COVID-19 NEWS

• U.S. Plans to Fast-Track Revamped Covid-19 Vaccines to Combat Omicron
• District Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Blocking Biden Administration's Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers Nationwide

HEALTH TRENDS

• Over Half of Young Adults Are Obese or Overweight, Study Says
• Study: Californians' Health is Struggling Due to Lack of Affordable Housing and Other External Factors

DIGITAL HEALTH NEWS & TRENDS

• Telehealth Rollbacks Leave Patients Stranded, Some Doctors Say
• CVS & Microsoft Forge Digital Care Partnership
• 10 Hospital Execs Define 'Digital Transformation'
• Digital Health Ecosystems: Voices of Key Healthcare Leaders

HEALTHCARE & GOVERNMENT

• CMS Issues Outpatient Prospective Payment System Final Rule for CY 2022
• CMS Releases Final Rule Regarding Payment Policies under the Physician Fee Schedule & Other Changes to Medicare Part B Payment Policies
• CMS Issues Final Rule Affecting Home Health, Hospice, Inpatient Rehab & Long-Term Care Facilities for 2022
• Medicare FFS Estimated Improper Payments Decline by $20+ Billion Since 2014
• 152 Members of Congress Submit Letter Urging Revisions to No Surprises Act Independent Dispute Resolution Process

On December 1, three "Innovators in Healthcare" presenters stimulated ABL-Southern California Members to rethink how to care for the fragile elderly in their last years of life; how to track an entire population's health and SDOH status; and how to enable the obese to curb their appetites naturally. Presenters - Kim Phan, CEO of CareConnectMD, Harry Soza, CEO of CAREMINDr, and Dalton Combs, PhD, CEO of Temper - have graciously allowed ABL Members to view each of their slide presentations on ABL's Members Only site: go to abl.org, click on "Members Only" on the top far right, and then on "Presentations" in the red bar on the top left. (While you're there, scroll down the postings of the other nine "special event" presentations that have been posted there so far this year.)

In Are You Using Therapeutic Communication Techniques?, Alegre Home Care explains that therapeutic communication emphasizes compassion and empathy. Unlike a social relationship which centers on a give-and-receive dynamic, a therapeutic relationship is client-centered and the well-being of the person receiving care is always the priority. Alegre goes on to describe specific techniques. (Charles Symes, OAK)

In Why Firewall Patching (Updating Firmware) is Critical for Your Business, Alvaka Networks declares that maintaining up-to-date firewall patching is critical, as the firewall is the first and last border separating your private local network from the rest of the world. People across the globe are scanning the internet's IP addresses 24/7, trying to identify what IPs belong to which companies, and what security measures they have in place. These same individuals look to identify which firewall models companies have and search for ways to gain access past them. (Oli Thordarson, OC)

Anthem Blue Cross of California has selected Motivo to receive a grant to help communities throughout California increase access to mental health and substance use disorder counseling services. Motivo has developed an online platform that can connect pre-licensed mental health therapists with clinical supervisors through online videoconferencing. This approach can expedite the path toward licensure and increase access to critically needed care, so Anthem has stepped-up to fund the launch of this technology across the state. (David Pryor, MD, LA)

Bayer announced that it will invest 100 million Euros (~$112,855,000 U.S.) to further enable sustainable innovation, production, and consumption of its Consumer Health products, which include global brands such as Aspirin, Bepanthen, Claritin and Elevit. Bayer has a three-pronged science-based action plan in line with the company's science based-targets to be climate neutral by 2030 and net zero by 2050: Prioritize Sustainable Brands, Products and Packaging; Urge Collective Action; and Turbocharge Commitment to Net Zero. (Rama Penta, SV)

Fast Company has named Biospectal a winner in their 2021 Next Big Things in Tech Awards, for measuring blood pressure through smartphones. Biospectal's OptiBP app can record a user's blood pressure through a fingertip in just 20 seconds. The WHO is currently validating the technology in a large-scale global study. (Eliott Jones, SV)

Choice in Aging (CiA)'s partner for its Aging in Place Campus - Satellite Affordable Housing - has been awarded a $6 million grant to provide 21 of these housing units to veterans - bestowed by California's Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Program. And, CiA has been honored as a 2021 Top-Rated Nonprofit by GreatNonprofits.
Meanwhile, on January 29 CiA will hold its 47th Annual Crab Feed on January 29. And, watch recent episodes of CiA's "Dishing with Debbie" video series, where CEO Debbie Toth speaks with special guests on relevant topics. (Debbie Toth, OAK)

Covered California announced that three of the biggest health insurance carriers that it contracts with - Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, and Kaiser Permanente - will be increasing the amount they pay insurance agents who provide independent assistance to consumers signing up for coverage in the individual market. The increased compensation will come at no additional cost to consumers, as Covered California's Licensed Insurance Agents are paid through the monthly premiums that the carriers receive. The move comes after Covered California studied agent-commission trends and found that while people were continuing to rely on an experienced person to help them understand and choose their coverage options, agent compensation had steadily declined since 2014. (Kathy Keeshen, JD, SF)

