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Clinical Education During the Pandemic

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Inside Higher Education explores how clinical education has had to adapt from clinical site closures to slowly allowing students to return, as a result of the pandemic. Julie O’Sullivan Maillet, chair of ASAHP’s Clinical Education Task Force (CETF), along with two CETF members Dr. Mari Knettle (Cleveland Clinic) and Dr. Peter Hu (University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center) provided insight on how their respective educational institutions, healthcare institutions, and accrediting bodies have responded and challenges they have faced.

ASAHP’s CETF has held several webinars on clinical education during the pandemic. All webinar recordings are available here, and we invite members to engage in our “Clinical Education Discussion Forum” online community. To join, please contact Kristen Truong at kristen@asahp.org.

Read the full article here.

Number Of Health Care Jobs Increased In June 2020

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the health care field added 358,000 jobs in June, increasing 2.3% to a seasonally adjusted 15.6 million. Office-based providers, such as physicians and dentists, continued to account for much of the increase while nursing and residential care facilities continued to lose jobs.

The report can be obtained at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t17.htm.

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ASAHP Joins Letter to Congress Urging Public Health Infrastructure Funding

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Today, ASAHP joined over 250 organizations in a letter sent to Congressional leadership in support of increased funding for public health infrastructure. The groups recommend $4.5 billion in additional annual funding for CDC, state, local, tribal and territorial core public health infrastructure to pay for such essential activities

The letter may be accessed here.

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ASAHP Joins Letters to Congress in Support of the Public Health Workforce

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ASAHP joined with a coalition of organizations led by the National Association of County and City Health Officials in sending letters last week to Congressional leadership in the U.S. House and Senate. The House letter outlines the undersigned organizations’ strong support of the Public Health Loan Repayment Program included in the HEROES Act and urges Congress to create and fund this program as part of the next COVID-19 package. The Senate letter outlines the organizations’ strong support of the Strengthening the Public Health Workforce Act, and urges Congress to include that bill as part of the next COVID-19 package and provide funding to implement it.

The House letter may be accessed here and the Senate letter may be accessed here.

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2020 Financial Impact Of COVID-19 On Hospitals And Health Systems

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A new AHA report released today finds that the immense financial strain facing hospitals and health systems due to COVID-19 will continue, with total losses expected to be at least $323 billion in 2020 and patient volume expected to remain well below baseline levels. 

The report can be obtained at https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2020/06/aha-covid19-financial-impact-report.pdf.

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Resources For Tracking Federal Spending On COVID-19

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Congress responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with various kinds of legislation providing relief to individuals and families; state and local governments; businesses; health care providers; and other entities.  A report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has information on selected sources for tracking relief funding provided through these bills.

The report can be obtained at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IN11407.pdf.

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COVID-19 Outpatient Care Visits

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The coronavirus dramatically changed outpatient care in the United States, with visits to physician offices declining by nearly 60% in March. An updated report from the Commonwealth Fund indicates that although outpatient visits across the nation rebounded in June, visits remain as much as 20% below pre-pandemic levels in some regions of the U.S.

The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/2020/jun/impact-covid-19-pandemic-outpatient-visits-practices-adapting-new-normal?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Delivery%20System%20Reform.

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Potential Health Care Costs And Resource Use For COVID-19 In The U.S.

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A paper in the journal Health Affairs published in the June 2020 issue estimates that direct medical costs incurred during the course of the infection range from $163.4 billion if 20% of the population gets infected to $654.0 billion if 80% of the population becomes infected.

The paper can be obtained at https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/pdf/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00426.

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U.S. House Of Representatives Hearing On COVID-19 Response

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The House Energy and Commerce Committee today held a hearing on the administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Testimony was heard from Anthony S. Fauci, Director, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Brett P. Giroir, Assistant Secretary for Health; Stephen M. Hahn, Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and Robert R. Redfield, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Their testimonies can be obtained at https://energycommerce.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/full-committee-hearing-on-oversight-of-the-trump-administrations.

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Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Telehealth Lessons Learned

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The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on “Telehealth: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic” to examine changes made to insurance payments and effectiveness of waivers granted for telehealth due to COVID-19. An expert panel provided testimony on how telehealth has been crucial for safe medical care and the necessity of waivers to become permanent. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) asked the witnesses how Congress can help to prepare the current and future workforce on utilizing telehealth and what resources, such as funding, education, and Internet access, are needed to achieve this. Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) expressed hesitation in mandating reciprocity agreements between states for healthcare provider licenses but would rather encourage states to participate in these agreements.

Full memo available here.

ASAHP Applauds Supreme Court DACA Decision

Today, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of Univ. of California, rejected the Trump Administration’s attempt to end the DACA program. ASAHP, along with 33 other national health professions organizations, submitted an Amicus Brief to the Court in support of preserving DACA.

The opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, declared that the Court was not deciding whether DACA was a sound policy, as it was within the rights of the Administration to terminate the DACA program, which was created by Executive Order during the Obama Administration. Instead, the Court only looked at “whether the agency complied with the procedural requirement that it provide a reasoned explanation for its action”. 

It found the process utilized by the Administration had been done in an “arbitrary and capricious” way, and had not made its decision “based on a consideration of the relevant factors and whether there has been a clear error of judgment, in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act”. 

