Some time ago, doctors would make house calls for patients who couldn’t get out of the house.

This is still practiced for special cases, but this “old-fashioned” practice is dying off.

Now, this practice has seen a new style of housecall. This virtual revival has doctors from all over being connected to patients at any time. We can already see that 76% of hospitals in the United States are consulting with patients and other practitioners by using video calls over the internet.

Telehealth is here to help both the patient and the medical professional. For the patient, this creates less stress, they won’t have to spend money on transportation, and quicker advice when it’s needed. For the professional, more patients can be seen in less time.

Telehealth can also bring healthcare to a patient who is incapable of traveling physically. This means that patients can get the care they need, regardless of their condition.

What does this mean for facilities management? Almost three out of every four urgent care and ER visits can be helped through a phone or video call. A study of results for 8,000 patients showed no difference in care quality between telehealth appointments and in-person visitations. Sometimes medicine for a patient can be received over the counter, and sometimes the patient may not need medical attention at all.

The future is in technology and in giving the best help the medical world can to its patients. This technology could see many more advancements that could help medical professionals provide even more accurate diagnoses to people in need. For example, the creation of Fitbits and smartwatches have already made a splash with assisting medical professionals in helping with monitoring of a patient’s heart.

Emerald Coast Medical Association understands that it is vital to have a voice in the community. We also know that you need to be up to date on the news in the medical community. If you become a member with us, we offer you a voice at our membership meetings which will spotlight essential topics and emerging trends in medicine. 

There are many more membership benefits than just that, though, such as a Group Health Plan, and Government Representation. Click below to learn more!

Membership Benefits

The decline in opioid prescriptions has been a major force for the drop in drug overdose deaths. This is also the first time that the number of fatalities has dropped since 1990. 

The amount of drug overdose deaths in the United States fell in 2018 by 5.1 percent from 2017. This information comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDCs) release of the preliminary data in July. The percent might seem small, but the difference in numbers is almost 4000 people. 

Alex Azar, the Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the following about the results:

“America’s united efforts to curb opioid use disorder and addiction are working … Lives are being saved, and we’re beginning to win the fight against this crisis.”

He also pointed out that the number of patients that are receiving medication-assisted treatments has increased, distribution of overdose-reversing drugs is up, and nationwide opioid prescriptions are down. 

Another thing that has kept patients from overdosing is the lowering of pills per patient, which went from 26 to 18. Patients have reported taking fewer pills, which dropped from 12 to 9. While researchers say the study offers an essential reason for optimism, it shows how difficult it is to change prescribing habits. In May of 2018, at the study’s conclusion, the average number of pills prescribed passed the most up-to-date recommendations for all nine procedures.

However, Chad Brummett, M.D., co-director of Michigan OPEN believes there is more room to grow, stating “There is a misconception that this is all fixed.”

Brummett believes there are still frequent medical professionals who are overprescribing. The possibility of persistent opioid use rises with the number of pills and the length of time opioids are taken during recuperation from surgery. 

When doctors write prescriptions with a generous number of pills, there is a chance that patients do not take them all. Then that could lead to the unused pills to make their way from medicine cabinets, to streets or into the hands of other family members. So the with the fewer opioids being given out increases the chance of lower death numbers by overdose. 

Emerald Coast Medical Association understands that it is vital to have a voice in the community. We offer a safe place where you are allowed to share your opinion. If you become a member with us, we offer you a voice at our membership meetings which will spotlight essential topics and emerging trends in medicine. 

Click below to learn more about the benefits of joining.

Membership Benefits

The internet is used for everything (medically) nowadays. Looking up symptoms, scheduling doctor appointments, and even looking at reviews of medical professionals. We’ve heard of people writing bad restaurant reviews for the craziest reasons. Unfortunately, these fake and irrational reviews can hurt medical professionals too.

One reason a physician could be given a “poor” review is because of their stance on vaccinations. Anit-vaccination groups have been known to “attack” medical professionals on multiple forms of social media. From what we have seen this past year from the worsening measles outbreak, maybe these groups should reconsider their stance. 

Another group that is known to aggravate the medical field is the National Rifle Association. After all the mass shootings going on in recent years, a lot of medical professionals have stated their opinions on gun laws. The NRA took to twitter stating:

“Stay in your lane.” 

However, a more recent law coming into fruition has caused a significant controversy in the United States. The new abortion laws that are being exercised in multiple states say that a mother or a medical professional could be imprisoned for aborting the unborn fetus. This has lead to people falling into three groups: the group who doesn’t want abortion, the group who wants abortion, and the group who doesn’t care. Unfortunately, if you are in the group who does not care, you are usually pressured into picking a side. No matter your opinion on the topic, however, either side will give a fake review or cause an uproar on social media because of a medical professionals stance. 

