Certintell’s newest blog series, “Industry Insights,” takes a look at what topics are buzzing with popularity in the mHealth and care management arena for Community Health Centers (CHCs), FQHCs and other community-based organizations. Here, you can explore how legislation might affect your workflows, what statistics might be preventing better patient outcomes and tips for pushing past your biggest care barriers. Stay on top of what CHC news you should know below!
Government Moves to Reassure
On Sept. 21, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers, an announcement that introduces nearly 350 actions the federal government will take, in collaboration with the private sector, to support these individuals.
Family members in the United States provide the biggest portion of long-term care, yet lack the resources to maintain their own health and financial security. Approximately 53 million Americans are caregivers to those facing chronic conditions or age-related health issues. Without caregivers’ support, millions of older adults would not be able to continue to live in their communities. Replacing family care with paid services would cost an estimated $470 billion annually, a cost which is typically borne by taxpayers.
HHS Awards $3 Million to Better Black Youth Mental Health
On Sept. 19, the U.S. Office of Minority Health awarded more than $3 million to eight organizations to promote Black youth mental health (BYMH). In the last decade, Black children under the age of 13 were twice as likely to die by suicide compared to their White peers. This initiative will help identify policies that improve BYMH and address suicide prevention.
The BYMH awardees will conduct projects across eight states: Arizona, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio, and Rhode Island.
Patient Protections: Both Threatened and Upheld
One protection in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most of the nation’s health plans to cover preventative services without charging deductibles or copays. However, on Sept. 7, a federal district judge ruled in favor of a Texas lawsuit claiming that this ACA mandate is unconstitutional. Currently, this coverage rule applies to more than 150 million Americans, thus putting into question the uncertain future of their health.
This ruling could potentially increase consumer costs and negatively impact population health. A change like this would then make efforts to reduce health disparities futile. Without this mandate, consumers may have to pay hundreds to thousands of dollars out-of-pocket to receive life-saving services.
World Patient Safety Day 2022
Sept. 17 was the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Patient Safety Day. This year the theme was “Medication Without Harm”.
Medication errors and unsafe practices are one of the leading causes of preventable harm across the world, leading to patient illness, disability or death. These errors occur when insufficient systems are in place for prescribing, dispensing, administering, and monitoring medication intake.
WHO has resources for patients, providers, and administrators to help raise awareness of medication safety. On the webpage, health leaders can find tools for preventing unsafe usage promoting medication literacy among patients.
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