Covisus, a pioneer in covert, intrinsic, tag-less item-level supply chain protection solutions secured Series A funding with Hale Capital Partners. The funding comes on the back of Covisus' unprecedented growth in its solution development, since its parent company Chromologic LLC launched Covisus in 2015.
Meanwhile, ChromoLogic's article summarizing the outcome of its NHP whole thorax irradiation study of miRNA biomarkers for late radiation injury was accepted for publication in the Radiation Research Society journal. (Naresh Menon, Ph.D., LA)

El Camino Health's Mountain View and Los Gatos campuses both earned an 'A' in the fall 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade program, making it one of the only health systems in the South Bay to have two hospitals that received the top grade. Leapfrog measures publicly available safety data to grade 2,600+ U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year with A, B, C, D or F ratings based on their performance to prevent errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.
Also, the Los Gatos hospital has won a 2021 Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award for Patient Experience in Outpatient Oncology, having reached the 95th percentile for patient experience metrics each reporting period in the award year. (Cecile Currier, SV)

Elemeno Health and LCMC Health, one of the fastest-growing health systems in Louisiana, have announced a partnership to support neonatal ICU staff with just-in-time best practices, extending care standards from Children's Hospital New Orleans, and across the health system's birthing centers at East Jefferson General Hospital, Touro, and West Jefferson Medical Center. (Arup Roy-Burman, MD, OAK)

Eleven HumanGood communities have been named as "Best Nursing Homes of 2021-2022" by U.S. News & World Report, which evaluated 15,000+ nursing homes and rated them in a variety of quality measures, including staffing, medical outcomes, resident complaints, and processes of care. (Tara McGuinness, OAK)

The Irvine Health Foundation (IHF) has made an announcement regarding upcoming major grant awards, proactively developed by IHF in partnership with the recipients, and designed to improve the health of Orange County residents for many decades to come. Because the above-mentioned final grants will utilize the remainder of IHF's endowment funds, December 31, 2021, will mark the beginning of a prudent process to finalize the work of the Foundation. The specific details of these grant awards will be announced later. (Ed Kacic, OC)

On November 13, 2021, Kaiser Permanente (KP) and the Alliance of Health Care Unions reached tentative agreement on a 4-year contract, covering nearly 50,000 KP healthcare employees in 22 local unions, and strengthening the Labor Management Partnership. The agreement includes new staffing language to continue to protect employees and patients, annual wage increases, and maintains benefits while providing career development and advancement opportunities for Alliance union-represented employees. The Alliance and KP have agreed to form a national Affordability and Competitiveness Task Force with specific targets to find innovative ways to address issues of affordability while continuing to work together to protect high-quality patient care.
Meanwhile, according to KP research published in JAMA Network Open, patients who made appointments to see their primary care doctors by video or over the phone did not seek substantially more follow-up care overall than those who had traditional in-person visits. (Marcos Vasconcelos, OAK)

U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers has ranked multiple King & Spalding practices from across the country in their "Best Law Firms 2022" edition. The firm earned 42 national rankings, including Tier 1 designations in 22 practice areas - including Health Care Law, as well as 128 regional rankings for various practices in Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles, as well as Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Houston, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, K&S will present a webinar on December 16 - White Bagging 2.0: Strategies Based on How Providers, Plans and Regulators Have Responded.
And, recent K&S Client Alerts include:
>> FDA Makes First Significant Changes to Premarket Medical Device Software Guidance in 16 Years;
>> Biden Administration Unveils New COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Requirements for Large Businesses and Healthcare Workers. (Marcia Augsburger, JD, SF)

A Seattle Times article highlights EvergreenHealth's recently opened ICU, for which KMD Architects led the design team in making major upgrades. An excerpt: "Changes, big and small, have swept through the suburban Kirkland, WA hospital since it became the center of the nation's first major identified COVID outbreak in February 2020. In many ways, the virus has pushed medical technology and patient care forward."
Also, Next Gen Healthcare: Kaiser Permanente Opens its first MOB in Berkeley spotlights the opening of KP's first medical office building in Berkeley, for which KMD led the design and planning of interior tenant improvements. (Rob Matthew, SF)

In The Impact of the Pandemic on Mental Health, Life Adjustment Team (LAT) notes that a pandemic is more than just a medical phenomenon; it disrupts individuals and society at every level and causes anxiety, stress, stigma, and fear, all of which impact a person's mental health and the way they interact with the world. LAT discusses some ways the pandemic may have affected your mental health, including: Anxieties about getting sick; Emotional repercussions of social distancing; Anxiety over finances; Grief caused by loss; and Struggling with returning to normal.
Meanwhile, other recent LAT articles include: How a Daily Routine Can Improve Your Mental Health and Early Signs of Psychosis and Schizophrenia. (Cynthia Sampson, LA)