This is where things can get scary. Many of these fake reviews can hurt a medical professional’s reputation. These tasteless reviews can cause other people, who are looking for a person to care for their needs, to reject them because of the review. The most fortunate thing about this is that most review sites will actually evaluate some of the reviews and possibly remove them. One recommended option is that medical professionals hire reputation management companies for the sake of saving face. 

However, Emerald Coast Medical Association understands that it is vital to have a voice in the community. We do recommend that you think before you post and that you understand that people can be offended by anything. For you though, we offer a safe place where you are allowed to share your opinion. If you become a member with us, we offer you a voice at our membership meetings which will spotlight essential topics and emerging trends in medicine. You can also comment on our blogs and tell us how you felt about the piece or an opinion we spoke about in the blog. We are here to hear you out, don’t be scared around us. We want to hear your voice; we care about your voice. 

The Trump administration is doing more work for the medical community again. This time it is for an increase of access to kidney transplants and to encourage the use of in-home dialysis. 

Politico reported that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will announce new payment methods toward kidney care and Trump is considering an executive order for these plans. 

The HHS will also unveil an agency-wide program that will enhance the prevention and screening for kidney diseases. However, the final bits of the plan are still in the making. 

The Administration officials have hinted at the steps in recent months. The Secretary of the HHS, Alex Azar, gave a speech in March at the National Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Patient Advocate Summit, discussing how the sector is ripe for change. 

Alex Azar also pointed out, “Today, Medicare covers most patients with kidney failure, but we don’t begin spending a great deal on these patients until they’re already sick” … “It is the epitome of a system that pays for sickness rather than health, and this administration is intent on shifting these priorities.” 

Fortunately enough though, the White House has faith that these changes will extend the lives of people in need of kidney care and that it could save the government billions of dollars in payments for expensive dialysis treatments. 

The administration also says that about 17,000 additional kidneys could be made available for transplantation through its plan to reduce the waste of potentially suitable organs. It could also get 11,000 more hearts, livers, lungs, and other organs that are needed for transplant. 

President Trump and his administration are making the correct moves for the health of the people and whenever news like this sprouts up we, Emerald Coast Medical Association, will report it to you. We will make sure you are kept up to date with the critical medical news. Nevertheless, if you become a member, you can go to the ECMA member meetings. Where as a member, you are invited to participate in a spotlight of hot topics and emerging trends in medicine. 

Since 2006, the amount of people who are enrolled in Medicare Part D has doubled — totaling a little over 45 million people. That would mean that 70% of all Medicare beneficiaries are registered in the drug coverage plan (data found by the Kaiser Family Foundation or KFF). 

In 2006, when Medicare Part D first began, about half of the enrollees were in the drug coverage program. For the first time, the enrollment in standalone drug plans has decreased, while the registration in Medicare Advantage (MA) drug plans has increased. 

Juliette Cubanski, the associate director of the program on Medicare policy at KFF, had this to say about the matter:

“At this rate, I think we’ll see more enrollees in Medicare Advantage drug plans than in standalone drug plans in the next few years.” Last year, we witnessed MA prescriptions drug plans (MA-PDs) go up by 9%, and prescription drug plans (PDPs) dropped .3%.

The way the numbers break down now looks like this:

-46% of Part D Enrollees are in standalone PDPs 

-39% in MA-PDs

-15% in employer or union group plans

Now let’s talk about money. When it comes to out-of-pocket costs, most Part D enrollees have low prices for preferred drugs. However, there are higher costs for generics, not on the preferred list. Also, about 25% of Part D enrollees do not pay any money for preferred generic drugs. Whereas many pay ten dollars or more for the drugs that are not on the preferred list. 

Almost a month after all the above data was posted, we’ve found that generics are more expensive than the branded drugs on Part D. 

This new study finds that some seniors pay up to $1,000 or more for certain generic drugs compared to brand-named versions in Medicare Part D. 

The study posted in the journal Health Affairs said that brand-name manufacturer discounts in Medicare Part D had created a “perverse incentive” for seniors to choose a branded drug rather than a generic one. The shift away from generic drugs could discourage manufacturers from pursuing generic competition. 

However, the 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act demanded brand-name companies to increase their mandatory discounts from 50% to 70% for Part D drugs that are allowed in the gap between the initial coverage phase and the catastrophic coverage phase, also known as the “doughnut hole.” The Act also required the biosimilar drug could not be more expensive than the brand-named biologic drug it resembled. 

Some concerns to put into consideration would fall with the risk that companies could begin to shy away from making generics because of the lowering of branded prices. 

Another issue with this would be with patients who live in states with generic substitution laws, which would require a generic drug to be dispensed by a pharmacist and would be unable to take advantage of the cost savings from a cheaper branded drug.  

In all, we want to see help get to patients at more affordable costs. However, we also wish for the drugs or medications to do their job correctly in helping the patient.