Academic Medical Centers And High-Need, High-Cost Patients: A Call To Action
In an article published on June 12, 2018 in the journal Academic Medicine, the authors issue a call to action for academic medical centers (AMCs) to accelerate the path to improving care for the country's sickest and most expensive patients. They point to six key features of care programs that have achieved proven results, including targeting interventions to those patients who are most likely to benefit and partnering with social services providers to address patients' nonclinical needs. Health care delivery systems increasingly are focused on improving care for patients with the highest needs and highest costs, in part because of the cost savings and financial returns that are possible through new value-based payment models. These models include the country's academic medical centers (AMCs), many of which have been at the forefront of efforts to meet the range of physical, behavioral, and social needs of a particularly vulnerable population. The article can be obtained at https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Abstract/publishahead/ Academic_Medical_Centers_and_High_Need,_High_Cost.97882.aspx.
Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results And Trends Report
CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors priority health behaviors and experiences among high school students across the country. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results help in understanding the factors that contribute to the leading causes of illness, death, and disability among youth and young adults. The YRBS Data Summary and Trends Report uses YRBS data to focus on four priority areas closely linked to HIV and STD risk including sexual behavior, high-risk substance use, violence victimization, and mental health over the past decade. Results from the 2017 YRBS show that fewer U.S. high school students are having sex and using select illicit drugs; however, far too many students remain at risk for HIV, STDs, and teen pregnancy. While the percentage of students who reported using select illicit drugs (defined as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, inhalants, hallucinogens, or ecstasy) was down from 23% in 2007 to 14% in 2017, the survey also found that nearly 1 in 7 U.S. high school students reported misusing prescription opioids – a behavior that can lead to future injection drug use and increased risk for HIV. Research shows experiences of violence and poor mental health can compound risks for STDs, including HIV. Nearly 1 in 5 students were bullied at school. More than 1 in 10 female students and 1 in 28 male students report having been physically forced to have sex. The proportion of students who persistently felt sad or hopeless increased from 29% in 2007 to 32% in 2017. The report can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/trendsreport.pdf.
New America’s Survey On Higher Education
Varying Degrees 2018: New America’s Second Annual Survey on Higher Education surveyed 1,600 Americans ages 18 and older to better understand their perceptions of higher education, economic mobility, and government funding. Respondents believe that well-paying jobs require education after high school, education after high school creates opportunities, and that public colleges and universities are worth the cost. They feel mixed about private and for-profit colleges and universities and whether higher education is a public benefit. They are in favor of having the government do more to make education affordable. They want change in higher education and they support workforce-based programs such as apprenticeships. The report can be obtained at https://na-production.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Varying-Degrees.pdf.
Other Articles from TRENDS June 2018
WORDS AND THEIR PLACEMENT REALLY MATTER
Apart from gestures and semiotic influences, such as wearing a white coat and having a stethoscope, communication between a health professional and a patient relies heavily on language in the form of words—whether spoken or written. Read More
FUNDING AND AGENCY RESTRUCTURING
The House Appropriations Committee in June 2018 released the text of its fiscal year (FY) 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education funding bill. The proposed legislation...Read More
DEVELOPMENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Two issues in higher education attracted a considerable amount of attention in June 2018. The newest is an announcement by the Trump Administration to merge the Departments of Labor and Education into a single Department of Education and the Workforce...Read More
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ROBOTS, AND THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY
The aging of the U.S. population and the extent to which multiple morbidities characterize a large segment of that sub-group provides assurance that the health care industry will continue to be robust for decades...Read More
PRESIDENT’S CORNER — ASAHP MEMBER FOCUS
Name and Title: Kim L. Halula, PhD, Associate Dean, College of Health Sciences... Read More
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT DEVELOPMENTS
Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) become law in 2010, Congressional Republicans have vowed to repeal and replace it. With the advent...Read More
QUICK STAT (SHORT, TIMELY, AND TOPICAL)
Genetic testing and spending on that testing have grown rapidly since the mapping of the human genome in 2003, but it is not widely known how many tests there are, how they are used, and how paid for...Read More
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY CORNER
The results of a study published on April 18, 2018 in the open access journal npj Digital Medicine is based on an evaluation of the effectiveness of using Twitter to search for individuals who become lost due to dementia...Read More
THE WALKING CORPSE SYNDROME
Page one of this issue of TRENDS is on the topic of communication as expressed by the use of words. An error made in speaking can be referred to as...Read More