Editor’s Note: This is the first post from the Nashville Health Care Council’s 2022 Leadership Health Care Delegation to Washington, DC.
The call for clinical, regulatory and societal change was loud and clear on the first day of sessions at this year’s Leadership Health Care Delegation in Washington, DC. From Nashville on Monday, he brought together nearly 50 health care leaders to hear the views of leading health experts. policy and political issues. Speakers on this first day focused on telemedicine, digital health policy, health equity, and the impact of the federal budget.
The day started with a tour of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health. The center is an interactive learning facility for the general public, healthcare industry and policy makers. The delegation was joined by Chief Representative Paul Keckley. Kekley Reporthelped structure discussions, asked delegates to think critically and ask challenging questions, and helped drive the thinking and action of attendees on innovation in the healthcare system.
After lunch, speakers shared their predictions for telemedicine and digital health policy, beginning with a panel discussion featuring the Telemedicine Association of America. CEO Ann Mond Johnson and policy associate Alexis Apple are investigating whether and when the telemedicine flexibility implemented during the federal public health emergency will be extended, and state He explained the importance of policy work and the top priorities of ATA’s state legislation.
Apple is confident these regulations remain in effect, but it’s unclear if Congress will act this year or early next year.
“Patients and providers have become dependent on telemedicine. We need to act now to make virtual care permanent and ensure certainty following the public health emergency,” said Apple. says.
Mondo Johnson added: Everyone now understands the benefits of safe, effective and convenient care when and where it is needed. I had a good experience with telemedicine, so why can’t I use it in the future? Many telemedicine regulations were put in place 14 years before the iPhone was introduced. There is such a disconnect between what technology can do and the regulations that make it possible. The pandemic has closed that gap, pushing the desire for many exemptions to become permanent. “
Attendees also heard from Maverick Health Policy Founder and Principal Julie Barnes. He outlined a decades-long bipartisan relationship with digital health policy. From its George W. Bush-era origins to the reinvigorated interest of President Joe Biden, Burns has summarized its obstacles, including interoperability journeys and information blockages.
“As we speak, the healthcare system is modernizing. There has been a long lead-up period, but almost everything you do in your day-to-day life is what I was talking about, which is changing. It’s affected by relationships, information flows and rules,” she said. It’s about making it work…the changes that make America’s healthcare system work properly aren’t going to happen anytime soon.”
In a subsequent discussion on health equity before and after COVID-19, Dr. Tollie Elliot, President and CEO, Mary’s Center; Michael Rhein, CEO, Institute for Public Health Innovation; and Amy Gyau, Senior Program Manager, Kaiser Permanente Moyer boxes internal coalitions and community partnerships that promote diversity, inclusion, and equity within organizations. Speakers urged delegates to explore non-traditional partnerships and consider solutions that transcend the walls of the healthcare environment. I was.
“Racism is woven into our country. If we want to promote equity, we have to work on it. That leads to bad outcomes, but the pandemic has taken the bandwagon off and revealed what’s going on,” Elliot said. “When they walk through the door, the people we care about may not be thinking about diabetes or pregnancy, but about jobs and access to food. Why is it happening?” ?Racism affects people’s quality of life and overall health.”
The afternoon session concluded with a panel discussion on the impact of the federal budget on health care. Former deputy head of the National Policy Council, Eric Euland, warned of an approaching “time bomb of fiscal problems” including federal spending and taxes, interest costs, national debt and deficits, and the collapse of Social Security. , Medicare and Social Security face unforeseen stress from inflation, changing work and retirement habits, plummeting U.S. birth rates, and rising life expectancy. Approaches to reducing these stressors (reducing spending, introducing new models of care delivery, revising eligibility parameters) may create new challenges for beneficiaries.
“At the LHC and the Nashville Healthcare Council, we hope that events like these and others will serve as catalysts for change and momentum in the Nashville healthcare ecosystem and beyond,” said Leadership Health. Care Director Molly Vice said. “The first round of sessions challenged us to think critically about our health system and what we can do to move the industry forward. increase.”
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