The social determinants of health (SDoH) have been a top news item for several years. Since the advent of the pandemic, however, they’ve been eclipsed by interwoven themes of access disparities, racial injustice, and massive public health gaps. The virus has torn through the world’s poorest communities, and ripped the band-aid off of reactive and short-term efforts to address public health. As a result, one new hot topic is racism as a public health issue, with reports on it being published fast and furiously.
The American Public Health Association lists 20 states that have declared racism a public health crisis: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington State, and Wisconsin.
The implications associated with this:
The American Public Health Association calls for swift allocation of resources and clearly defined strategic action. Medical experts are calling for more attention to preventative and community-based care. Even the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and Institute for Healthcare Improvement have released statements and amped up their actions. The clock is ticking, as more “have-nots” are appearing daily, needing far more resources than available.
For this week’s Monitor Mondays Listeners Survey, we asked our audience their views on this important topic. Over 50 percent of our audience responded to this survey asking whether racism is a public health issue, with results able to be viewed here.
Programming Note: Ellen Fink-Samnick is a permanent panelist on Monitor Mondays. Listen to her live reporting every Monday at 10 a.m. EST.
I am sure everyone agrees that not only is providing healthcare complicated, but so are all the administrative aspects of healthcare. And as a result,
Let me start this article by asking for your help. Flash back to 2013. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at that time
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In this timely session, Stacey Shillito, CDIP, CPMA, CCS, CCS-P, CPEDC, COPC, breaks down the complexities of Medical Decision Making (MDM) documentation so providers can confidently capture the true complexity of their care. Attendees will learn practical, efficient strategies to ensure documentation aligns with current E/M guidelines, supports accurate coding, and reduces audit risk, all without adding to charting time.
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Stay ahead of the 2026-2027 audit surge with “Top 10 Audit Targets for 2026-2027 for Hospitals & Physicians: Protect Your Revenue,” a high-impact webcast led by Michael Calahan, PA, MBA. This concise session gives hospitals and physicians clear insight into the most likely federal audit targets, such as E/M services, split/shared and critical care, observation and admissions, device credits, and Two-Midnight Rule changes, and shows how to tighten documentation, coding, and internal processes to reduce denials, recoupments, and penalties. Attendees walk away with practical best practices to protect revenue, strengthen compliance, and better prepare their teams for inevitable audits.
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