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News, Insights & Opinions

Mitchell MCN is proud to announce that it has earned URAC re-accreditation as an Independent Review Organization. URAC is the independent leader in promoting healthcare quality through leadership, accreditation, measurement and innovation.

By achieving this status, Mitchell MCN has demonstrated a comprehensive commitment to quality care, improved processes and better patient outcomes.

ABOUT URAC
Founded in 1990, URAC is the independent leader in promoting healthcare quality through leadership, accreditation, measurement and innovation. URAC is a nonprofit organization using evidence-based measures and developing standards through inclusive engagement with a range of stakeholders committed to improving the quality of healthcare. Our portfolio of accreditation and certification programs span the healthcare industry, addressing healthcare management, healthcare operations, health plans, pharmacies, telehealth providers, physician practices, and more. URAC accreditation is a symbol of excellence for organizations to showcase their validated commitment to quality and accountability.

The URAC accreditation process demonstrates a commitment to quality services and serves as a framework to improve business processes through benchmarking organizations against nationally recognized standards.

URAC accreditation requires applicants to submit policies, procedures, and other organizational information that is followed by a review. Once an application is received by URAC, a primary reviewer is assigned and coordinates all aspects of the review until a decision on accreditation has been determined. URAC’s accreditation process enables learning and compliance with nationally recognized healthcare standards and supports improvements and innovation in healthcare management and delivery. URAC also offers educational content, including workshops, webinars, articles, issue briefs, videos, and white papers.

Starting with standards development, representatives from URAC’s volunteer committee convene to establish and revise benchmarks. These volunteers represent the interests of a wide variety of stakeholders that include consumers, purchasers, regulators, providers, and healthcare organizations. Once drafted, URAC standards are circulated for public comment and beta-tested before an accreditation product is launched or updated. This broad, inclusive process assures that URAC’s standards address a diverse set of needs.

Mitchell MCN is pleased to announcement that within the coming weeks we will be launching a series of Client Portal enhancements. We’re in the final phase of beta testing now and look forward to soon introducing some new and many enhanced features. We’ve carefully designed and programmed the portal after listening to your feedback and working with multiple staff in different roles to understand the user experience in all areas, keeping the portal user-friendly while adding in details to streamline processes. Rest assured that you will experience:

• Same easy access — web address/website links
• Same customer-friendly philosophy
• Using the portal to order services, check status, upload records, and download reports
• An updated training guide available next week

Some areas we have focused on are our Cover Letter Creator, with more client-specific questions for each insurance line and specific product; the ability to customize the main information form per client, based on insurance type, jurisdiction, and product combination; and a new service wizard. The main dashboard is being modified to include additional tabs for easier viewing of the status of each case from order to invoice payment.

You are invited to reach out to your Mitchell MCN Account Representative to schedule a demonstration and learn more. An updated training guide will be available upon launch of the new features in the coming days.

Politicians and healthcare professionals continue to discuss the issue of healthcare costs and what variables can be manipulated to bring down prices. This article in The New York Times notes that rebates are the most recent variable under scrutiny.

A rebate is a discount associated with certain drugs where money is given back after payment. Critics believe these rebates are leading to increased list prices that consumers are responsible to pay for, while the insurers or large employers who cover their workers’ health care are usually the ones that get the refund.

Between the drug makers who feel they are under pressure to raise list prices to keep all players happy, elected public officials, and pharmacy benefit managers who argue that they have kept the total drug costs in check and prices aren’t as “steep” as believed, everyone is pointing fingers. Read more for details.

Brian L. Grant MD
Founder and Medical Director, MCN

This op-ed piece in the New York Times, along with many of the reader comments, are well worth reading. Obesity is a global public health emergency, and likely has greater impact on the state of U.S. health than tobacco use has had at its worst. I find myself musing on the similarities between the public’s approach to obesity and global warming, another topic that many choose to doubt despite metrics that suggests its truth. Like the warming earth, the fact that as a society we are getting fatter should be impossible to deny. The causes for this growing obesity problem, or whether or not there even is a problem for individuals or society, however, are debated. Related steps to address the problem are also heavily argued. After all, the growth in our girths is a new normal, while folks rail against airline seats rather than confront those of us who can’t fit into them.

