UPCOMING ABL-HEALTH
ROUND TABLES & EVENTS

• 7/05 - Orange County + LA ZOOM Table - "How Tori Bowie's Tragic Death Shines a New Light on Maternal-Fetal Health" - Featuring Harry Nelson, JD, of Nelson Hardiman


• 7/19 - AI Breakthroughs You Can Use! - Membership-wide IN PERSON Member EVENT, in Westwood (L.A.) - In this very special IN PERSON-ONLY EVENT, you will learn HOW TO apply the latest AI apps to speed your company's growth and catapult its efficiency. ABL Technology and Healthcare Members statewide are invited to share how they are already using AI tools and learn how other tools can help grow their businesses in a fraction of the time - and cost. PLUS hear from multiple presenters and panelists and enjoy brunch & lunch. No charge to ABL Members. Click Here for More Details & to RSVP!


• 7/20 - Bay Area ZOOM Table - "Why the Sun Is Rising on Risant" - Featuring Marcos Vasconcelos of Kaiser Permanente


• Explore Membership in ABL's Executive Round Tables >>>

• Alegre Home Care (Charles Symes) Discusses the Needs of LGBTQ+ Seniors
• Biospectal (Eliott Jones) Validated in Global Health Study Results
• Choice In Aging (Debbie Toth) Interviews Leaders Serving Seniors
• Cigna's Chris DeRosa Assumes Leadership of Medicare and Individual & Family Plan Businesses
• Eitan Medical (Roger Massengale) Named to "Top 10 Drug Management Solution Providers of 2023"
• El Camino Health (Cecile Currier) Launches Innovation Fund to Invest in New Healthcare Tech
• Elemeno Health (Arup Roy-Burman, MD) Spotlighted in Health Leaders Media
• GrandCare Health Services (David Bell, Ph.D.) Earns Quality Award
• Greg Buchert, MD to Participate in "Post-Mortem" Panel on Pear Therapeutics
• The Innovation Institute (Mike McKinnon) Shares Lessons Learned in First 10 Years
• Kaiser Permanente (Marcos Vasconcelos) Honored for Commitment to People with Disabilities + Partners to Address Climate Change
• Life Adjustment Team (Cynthia Sampson) Explains Case Management vs. Care Coordination
• LigoLab (Suren Avunjian) Examines Healthcare Disruptors & Transition Strategies
• Nelson Hardiman (Harry Nelson, JD) Continues Webinar Series on Healthcare Privacy
• On Lok (Grace Li) Details Collaboration to Help LGBTQ+ Seniors Age at Home
• Royal Ambulance (Steve Grau) Among Most Inspiring Workplaces in North America + Onward Completes Accelerator Program
• Wipfli (Jeff Johnson, Steve Rousso & John Dao) Deemed a Best Firm for Technology
• Zymo Research (Yap Ching Chew, Ph.D.) Collaborates with Burst Diagnostics & Opentrons Labworks

• Eckert & Ziegler (Frank Yeager) Gets Clearance for Therapeutic + Hosts Radionuclide Theranostics Forum

ABL-TECH MEMBERS' HEALTHCARE NEWS

PentixaPharm GmbH, a developer of innovative radiopharmaceuticals fully owned by Eckert & Ziegler (EZ), has received approval from the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices to start PTT101, its open-label dose escalation study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, biodistribution and efficacy of PentixaTher. The Yttrium-90 labelled CXCR4-compound PentixaTher will be tested as a radiotherapeutic against recurrent or refractory primary or isolated secondary central nervous system lymphoma. ALSO, EZ recently hosted the first Radionuclide Theranostics Forum in Boston, MA, connecting potential and existing partners and key industry players in vigorous discussions on the central topics of the rapidly developing radiotheranostics market. (LA)

HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY NEWS & TRENDS

Healthcare workers experienced high levels of burnout, stress and trauma during the pandemic, but new data suggests their optimism about the industry is returning, according to a June 26 survey from Morning Consult. The survey includes insights from 1,006 U.S. healthcare workers polled between May 5 and May 18. Three survey findings: 1) 58% of respondents said they are optimistic about healthcare's future, while 37% had a pessimistic outlook. 2) 61% of respondents said they've mostly been able to cope with work stressors over the past six months. 3) Respondents were evenly split on whether they felt defeated or energized by their work (42% each). (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/workforce/healthcare-workers-optimism-is-returning-3-findings.html)