In LigoLab's Direct-to-Consumer Portal: An Innovative Solution for an Industry-Wide Problem, LigoLab goes in depth on its TestDirectly Direct-to-Consumer Web Portal, a cloud-based patient engagement tool that replaces paper forms and manual processes with an electronic workflow that entirely supports a case from specimen collection to the delivery of the report, and everything in between.
Also, find out how labs plan to use the TestDirectly Portal to comply with the 21st Century Cures Act in the American Association for Clinical Chemistry's article, The Lab Is Moving From a Black Box to a Smartphone App.
And, LigoLab's revenue cycle management module is featured in the New & Noteworthy section of the latest issue of MedicalLab Management. (Suren Avunjian, LA)

Mazzetti is ranked #8 in the Top 95 Healthcare Sector Engineering and EA Firms in Building Design & Construction Magazine's 2021 Giants 400 Report, a ranking of the largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Mazzetti has published Why Hospitals Should Eliminate Hot Water for Hand Washing, which examines why, over the last several years, experts in infection control have been uprooting old assumptions that hot water is an essential component in hand washing.
And, in this short video, Mazzetti explains Scope 1, 2, & 3 Emissions. (Walt Vernon, JD, SF)

MedWand Solutions won the "Best Overall Telemedicine Platform of the Year" award at the Middle East HealthTech Innovation Summit / HealthTech Innovation Awards, organized by BII World.
Meanwhile, MedWand is participating in the Futures Exhibition at the Smithsonian in the Arts & Industries Building - both sponsoring and participating in special programs throughout, and likely beyond, the duration of the exhibition, currently scheduled to run into summer of 2022. (Bob Rose, OC)

Authority Magazine has published an interview feature, Top Lawyers: Harry Nelson of Nelson Hardiman On The 5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law. In addition to the "5 Things," Harry talks about his background, his practice, his motivation, and more.
And, Nelson Hardiman (NH) was awarded a Los Angeles region Tier 1 ranking in Health Care and Administrative/Regulatory Law by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyer's "2022 Best Law Firms." The rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation of client and lawyer evaluations peer review and leading attorneys in their field.
Meanwhile, read NH's article, Despite Jury Win, Opioid Attorneys Predict "A Long Way to Go." (Harry Nelson, JD, LA)

The American Medical Association has issued Prelude Corporation (PreludeDx) a new, dedicated Current Procedural Terminology Proprietary Laboratory Analyses code for DCISionRT, the only test available to predict personalized recurrence risk and radiation therapy benefit for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ. The new code will become effective January 1, 2022, and is specific to the DCISionRT test.
Meanwhile, PreludeDx will present scientific data demonstrating a significant (40%) change in radiation therapy treatment recommendations when using the DCISionRT test, this week at the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. (Dan Forche, OC)

Mark Heinemeyer, CEO of PRODEO, co-authored a recent paper in the Psychiatric Times, Avoiding a Brain Health Innovation Market Failure: Lessons from the Hype Cycle, which begins: "As brain health investing sees unprecedented growth and activity, how do we ensure a sustainable rate of progress going forward? An editorial in JAMA Psychiatry reported that in 2019 alone, venture capital companies invested a record-breaking $637 million in 60+ different mental health-oriented companies. This has accelerated further in 2020 and 2021. The whole VC field is booming, and beyond just mental health care, investment in the broader field of brain health science and technology is also on the rise." (Mark Heinemeyer, OC)

Satellite Healthcare recently unveiled a pilot study that enables dialysis patients to safely transition to home-based peritoneal dialysis (PD), and to maintain this therapy through events that would otherwise require them to transition to in-center hemodialysis. The study is the first multi-center implementation of assisted PD in the U.S. and demonstrates how dialysis staff worked with patients and their families to build problem-solving skills and self-confidence, and to arrange a safe home environment to enable patients to successfully dialyze at home without staff assistance. (Jim Glafkides, SV, & Bernadette Vincent, OAK)

In The Continuing Benefits of Telemedicine, SAVI Group concludes that from improving communication to increasing access to valuable care, telemedicine is here to stay as support rises from various parties.
And, in Sustaining Patient Care Quality During a Hiring Shortage, SAVI Group provides suggestions on what healthcare providers can do to ensure patient care doesn't suffer due to a shortage of workers, and how they can make sure current staff members aren't feeling overburdened/burned-out at work.
Other recent articles from SAVI Group include: The Benefits of Utilizing Digital Health Records and How Medical Practices Can Keep Denial Rates Low. (Sumit Mahendru, OC)

Upcoming healthcare-related webinars from Wipfli include:
>> HIPAA & cybersecurity due diligence and compliance for healthcare private equity backed providers, on December 14;
>> Wipfli Home Health webinar,, on Dec. 16.
>> Also, read Wipfli's recent article: How the tone from the top impacts your internal audit.
>> Meanwhile, Wipfli was recently awarded five platinum and two gold MarCom Awards for external and internal communication achievements from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. (Jeff Johnson & John Dao, OAK)