The writers of this article, a pediatrician and economist, have a number of suggestions heavy on public policy changes and government intervention. Suggested changes may be desirable, but to be sure, they will at minimum take time to implement and most likely be heavily fought by well-funded lobbies and public outcry. These policy changes will do too little and be too late for those currently afflicted. Unfortunately, the authors say virtually nothing about individual contributions to the problem (without doubt aided by the seduction of cheap and ample calories), and choices that we can and must make on behalf of ourselves and our families today. People can’t wait or hope for government to change how much and what we choose to eat.

 

What once seemed like an innocent slobbery kiss from a dog now has the nickname “the lick of death.” Capnocytophaga canimorsus is a commonly found bacteria in the saliva of healthy dogs and cats. In most cases this bacteria is not harmful, but in rare cases this bacteria can get into the human blood stream and cause death.

Greg Manteufel has survived the lick of death, but not without serious losses. At the beginning stages of the infection he thought he had a fever or the flu, but then he became delirious and dark spots started covering his body that looked like bruises. His wife rushed him to the hospital and within a week, Greg had lost his legs and hands.

For the full account read this article from the Washington Post.

Here’s some exciting health news to kick start your weekend: for the first time, scientists have found a way to lower risk of dementia.

Dementia is primarily affected by genes and age, both of which are out of our own control. It has taken years for scientists to find a variable related to dementia that humans could change. This variable is blood pressure. Through a study, more than 9,300 elderly people who had heart problems, or were prone to developing heart problems, were asked to lower their blood pressure to either 120mmHg or 140 mmHg. The study found that people who lowered their blood pressure to under 120mmHg also lowered their risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is the gateway to dementia.

“Controlling blood pressure is not only good for the heart but good for the brain,” says Dr. Jeff Williamson, chief of geriatric medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine, and one of the lead investigators in the trial. “This is the first intervention of any kind that has been proven in a randomized controlled trial to reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment.”

Because the subjects were only studied for five years, doctors can only conclude that lower blood pressure will reduce the risk of MCI. Dementia takes a lot longer to develop over time, so scientist can only infer that it will lower the risk of dementia, and this secondary finding will need to be tested in the future.

According to this article, the future is a little brighter as we now know that lower blood pressure leads to healthier and stronger brains, and that keeping blood pressure under control may be a way that some people can slow the deterioration of the brain that can lead to dementia and even Alzheimer’s.

Unemployment rates fell to 3.8 percent in May, 2018 – an 18-year low — and the number of disability insurance claims and number of Americans seeking Social Security disability benefits is also dropping. Specifically, per government officials, fewer than 1.5 million Americans applied to the Social Security Administration for disability coverage in 2017, the lowest number since 2002. Applications are running at an even lower rate this year.

This article explains that because the economy is strong and maintaining steady rates of growth, employers are more willing to hire people from a diverse labor pool — including those with disabilities — and to make accommodations with job functions, pay, and other expectations. The strength of the economy also sparks a more optimistic attitude among people with disabilities searching through available opportunities.

Some other factors have also influenced this shift. One of these factors driven by basic demographic shifts is that as aging baby boomers receive Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare, they no longer require disability benefits. Additionally, because of the expansion of Medicaid in 33 states and the District of Columbia and the improved access to insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act, the disability program has become a less obvious way for people to obtain health care coverage. A final factor the article identifies is that it is simpler hard now to qualify for Social Security benefits than it was in the past.

One case study explored in the article is that of Christian Borrero, who had been receiving Social Security benefits throughout his adult life. He  was offered a full-time job as a receptionist at Kurtz Bros, an amazing opportunity for full-time work with benefits, but also one where he would be earning less than his disability income, to the tune of $895 per month. Borrero chose full-time employment and as expected, his Social Security benefits emded. When his employers found out about his situation, they modified his position to include additional responsibilities, thereby raising his pay to cover his otherwise lost income. Although this wouldn’t happen in every case, Mr. Borrero hopes to inspire others with his story.