Over the years I have often cited the figure that more than 60% of care, at least initially, is self-care when patients treat themselves with OTC drugs. As an aside, if we really want to boost access to care we need to force the FDA to move more prescription drugs to over the counter, or even behind the counter. A behind-the-counter drug is a drug that pharmacists are authorized to dispense without a prescription. Over the counter drugs, behind the counter drugs and prescription drugs are all available at pharmacies. Perhaps there should be more care available at pharmacies.
Author: Devon Herrick
Prior Authorization in Medicare Advantage
I often write about the time my wife almost got a CT scan at a hospital outpatient clinic not realizing she had arbitrarily picked the second most expensive service location. Inside the hospital is the most expensive location. The hospital business office told her they would have to get prior authorization from her health plan before they could schedule the scan. That also gave the hospital a reason to calculate her cost-sharing and inform my wife that she was expected to pay $2,700 prior to the service. That was not even the price, just her share of the bill after her deductible was met.
New Uses for Telemedicine are Taking America by Storm
The decade that began with Covid is the decade of telemedicine, and we’re not even halfway through the 2020s. One outcome of Covid is that more and more people became comfortable talking to a doctor on the phone. Also, more health plans and Medicare began to accept telemedicine as a normal way to consulting with physicians. Prior to Covid, Medicare did not reimburse telemedicine in most cases. Beginning March 6, 2020 the Trump administration announced telehealth services would be available to seniors across the country.
Stanford: Gas Stoves Kill 19,000 People Annually
The first of the year the Biden Administration considered tightening regulations on gas stoves in households and businesses. The Administration claims it was not trying to ban gas stoves. Rather, the proposed rules were intended to reduce harmful emissions and make gas stoves more efficient. In the end the federal agency reached a compromise decision after a fierce backlash by Libertarians, Republicans, moderate Democrats, chefs, home cooks and everyone else who enjoys cooking and eating.