[Blog]  Farr's Law, Y'all

(Trilliant Health, August 17)

An update to our original post on August 3 where we applied Farr's Law to the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S., we have expanded our analysis to COVID-19 deaths through August 16, which are presented using a 7-day rolling average, as suggested by The COVID Tracking Project. 

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[Article]  The role of health services innovators in the future of health

(Deloitte, August 6, 2020)

"The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to transform toward the future of health: a future driven by consumer-centricity, data reliance, and new technologies. Learn about the ways health care incumbents can work with health services innovators and their nontraditional expertise and solutions."

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[Article]  Fearing a ‘Twindemic,’ Health Experts Push Urgently for Flu Shots

(The New York Times, August 16, 2020)

"Even a mild flu season could stagger hospitals already coping with Covid-19 cases. And though officials don’t know yet what degree of severity to anticipate this year, they are worried large numbers of people could forgo flu shots, increasing the risk of widespread outbreaks. But there is a scenario they dread even more: a severe flu season, resulting in a 'twindemic.'"

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[Blog]  Health Policy in Campaign 2020: Comparisons, Contrasts and Reality

(The Keckley Report, August 17, 2020)

On Monday, “the next phase of Campaign 2020 [began] for the White House. Over the next four days, Democrats [staged] their virtual 2020 National Convention culminating in the nomination of Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris as their ticket. Next week, Republicans will nominate Donald Trump and Mike Pence as their nominees setting the stage for what promises to be a heated campaign in which contrasting policies about healthcare will be play a major role in who wins. Setting aside partisan brinksmanship and political spin, the healthcare platforms for Donald Trump and Joe Biden offer a stark contrast.”

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HBR-1

[Article]  Covid-19 Created an Elective Surgery Backlog. How Can Hospitals Get Back on Track?

(Harvard Business Review, August 10, 2020)

"Covid-19 exposed vulnerabilities in health care systems across the United States and world, … [resulting in] most states in the U.S. enacting a temporary ban on elective surgery from March through May 2020. The ban resulted in a backlog of uncompleted procedures that had been scheduled over this three-month period, as well as a dynamic backlog of surgeries that continue to be delayed as the health system experiences diminished capacity. The anticipated demand in combination with health providers’ decreased capacity will likely result in creation of wait lists and potentially worsened health impacts on patients."

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