The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is reminding providers that they have created best practice guides for providers to reference how others in their field are using telehealth to connect with patients. These also include practical recommendations on billing, strategy, and more.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports on a new survey from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh that finds that hospital workers are thinking about leaving their jobs. The survey had 2,253 participants, which represented hospital workers (excluding doctors) who had worked at one or more of 11 Pittsburgh hospitals in 2021. Many workers have reported burnout, long hours, and feeling hopeless. Read more. Since many of the survey respondents indicated that their work was meaningful and that they wanted to take care of patients, perhaps Community Health Center job opportunities will be an attractive alternative to some.

Telehealth generally didn’t lead to duplicative care in late 2020, according to a study published this week. Patients treated for most acute conditions via telehealth were as likely or slightly more likely to need a follow-up visit as those who sought in-person care to start, the study in JAMA Network Open found. Telehealth patients with chronic conditions were less likely to need follow-up care. Telehealth patients with acute respiratory infections were more likely to require a follow-up visit than in-person patients, but this could reflect COVID-19-related concerns, according to the researchers.

Heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19 made up the top three killers in 2021, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. With some people not getting vaccinated and the emergence of the delta variant, COVID-19 was cited as the underlying cause of more than 415,000 American deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently launched a new resource that allows users to map county-level trends in heart disease – identified by the CDC as one of the five leading causes of death in rural America.

Researchers evaluate a program to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and find that Community Health Workers can be an effective way to deliver lifestyle intervention to a medically underserved population.

On April 22, CMS issued a proposed rule to implement sections of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) that would simplify Medicare enrollment rules and extend the coverage of immunosuppressive drugs for certain beneficiaries.  Section 120 of the CAA makes changes to Original Medicare by revising the effective dates of coverage and allowing for the establishment of new special enrollment periods (SEPs) for individuals who meet exceptional conditions.  Section 402 of the CAA extends immunosuppressive drug coverage under Part B for certain individuals whose Medicare entitlement based on end-stage renal disease (ESRD) would otherwise end.  This rule also proposes other non-CAA-related changes to improve state payment of Medicare premiums, and a technical change related to how enrollment forms are referenced in regulations. According to MedPAC, about one-fifth of Medicare beneficiaries live in rural areas.  Comment by June 27. 

In April 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau launched a new project to inform on a range of topics experienced by households during the COVID-19 pandemic.  New questions for the Household Pulse Survey are being formulated, for example,  changing the focus of one vaccination question from reasons for not receiving the vaccine to reasons for not receiving a vaccine booster dose. The Department of Commerce invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections. Comments Requested by May 18. 

To help assist agricultural workers in learning about diabetes, Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN) has partnered with professional artist and collaborator Salvador Sáenz to create “Mi salud es mi tesoro: Un guía para vivir bien con diabetes,” or, “My Health is My Treasure: A Guide to Living Well with Diabetes.” This second edition comic book explores the topic through the full-color story of an agricultural farmworker whose recent diagnosis of diabetes prompts him to engage in conversations with other agricultural workers on topics of diet, exercise, and illness prevention while facing the unique hurdles of living a life of migration. The comic book is available in Spanish and English. In order to print the right number of comic books, MCN is asking organizations to pre-order in quantities up to 500. The comic book and shipping will be paid for by MCN.

Although compensation stagnated in the first year of the pandemic, doctors saw their salaries rebound by 7% by the end of last year, according to Medscape’s Physician Compensation Report released last week. The report includes financial details from about 13,000 physicians across 29 specialties and found primary care doctors earned $260,000 on average while specialists average $368,000. Of those specialties surveyed, plastic surgery averaged the highest compensation at $576,000 while public health and preventative medicine ranked lowest at $243,000.