A week or so ago, the FEHBlog mentioned a study finding low primary care utilization in the Medicare program. Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a new program to reverse this trend. “The CMS Primary Cares Initiative will provide primary care practices and other providers with five new payment model options under two paths: Primary Care First and Direct Contracting.” The FEHBlog is a strong believer in the value of primary care. It will be interesting to see whether this new program bears fruit.

The Associated Press reports that the current flu season is now the longest in a decade.

Some experts likened the unusual double waves to having two different flu seasons compressed, back-to-back, into one.  Still, this flu season is not nearly as bad as last winter’s 19-week season, the deadliest in at least four decades. An estimated 80,000 Americans died of flu and its complications last season. The [U.S. Centers for Disease Control] CDC is estimating that flu-related deaths this season in the range of 35,000 to 55,000. More good news: [Lynette] Brammer [from the CDC] said that although the virus is notoriously unpredictable, signs suggest this flu season should be over soon. 

2019 is the centenary of the second year of the worst flu pandemic in modern history. The 1918-1919 flu season killed 40 million people.

Health Data Management reports how hospitals are using technology to take better control over lengths of inpatient stay.

First, instead of addressing operational issues as projects, health systems need to facilitate system-wide culture changes. Second, health systems must replace manual processes with advanced analytics solutions that automate the information needed to drive LOS improvements. Both will help ensure that LOS improvements are sustained over time.

That’s clearly a cost saver for providers, payers and patients.

mHealth Intelligence discusses a PCORI funded study that Yale Medicine is conducting to determine whether remotely deliver care can address the health needs of pregnant women with opioid use disorder.  Yale researched will be comparing

a collaborative care model that uses virtual care for psychiatric consults with a Project ECHO model that uses telemedicine to train remote care providers. Both models will include Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) therapy, which combines the prescription of controlled medications to manage withdrawal with mental health counseling. MAT therapy often includes monitoring and therapy though connected care channels, especially for patients in remote areas.

Good luck with that effort.