AHA Stat Blog

Making everyone part of the solution and collaborations between clinical and hospital leadership is key to navigating the pandemic. In this second in a four-part series on lessons learned on the front lines, read about how communication remains a vital component of a strong workforce, both from the top down and bottom up.

Making everyone part of the solution and collaborations between clinical and hospital leadership is key to navigating the pandemic. In this final in a four-part series on lessons learned on the front lines, read about the importance of supporting the health care workforce, especially now.

The past 10 months have been filled with jarring and dissonant images, scenes that have prompted us to say, “never thought we’d see that in our country.” Unfortunately, we now have to add yesterday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol and assault on our democracy to that mix.  

Rod Hochman, M.D., is trained as a rheumatologist and immunologist. He started his health care career as a clinical fellow in internal medicine at Harvard Medical School and Dartmouth Medical School and went into practice at the Guthrie Clinic in Pennsylvania.

For 50 weeks this year, this Friday column has tracked the ups and downs, the triumphs and the setbacks of the most heroic chapter in the history of America’s hospitals and health systems.

Dallas-based Parkland Health and Hospital System brings physical and behavioral health together by integrating suicide risk screenings in all patient visits, write the AHA’s Elisa Arespacochaga, vice president of the Physician Alliance, and Rebecca Chickey, senior director of Behavioral Health Services, field engagement. Read more about a webinar and three new podcasts discussing Parkland’s learnings in this endeavor.

It was not at all the year I expected, and it certainly wasn’t the year any of us wanted. But, through it all, I continually found inspiration. Even now in the uncertainty of what 2021 will bring, I’m reassured knowing that no matter what, the teams who power our hospitals and health systems across America are continuing the fight against COVID-19.

Sunday night’s 60 Minutes story was not a balanced view of the current health care landscape as it relates to hospital prices and provider and insurer consolidation.

This year has been unlike any other in our lifetimes. As health care providers, we are always ready to run toward the challenge, to become a place of refuge and heal our communities. None of this is new, but this year has stretched our ability to do this and ensure our own resiliency.

Benjamin Franklin said “energy and persistence conquers all things.” Those words are certainly appropriate for this year as we continue our battle against COVID-19. They also are very pertinent for the next week as we must keep the pressure on Congress to make sure they provide hospitals and health systems — and the women and men on the front lines of the COVID-19 fight — with additional support and resources.

The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated health inequities we face as a nation. But we’re also seeing innovation in all aspects of care delivery and community collaboration and partnerships to address these challenges. We know that the homes where people live and their support networks of family and friends influence people’s ability to stay healthy or recover quickly. Access to safe, affordable and stable housing is key to good health. Strong social connections are linked to longer life and better mental health, whereas a lack of such social ties is associated with depression and increased mortality.

Sejal B. Shah, M.D., and Carla B. Monteiro, a licensed clinical social worker, at Boston-based Brigham and Women’s Hospital write that stigma and disparities around the opioid epidemic can disproportionately affect the Black and African American communities. In this blog, they urge providers to utilize available resources to help treat those with substance and opioid use disorders.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed spotlight on health inequities in the United States. It has illuminated that, regardless of access to health care services, social and economic circumstances make some people more likely than others to become ill or have poor health.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the U.S. nearly 10 months ago, our hospitals and health systems have learned so much about how to slow down the spread, care for patients and help them recover.

Two hundred twenty-four. That’s the number of days since the last COVID-19 relief package was signed into law.

The AHA recently joined a non-partisan coalition, Get Covered 2021, to promote tools to stop the spread of COVID-19 and expand health coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. Molly Smith, AHA vice president of coverage and state issues forum, explains how hospitals and health systems can get involved in this meaningful effort to improve the overall health of individuals and communities.

This case study highlights examples of capitated payment agreements that serve to increase the use and improve the quality of primary care services in rural communities. These arrangements are deployed at several levels of care management and delivery in the public and private sectors, with payment to parties such as managed care organizations, community health workers and physicians. Most of these models are enmeshed in larger, multi-agreement payment models and serve as an example of how to leverage capitated payments for specific services in conjunction with other payment methodologies such as fee-for-service, pay-for-value, and global budgeting.

About two years ago, the Buprenorphine Team — or B team — was formed at Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas, in collaboration with Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. Our goal is to offer Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for patients with opioid use disorder who are admitted to the hospital and then transition that care to the community setting at discharge.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the AHA’s Report of the Special Committee on the Provision of Health Services, the AHA looks back on a report that served as a blueprint for a number of proposals for decades to come on national health insurance and health care reform.

The AHA’s 2021 Environmental Scan is a useful resource for looking ahead. It provides key data and insights on the current operational landscape and is designed to help leaders maneuver the rough road ahead.