As a result of this decision, DACA will continue to remain intact. However, the Administration has the option of going back through the process of eliminating DACA once again, but needs to offer a sound rationale when doing so – which it had not done this time. 

A terrific analysis of this decision can be found by noted Supreme Court scholar Amy Howe of Scotusblog here.

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Health Insurance Coverage Of A Future COVID-19 Vaccine

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A new report from the Commonwealth Fund discusses whether existing public and private insurance coverage will suffice to sustain a national immunization strategy.

The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/why-we-cant-rely-health-insurance-alone-guarantee-universal-immunization-against-covid-19.

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ASU Virtual Summit on Online and Blended Learning

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On July 13 and 14, ASU will host REMOTE: The Connected Faculty Summit. The virtual conference, supported by the ASU Foundation, will showcase best practices, techniques, and tools to provide actionable insight to Higher Education faculty around the concept of “the best of online education.”  Attendees can access 60+ curated sessions of 30 minutes during two 4-hour days of simultaneous learning tracks. This virtual conference is free of charge for those involved in learning delivery (faculty and learning practitioners) as well as Administration worldwide.

More information and registration details my be accessed here.

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Updated Profiles Of Health Care Systems Around The World

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Why have some nations seemed better equipped than others to address the health needs of their population during the COVID-19 pandemic? The completely updated and revised 2020 edition of the Commonwealth Fund’s International Profiles of Health Care Systems reveals the ins and outs of health systems in 20 nations.

The Profiles can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=International%20Health.

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Senate Pandemic Preparedness Report and Request for Recommendations

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Senator Lamar Alexander, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, this week released a 40-page report, “Preparing for the Next Pandemic”. The report aims to cover what the United States has learned from the past twenty years of public health preparedness and response and how it can better prepare for future pandemics. Chairman Alexander’s report recommends that Congress should work with federal departments and agencies, states, and the private sector to address these five specific issues and newly identified gaps: 1. Tests, Treatments, and Vaccines, 2. Disease Surveillance, 3. Stockpiles, Distribution, and Surges, 4. Public Health Capabilities, and 5. Coordination of Federal Agencies During a Public Health Emergency. Chairman Alexander requests recommendations that Congress can consider and act on this year. Responses should be sent to PANDEMICPREPAREDNESS@HELP.SENATE.GOV by 5pm ET on June 26.

The report may be accessed here.

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ASAHP Partners with CastleBranch to Fight Back Against COVID-19

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The Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) is providing a no-cost solution to its members to help mitigate the risk of COVID-19 and assist health professions students in safely returning to clinical rotations. The solution, CastleBranch’s CB COVID-19 Compliance application, can be used to screen for common COVID-19 symptoms, high-risk indicators, and help students prove their safe to return to onsite clinical experiences.

The CB COVID-19 Compliance tool closely aligns with ASAHP’s values of preparing safe and competent professionals, benefitting from the power of a united approach and bringing creative and innovative solutions to its members. CB COVID-19 Compliance will enable ASAHP’s members to screen students for a fever, collect information on a student’s travel and exposure to COVID-19, and provide education on proper protocol and practices to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The application follows CDC guidelines and was inspired by the Infectious Disease Council, an international panel of experts representing the fields of infectious disease policy, education, healthcare, diagnostic and medical testing, and law. Members include, among others, Donna Meyer, CEO of the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing, and Dr. Deborah Trautman, CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

“Our healthcare professions schools and students are facing extraordinary challenges as the pandemic both highlights, and elevates, the central role healthcare workers play in the wellbeing of our nation,” said John Colbert, Esq., executive director of ASAHP. “We must work to protect our next generation of healthcare workers, and to fight against the threat to their education, training, and clinical experience process. By partnering with CastleBranch, we are taking proactive steps to empower our next generation of health professionals and get them back into clinical rotations during this unprecedented time.”

CB COVID-19 Compliance is built upon CastleBranch’s existing enterprise-level clinical experience platform, CB Bridges, which is designed to support millions of users. The platform is compliant with all relevant regulations governing the collection and usage of private data, including FERPA, FCRA, CCPA and more. CB COVID-19 Compliance will be available to all ASAHP members and allied health programs, regardless of whether they’re current CastleBranch clients.

“It’s crucial that we take all available measures to help the healthcare community during this time of crisis, and that includes helping health students get back to the classroom and back into clinical rotations to continue their education,” said Brett Martin, CEO of CastleBranch. “These students are the next generation of healthcare professionals we’ll rely on to help our communities respond to and recover from COVID-19.”

CB COVID-19 Compliance will be available to ASAHP members, students, and associated healthcare facility partners at no cost through December 2020.

For more information, please visit https://discover.castlebranch.com/covid-19-resources-cu/ or call or email CastleBranch at 888.914.7279, covid19@castlebranch.com.

Relief Fund Payments For Safety Net Hospitals, Medicaid & CHIP Providers

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced additional distributions from the Provider Relief Fund to eligible Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) providers that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs. HHS also announced the distribution of Provider Relief Funds to safety net hospitals that serve the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.

More details can be obtained at https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/06/09/hhs-announces-enhanced-provider-portal-relief-fund-payments-for-safety-net-hospitals-medicaid-chip-providers.html.