Healthcare News of Note: 23% of COVID-19 patients have a post-COVID symptom 30 days after first being diagnosed, large study finds

• FAIR Health on June 15 published “A Detailed Study of Patients with Long-Haul COVID” white paper based on a study of post-COVID conditions in nearly 2 million COVID-19 patients.
• Patients tend to report positive experiences in both hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), with ASCs performing better in all four domains of patient experience, according to the Leapfrog Group.
• Physicians generally held positive attitudes regarding the adoption of telemedicine and perceived that the quality of healthcare delivery was comparable to in-person care, according to a survey at Mayo Clinic Florida.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve found these industry news stories that should be of interest to healthcare finance professionals. 

1. FAIR Health study of nearly 2 million COVID-19 patients details top long-haul COVID patient symptoms

FAIR Health on June 15 published “A Detailed Study of Patients with Long-Haul COVID” white paper, releasing the results of a study of post-COVID conditions in nearly 2 million COVID-19 patients.

“To FAIR Health’s knowledge, this is the largest population of COVID-19 patients so far studied for post-COVID conditions,” according to the white paper summary. The national nonprofit organization used longitudinal data from its database of over 34 billion private healthcare claim records.

In an analysis of the 1,959,982 COVID-19 patients studied, results showed:

• 23% were identified as having a post-COVID condition 30 days or more after their index date of first diagnosis with COVID-19
• 49.98% of hospitalized patients experienced at least one post-COVID condition 30 days or more after their index date and after discharge
• 27.48% of symptomatic patients had a post-COVID condition
• 18.95% of asymptomatic patients had a post-COVID condition

Other notable findings from the study included:

• The five most common post-COVID conditions across all ages, in order, were pain, breathing difficulties, hyperlipidemia, malaise and fatigue, and hypertension.
• The odds of death 30 days or more after initial diagnosis with COVID-19 were 46 times higher for patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 and discharged than patients who had not been hospitalized.

2. Leapfrog Group: Patient experience report shows patients have positive experiences at HOPDs and ASCs

On July 8, The Leapfrog Group released its latest Patient Experience Report, which analyzes results of evidence-based and tested surveys that are administered to patients by hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) across the country.

Patients tend to report positive experiences in both hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ASCs, with ASCs performing better on all four domains of patient experience (about facilities and staff, communication about your procedure, overall rating of facility, and willingness to recommend HOPD or ASC to family or friends).

For same-day surgery, for example, here’s how patients responded to a couple of the questions about their experience at the HOPD or ASC:

• For the about facilities and staff domain, 96.4% of HOPD patients gave their facility a most favorable response, compared with 97.3% of ASC patients.
• For overall rating of facility, 84.7% of HOPD patients gave their facility a top response compared with 89.1% of ASC patients.

Adult patients receiving inpatient hospital care overwhelmingly reported that they had been provided information on symptoms to monitor when they left the hospital, but on average, only half indicated that they clearly understood their transition to home.

“Outpatient facilities and particularly ASCs appear to be rated more favorably by their patients, which is promising, but all facilities have work to do,” Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said in a news release.

The report, which analyzes patient experience in three different settings of care — adult inpatient hospitals, hospitals that treat pediatric patients and facilities that provide same-day surgeries — is based on results from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Surveys.

3. Mayo Clinic Florida survey: Physicians hold positive attitudes toward the adoption of telemedicine

Physicians generally held positive attitudes regarding the adoption of telemedicine and perceived that the quality of healthcare delivery was generally comparable to in-person care, according to an abstract of a study published July 1 on PubMed.gov.

The study aimed to evaluate physician perceptions and attitudes toward telemedicine use at a tertiary care academic institution in Northeast Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results were based on the input of 103 Mayo Clinic Florida physicians who responded to a survey that was sent to 529 staff physicians from all specialty disciplines at the clinic.

Study results include the following:

• 63% of physicians found comparable quality for care provided virtually versus in-person
• 80% perceived telemedicine as cost-effective
• 76% felt that telemedicine increased flexibility and control over patient-care activities
• 36% reported improved work-life balance, and 30% reported an improvement in burnout symptoms
• 42% preferred using telemedicine over in-person visits when possible

HFMA Bonus Content

Read this July 9 article by HFMA’s Nick Hut, senior editor: “Newer payment models should be part of holistic transformation efforts, CMS deputy administrator says.”

Learn how you can reconnect with your community and catch up on the latest industry trends and best practices at HFMA’s Annual Conference Nov. 8-10 in Minneapolis and online.