As the nation readies itself for the vaccine, distribution remains a challenge.
COVID-19 has been with us for almost a year. There is light at the end of the tunnel, through vaccinations anticipated to start over the next month. But how to accomplish this, and more vitally, to whom the vaccinations will be administered, remains the big challenge.
Public health experts question what lessons were learned from rampant spread of the virus across populations facing longstanding health disparities: persons of color, marginalized groups (older adults and persons with disabilities, for example), and working-class immigrant communities across urban, suburban, and rural regions of the country. A recent issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation digs deep into this topic. The brief, Addressing Racial Equity in Vaccine Distribution, provides an overview of barriers to vaccination that disproportionately affect people of color, and discusses how current national recommendations and state vaccine allocation plans address racial equity.
Among the barriers for consideration are the following:
The National Academies of Medicine (NAM) issued a framework for equitable coronavirus vaccine allocation and distribution that accounts for population health disparities; persons at higher risk due to health status, occupation, or living conditions; and geographic distribution of active virus spread.
The framework identifies mitigating health inequities as an underlying ethical principle, and prioritizes allocation to areas identified using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Ths rating system rates an area’s social vulnerability based on factors that weaken a community’s ability to prevent human suffering and financial loss in a disaster:
States have the final word on how to distribute vaccines to their citizens. Yet despite the rigor put into the development of these plans, concerns exist. How will each state balance equitable access of the vaccine while avoiding repetition of outbreaks that create further waves of contagion? This week’s Monitor Mondays Listeners Survey asked how confident listeners are of their state’s plan to fairly and equitably distribute the vaccine. The responses appear here.
Programming Note: Ellen Fink-Samnick is a permanent panelist on Monitor Mondays. Listen to her live reporting when Monitor Mondays returns on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, 10 a.m. EST.
Well, this is the last RACmonitor news edition of the year, so it’s time for my annual Hirsch’s Heroes. As a reminder, last year my
The term “stopgap” is defined as “a temporary way of dealing with a problem, and something used as an emergency measure until something better can
Please log in to your account to comment on this article.
Join Beth Wolf, MD, CPC, CCDS, for an in-depth webcast on the FY2025 spinal fusion MS-DRG updates. Discover key changes in DRG classification, understand impacts on documentation and CMI, and learn strategies to ensure compliance.
Join Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, as she presents effective strategies to strengthen collaboration between CDI, coding, and quality departments in acute care hospitals. Angela will also share guidance on implementing cross-departmental meetings, using shared KPIs, and engaging leadership to foster a culture of collaboration. Attendees will gain actionable tools to optimize documentation accuracy, elevate quality metrics, and drive a unified approach to healthcare goals, ultimately enhancing both patient outcomes and organizational performance.
Optimize your outpatient clinical documentation and gain comprehensive knowledge from foundational practices to advanced technologies, ensuring improved patient care and organizational and financial success. This webcast bundle provides a holistic approach to outpatient CDI, empowering you to implement best practices from the ground up and leverage advanced strategies for superior results. You will gain actionable insights to improve documentation quality, patient care, compliance, and financial outcomes.
Enhancing outpatient clinical documentation is crucial for maintaining accuracy, compliance, and proper reimbursement in today’s complex healthcare environment. This webcast, presented by industry expert Angela Comfort, DBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, will provide you with actionable strategies to tackle complex challenges in outpatient documentation. You’ll learn how to craft detailed clinical narratives, utilize advanced EHR features, and implement accurate risk adjustment and HCC coding. The session also covers essential regulatory updates to keep your documentation practices compliant. Join us to gain the tools you need to improve documentation quality, support better patient care, and ensure financial integrity.
Dr. Ronald Hirsch provides critical details on the new Medicare Appeal Process for Status Changes for patients whose status changes during their hospital stay. He also delves into other scenarios of hospital patients receiving custodial care or medically unnecessary services where patient notifications may be needed along with the processes necessary to ensure compliance with state and federal guidance.
Healthcare organizations face complex regulatory requirements under the No Surprises Act and Price Transparency rules. These policies mandate extensive fee disclosures across settings, and confusion is widespread—many hospitals remain unaware they must post every contracted rate. Non-compliance could lead to costly penalties, financial loss, and legal risks. Join David M. Glaser Esq. as he shows you how to navigate these regulations effectively.
Protect your facility from unwanted audits! Join Becky Jacobsen, BSN, RN, MBS, CCS-P, CPC, CPEDC, CBCS, CEMC, and take a deep dive into both the CMS and AMA guidelines for reporting post operative pain blocks. You’ll learn how to determine if the nerve block is separately codable with real life examples for better understanding. Becky will also cover how to evaluate whether documentation supports medical necessity, offer recommendations for stronger documentation practices, and provide guidance on educating providers about documentation requirements. She’ll include a discussion of appropriate modifier and diagnosis coding assignment so that you can be confident that your billing of post operative pain blocks is fully supported and compliant.
During this RACmonitor webcast Dr. Ronald Hirsch spotlights the areas of the OIG’s Work Plan and the findings of their most recent audits that impact utilization review, case management, and audit staff. He also provides his common-sense interpretation of the prevailing regulations related to those target issues. You’ll walk away better equipped with strategies to put in place immediately to reduce your risk of paybacks, increased scrutiny, and criminal penalties.
Copyright © 2024 RACmonitor. Powered by MedLearn Media.
Happy National Doctor’s Day! Learn how to get a complimentary webcast on ‘Decoding Social Admissions’ as a token of our heartfelt appreciation! Click here to learn more →
CYBER WEEK IS HERE! Don’t miss your chance to get 20% off now until Dec. 2 with code CYBER24
