits dropped by 83.3 percent across [...]
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP): Survey of Telehealth Use by Commercial Insurance Enrollees AHIP released a survey, fielded by NORC at the University of Chicago, which found that 73 percent of commercially-insured telehealth users think that Congress should make permanent the provisions that allowed for coverage of telehealth services before paying their full [...]
Senate Finance Committee: Mental Health Parity Discussion Draft Senate Finance Committee Chair Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member Crapo (R-ID), and Sens. Bennet (D-CO) and Burr (R-NC) released the fifth and final legislative discussion draft as part of the Committee’s bipartisan mental health initiative. This discussion draft included policies aimed at improving mental health parity [...]
On December 1, 2022, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee issued a report on telehealth use and program integrity risks across selected health care programs during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the debate on Capitol Hill about the permanent flexibilities in the Medicare program, we focus here on Medicare fee-for-service and [...]