To continue to build California's healthcare workforce, the California Department of Aging (CDA) recently launched the CalGrows workforce training and development program. CalGrows is open for registration with hundreds of courses available to caregivers working with older adults and adults with disabilities, helping support Californians on a path to a career in healthcare and ensuring the state retains highly-qualified healthcare workers. Courses cover a range of topics, including Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia, Cultural Diversity, Food Safety, Infection Control, Provider, and Consumer communication and more, with courses available in multiple languages. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/06/05/free-job-training-and-incentives-now-available-for-california-caregivers/)

Doctors once turned to part-time work mostly as a transition into retirement. Overloaded and burned out, many in their working prime are now building entire careers as temporary physicians-for-hire. About 50,000 doctors, or 7% of the U.S. physician workforce not including foreign medical-school graduates, now practice medicine via temporary assignments, according to medical-staffing company CHG Healthcare. That is a nearly 90% increase from 2015. Like traveling nurses, many of these doctors are tapping into booming demand for their services, especially at labor-starved community hospitals around the U.S. Primary-care doctors are the most sought after, according to CHG Healthcare data. So are specialists such as cardiologists, pulmonologists, surgeons and oncologists. Doctors and staffing agencies say working temporary hospital gigs typically can pay 30% to 50% more than what a full-time hospital staff doctor would earn - and sometimes more, depending on the specialty and location. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-rise-of-the-part-time-doctor-7025ec1d?mod=hp_featst_pos3)

Los Angeles voters will decide on a measure that would cap pay of hospital executives. That's after the Los Angeles City Council voted June 21 to put the initiative on the ballot next spring, according to The Los Angeles Times. The city's next regularly scheduled primary nominating election is in March 2024. The measure, backed by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, would cap hospital executive pay at the compensation of the U.S. president, or $450,000 per year. The president's compensation includes $400,000 annually with an expense allowance of $50,000.
The California Hospital Association filed suit challenging the measure, arguing the U.S. president earns more when factoring in travel expenses, discretionary funds and residence in the White House. The CHA argued the alleged mismatched numbers constitute "calculated untruths" that misled voters who were asked to sign the petition. In April, a Los Angeles judge denied the hospital association's challenge.
The measure would apply to executives, managers and administrators of privately owned hospitals and other healthcare facilities in Los Angeles. Its cap includes salary, paid time off, bonuses, incentive payments and lump-sum cash payments. It would not apply to medical staff who primarily provide patient care, the Times said. (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/compensation-issues/measure-to-cap-los-angeles-hospital-executive-pay-will-head-to-voters.html)

Hawaii and Massachusetts were the top two ranked states in the composite measure capturing health outcomes and healthy behaviors in Commonwealth Fund's "2023 Scorecard of State Health System Performance." The report was published June 22 and is generally based on data from 2021, evaluating all 50 states across 58 performance indicators. An article in Becker's Hospital Review provides a list of how states ranked on health outcomes and healthy behaviors, based on 10 indicators, including measures of premature death, health status, health risk behaviors and factors (such as smoking and obesity), and tooth loss. California is ranked #10. (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/rankings-and-ratings/states-ranked-by-health-outcomes-healthy-behaviors-commonwealth-fund.html)

Uber Health, the delivery platform's healthcare arm, will soon add delivery of food and over-the-counter medications to its HIPAA-enabled platform, to be delivered by Uber Eats, the tech company recently announced. "The first-of-its-kind platform will simplify and enhance the entire patient journey - from getting to a primary care appointment to accessing critical prescriptions and groceries," San Francisco-based Uber said. The latest move expands on Uber Health's announcement in March that it would begin same-day delivery of prescription medications. Under the latest offering, Uber Health will deliver groceries as prescribed under "food-as-medicine" programs. (https://www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/technology/uber-health-launch-grocery-otc-medication-delivery)

