Following the declaration of Covid-19 as a global pandemic, people around the world found themselves suddenly grappling with a new reality — from the way we work, to the way we communicate with our loved ones, to the way we access healthcare, seemingly every facet of daily life has been affected. This shift in the dynamics of life, business, and health has driven innovative ideas aimed at fundamentally reshaping our healthcare system. In part, this was possible because many of the underlying forces in our public health system were optimized in response to the pandemic. Relaxing cumbersome regulations related to telehealth, for example, enabled doctors to treat patients safely from their homes. In the face of urgency and adversity, stakeholders from all areas of industry and government rallied to respond to the crisis.
Alongside these gains, Covid-19 has revealed and exacerbated deep disparities in our nation’s healthcare system, evidenced by the pandemic’s disproportionate effect on certain communities. The many health and socioeconomic inequities exposed by the pandemic underscore the need for further cooperation in overcoming systemic health barriers. As we emerge from the crisis and address the health and economic fallout through 2022 and beyond, we have a unique and pivotal opportunity to resolve these shortcomings and bring our public health system into the future.
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Kristen Ballantine Kristen Ballantine is Vice President of Government Relations at Gainwell Technologies, where she oversees Gainwell's state and federal legislative, policy, and regulatory agendas.
A new, more collaborative approach
Regardless of industry, effective change requires cooperation across a diverse range of stakeholders. The pandemic has been a model of success in this regard thanks to partnerships and coordinated response across state, party, industry, and corporate lines. For example, public-private partnerships, combined with an accelerated regulatory pathway, led to the rapid development and emergency use authorization of multiple Covid-19 vaccines, and now boosters. United around a common enemy, the level of innovation being realized and implemented in such a short time frame speaks volumes to the power of widespread collaboration in combating perhaps the greatest public health challenge in our lifetime.
This cooperation between federal, state, and private sectors should continue after the pandemic. Breaking down silos between agencies, regions, and jurisdictions can help to ensure preparedness in the event of future national crises as well as the mobilization of resources in the event of more localized emergencies. Beyond acute disasters, having efficient and secure mechanisms in place for government and healthcare entities to exchange information is vital to disease prevention and population health. Equally, the many health and socioeconomic disparities exposed by the pandemic underscore the need for further, focused cooperation in overcoming systemic health barriers.
Equalizing the technological playing field
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Access to the internet and modern technology quickly became a necessity for Americans’ access to healthcare during lockdowns. As millions of Americans leveraged technology to connect with their physicians from afar, millions of others lacked – and continue to lack – the broadband capacity to do so, putting essential healthcare services out of reach. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 19 million Americans still lack access to necessary broadband capabilities, with rural populations being disproportionately impacted by this disparity. Amongst those living in rural America, for example, less than half of low-income adults have internet access.
Fortunately, there is tangible progress being made towards achieving equity for rural and underserved populations. Of particular note is the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill President Biden signed into law in November. The package includes $65 billion dedicated to making affordable, high-speed internet a reality for those who’ve lacked access for far too long. The value of this should not be understated, as millions more Americans will be equipped to access healthcare, educational, occupational, and other digitally enabled services.
Additionally, investments must also be made in the technology systems that federal and state governments rely on to monitor and manage public health. This includes updating the systems used in health programs such as infectious disease monitoring, cancer and asthma prevention, and drinking water quality monitoring to ensure agile, interoperable, and secure systems that can provide data in real time. The pandemic has also made clear the need to develop the necessary infrastructure for standardized immunization records, as there are currently no national certification standards on how records should be handled. As vaccinations continue, there’s an opportunity to modernize immunization registries in preparation for future pandemics, while better monitoring routine immunizations against other vaccine-preventable illnesses.
Achieving whole-person healthcare
The concept of treating the whole person has been discussed at length, but the pandemic has underscored the need to act now. In particular, the pandemic shed light on the importance of Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) – the places where we live, work, learn, play and age – in our overall wellbeing, and how these determinants disproportionately affect certain communities. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African Americans and the Latinx community in the U.S. are three times more likely to contract Covid-19 than White residents and nearly twice as likely to die from it. While Covid-19 has increased the urgency around these issues, they’re far from a new phenomenon. Profound racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities exacerbated by the pandemic, combined with an ongoing mental health crisis, has made it impossible to ignore these crucial components of health.
Whole-person care (WPC) not only addresses the recipient’s immediate needs but also looks ahead to longer-term results, with an emphasis on improving and sustaining the individual’s self-sufficiency. To advance whole-person care, the industry must overcome barriers to data sharing and cross-sector collaboration, engage consumers in their health and wellbeing, and advocate for policies that support the viability of integrated care models. The push to achieve true WPC won’t be easy, and it will require a change in thinking and policy development at both the federal and state level.
It will ultimately come down to enhanced data sharing, with the proper application of privacy laws to remove silos between organizations and services. Having a simpler way to share and aggregate this data across systems will accomplish three key goals: allow for enhanced population health management; support value-based payment; and validate quality measures and incentives. It all adds up to achieving better health outcomes by having more complete data input.
Investing in the long term
While previous epidemics, like H1N1, spurred funding and investment initiatives, most were short-lived, and funding dried up when they were no longer top of mind. There are many lessons to be learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, but perhaps the biggest is the need for proactive, long-term, and sustained investments in our public health system. It is critically important that we do not lose sight of the benefits of emergency preparedness initiatives and that funding and research remains ongoing, even after Covid-19 is in our rearview mirror. Continued investments in the system will ensure preparedness and help mitigate any future large-scale crises, while also enabling a more equitable experience for all Americans.
Photo: Angelina Bambina, Getty Images
Kristen Ballantine is Vice President of Government Relations at Gainwell Technologies, where she oversees Gainwell's state and federal legislative, policy, and regulatory agendas.
