Healthcare News of Note: Telemedicine use for cancer care should be more equitable

• Distinctly lower levels of telemedicine use for cancer care during the pandemic were found among Black patients and those who were uninsured, lived in suburban or rural areas, or resided in a neighborhood with low socioeconomic status, according to a study.
• Nearly a quarter of 1,397 physician respondents who answered mistreatment questions in a survey reported experiencing mistreatment in a 12-month period.
• The majority of Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees participating in a survey said they were either “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with their MA plans.

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

1. Lower use of telemedicine for cancer care was found among Black people and for certain demographic areas, insurance types and socioeconomic categories, study shows

A study of telemedicine use for cancer care during the pandemic showed “distinctly lower levels of telemedicine use by Black patients and those who were uninsured, lived in suburban or rural areas, and resided in a neighborhood with low socioeconomic status,” according to an abstract presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in June.

ASCO President Everett E. Vokes, MD, said in a news release, “Telemedicine can improve access to timely cancer care but as this study points out, telemedicine must be available equitably, so that every patient can access the care they need and deserve.”

Study findings

Key findings of the ASCO research, according to the release, include:

• Black patients (13.2%)  were less likely to use telemedicine services for cancer care than white patients (15.6%) were during the first two years or so of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Telemedicine use was lower among patients without documented insurance (11.7%) than those with private insurance or Medicare (16.4%).
• Patients in rural (9.8%) and suburban areas (12.9%) were less likely to use telemedicine services than patients in urban areas (17.7%).
• Patients living in the lowest socioeconomic-status areas (10.6%) were less likely to use telemedicine than those in the highest socioeconomic areas (23.6%).

The health records used in the study were from 26,788 patients who were 18 years or older and who started first-line cancer treatment between March 2020 and November 2021 (with follow-up through March 2022) at community-based cancer centers, according to the release.

2. Preventing workplace mistreatment may improve physicians’ occupational well-being, study says

Of 1,397 respondents who worked at a large medical center and answered mistreatment-related questions in a survey, nearly a quarter (23.4%) reported experiencing mistreatment in the last 12 months, according to an article in JAMA Network Open.

The article authors wrote that they found “a strong association between mistreatment and worse occupational well-being, including increased burnout, reduced professional fulfillment, and higher reported intent to leave the organization. Conversely, having systems in place that protect physicians from mistreatment is associated with increased occupational well-being, both for those who experienced mistreatment and those who did not.”

Types of mistreatment

Although 232 physicians (16.6%) reported mistreatment by patients and visitors, “other physicians” were the next most common source of mistreatment (7.1%).

Physician respondents indicated the most frequent forms of mistreatment were:

• Verbal abuse (21.5%)
• Sexual harassment (5.4%)
• Physical intimidation or abuse (5.2%)

Authors also noted:

• Mistreatment experiences differed significantly by gender, with a greater proportion of female physicians reporting experiencing sexual harassment and verbal mistreatment than male physicians. Overall, 224 women (31.0%) experienced one or more forms of mistreatment compared with 92 men (15.0%).
• Mistreatment experiences differed significantly by race. Experiencing any type of mistreatment was most common among multiracial physicians (50.0%) and Black physicians (50.0%), and least common among white physicians (21.0%). 

The researchers concluded: “This survey study found that workplace mistreatment was common for physicians. … These findings highlight the urgent need for organizations to put systems in place to reduce the incidence of mistreatment, and for more research to determine which systems will be most effective.”

3. Most people are happy with their Medicare Advantage plan, says eHealth survey

Nearly nine in 10 (88%) Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollees participating in a survey conducted by eHealth say they are either “very satisfied” (63%) or “somewhat satisfied” (25%) with their MA plans, according to a June 13 news release.

Of the 6% of respondents to express dissatisfaction with their MA plan, most complaints focused on physician networks, out-of-pocket costs and prescription drug coverage, according to the report authors. An additional 7% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.

Additional survey results, according to eHealth, indicate the following :

• 86% of respondents said they would recommend MA plans to friends or family
• 59% of beneficiaries previously enrolled in Medigap say they are “more satisfied” with their MA plan, while 23% are “equally satisfied”

The survey of 2,848 Medicare beneficiaries was conducted by eHealth in late May 2022.