Once a freak occurrence, fungi resistant to standard drugs threaten millions of Americans - especially in the southwest. As the climate changes, Histoplasma and other fungi have expanded their geographic range and become more adept at infecting people. Like bacteria that mutate to better resist antibiotics, fungi are evolving to withstand available treatments. Drug-resistant bacteria and fungi kill 35,000+ people in the U.S. every year, according to the CDC. Antibiotics can exacerbate some fungal infections because they eradicate bacteria that compete with fungi. The fungus is potentially deadly only if it invades the bloodstream or internal organs, but its presence on the skin increases the chances of that happening. Medical experts say one reason for the surge is that more people have compromised immune systems, including cancer patients and those taking medicines after organ transplants. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/deadly-fungal-infection-candida-auris-yeast-ab73b9d0?mod=hp_trending_now_article_pos4)

Young children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy can now get the first gene therapy for the crippling muscle condition. The one-time treatment will cost $3.2 million. The drug, known as Elevidys and made by Sarepta Therapeutics, becomes the first treatment that seeks to treat the disease by repairing the genetic defect at its root. The FDA recently approved the therapy, following a fast-track review. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/first-gene-therapy-for-muscular-dystrophy-approved-34860988?mod=hp_listb_pos3)

After a disastrous couple of years, hospitals are trying to win back patients' trust with better service. During Covid-19, patient-experience ratings plunged amid staffing shortages, overcrowding and lockdown rules that barred families from the bedside. Now hospitals are adopting new strategies to help address complaints and service failures that can add up to a bad experience even when treatment is successful. In addition to government-mandated post-discharge satisfaction questionnaires and other patient-experience surveys, hospitals are using new technology to identify issues in real time and fix them before patients go home unhappy. And they are drawing on expertise from the hospitality industry and other consumer companies for lessons on how to transform dissatisfied customers into loyal ones who will recommend the hospital to others. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/url-hospital-patients-better-experience-800414d8?mod=hp_jr_pos2)

Kaweah Health paid more than $200 an hour for nurses during the worst of the pandemic's upheaval. Pay rates have eased, but the Visalia, Calif., health system's financial struggles persist. High labor costs and financial losses have put Kaweah afoul of lenders, who demanded $18 million of its dwindling reserves as a guarantee for bondholders. To preserve cash, Kaweah closed a diabetes clinic and a nursing home that lost money. It hasn't been enough to recover. Kaweah plans to ask the state for a loan. Distressed hospitals are reporting they don't have enough cash to satisfy lenders, which can technically count as default, putting hospitals at risk of credit downgrades and higher interest rates. Some lenders are also demanding that hospitals hire consultants to help turn around their operations or set aside cash for repayment. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/some-hospitals-that-spent-big-on-nurses-during-pandemic-are-now-short-on-cash-d20f0435?mod=hp_lista_pos2)

Medical device makers may soon have an easier path to securing health insurance reimbursement for their products, following the recent notice of a long-awaited rule by CMS. The program, called Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies, would apply to medical products deemed "breakthrough devices" by the FDA. Device makers complain that the process of acquiring Medicare coverage is opaque and complex, creating a "valley of death" between FDA approval and securing coverage from health insurers. The TCET rule is an attempt to make that process clearer. (https://www.statnews.com/2023/06/22/cms-proposes-new-pathway-for-reimbursing-breakthrough-devices/)

CMS recently issued a proposed rule updating payment rates and policies related to renal dialysis services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries on or after January 1, 2024. The proposed rule, among other things, would increase Medicare payments to hospital-based dialysis centers and freestanding centers by 2.6% and 1.6%, respectively. As a result, CMS estimates expenditures under the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System will increase by $130 million in CY 2024 compared to CY 2023. Other notable updates include an estimated 1.6% increase to beneficiary co-payments in CY 2024 and changes to the ESRD Quality Incentive Program for Payment Year 2026. (https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/calendar-year-2024-end-stage-renal-disease-esrd-prospective-payment-system-pps-proposed-rule-cms)

Email: [email protected]

Copyright © 2023 Adaptive Business Leaders Organization. All Rights Reserved.