Outpatient Visits Plateau Nationwide But Decline in Some Hot Spots
Following the rebound from an initial dramatic dip in outpatient care during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, a real-time snapshot from researchers at Harvard University, Phreesia, and the Commonwealth Fund shows that weekly outpatient visits plateaued from June through the end of July at 10 percent below prepandemic levels. Meanwhile, in hot spot states Florida, Texas, and Arizona, the researchers found an increase in telemedicine visits and a modest decline in total provider visits.
Also see how ambulatory care physician practices are evolving to meet patients’ needs during the pandemic. |
Reopening Schools: What Can the U.S. Learn from Abroad?
COVID-19 caused schools around the world to shut down, but many countries have reopened them without significant outbreaks. What can the U.S. learn from other nations? Researchers find that the key to success is a low baseline rate of community transmission. They also say that bipartisan congressional agreement on a school support package would offer the best chance for America’s schools to reopen safely.
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How American Indian Communities Are Dealing with COVID-19
American Indians are at increased risk during the COVID-19 pandemic because of limited access to health services, inadequate infrastructure, and underlying health disparities. Researchers from the Commonwealth Fund and the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health say policymakers can take lessons from how American Indian communities are responding to the pandemic. Noting that federal funding for tribes during COVID-19 has been delayed, the researchers say more investments are needed in health care, housing, broadband access, and sanitation.
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Why Aren’t More States Testing for COVID-19 Under Medicaid?
States now are able to extend Medicaid eligibility to the uninsured for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, yet many states are leaving this option on the table. On To the Point, George Washington University’s Sara Rosenbaum and colleagues explore the reasons why, including the fact that the expansion offer is temporary and covers only diagnostic testing.
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Other Recent Publications | |
Better Care Playbook: New Evidence and Implementation Tools for Community Health Worker Programs
Community health workers (CHWs) help foster connections between health care, social services, and the community. Many health care stakeholders are interested in scaling up this emerging workforce. To support this momentum, the Better Care Playbook — a collaborative project of seven health care foundations — has curated a diverse set of resources for health care organizations interested in how CHW programs affect health outcomes. The site also offers tools for implementing programs as well as first-person perspectives from health care stakeholders working in this area.
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How Health Care Experiences of the Seriously Ill Differ by Disease
People with serious illness make up roughly 5 percent of the U.S. population yet incur 50 percent of health care spending. Understanding how their care experiences differ by condition can inform how and the extent to which clinicians and care management programs tailor their interventions. Using data from a national survey of people with serious illness, researchers compared the experiences of patients with three prevalent conditions to evaluate differences in use of medical care, challenges navigating the health system, and strategies to overcome these challenges.
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