Becker's ASC Review

52 HEALTHCARE NEWS Hospital workers upset over COVID-19 vaccine distribution By Ayla Ellison W hile COVID-19 vaccine rollout has gone smoothly at many healthcare organizations, physicians and nurses at hospitals in Arizona, California, New York and elsewhere say vaccine distribution at their facilities has been chaotic and unfair, according to NPR. Employees at Mass General Brigham in Boston signed up for vaccina- tions using an app. e app crashed aer too many people tried to sign up at once, but issues were reported aer the app was back up and running. Jennifer DeVincent, who has been a neonatal intensive care nurse at Mass General Brigham for 16 years, described the vaccine distribution process as a "free-for-all." ough the plan was for hospital workers at the highest risk to be vaccinated first, the system relied on an honor code that allowed employees to "self-police," according to emails obtained by NPR. Ms. DeVincent said she became angry when she realized some of the first employees to get the shots are in low-risk categories and don't do hands-on patient care. Paul Biddinger, MD, medical director for emergency preparedness at Mass General Brigham, said the honor code is necessary because it's "relatively complex to figure out who is working where" at an organi- zation with a staff of more than 80,000. Dr. Biddinger said the data shows it's rare for a worker to jump the line, and Mass General Brigham is developing clearer guidelines for vaccine distribution. In New York City, NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital Chief Operating Officer Craig Albanese, MD, said he was "disappointed and saddened" aer staff cut the line to get vaccinated, according to e New York Times. NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital was one of the facilities where staff told the Times they're upset with how CO- VID-19 vaccines are being distributed. e most exposed healthcare workers, including those working directly with COVID-19 patients, were supposed to receive the COVID-19 vaccine first. However, within 48 hours of the first doses arriving, some employees at NewYork- Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital received access to the vaccine despite being in low-risk categories, according to the Times. Some of the employees who received the vaccine worked from home during the pandemic. In Arizona's Maricopa County, where the county government is responsible for distribution, the vaccine rollout was described by one physician as "a bit disorganized and ripe for exploitation," accord- ing to NPR. ough the county surveyed healthcare workers and tried to prioritize them for the vaccine, many are scrambling to find workarounds, according to the report. n Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan part ways in healthcare: What they learned in 3 years together By Laura Dyrda T he healthcare-focused joint venture between Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase disbanded, according to CNN, but the companies will continue to collaborate informally on programs for employees. The venture launched in 2018 to much fanfare as the solution to rising healthcare costs in America, but will cease operations at the end of February. What progress did it make over the past two years? JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told employees the venture, known as Haven, worked as an incubator of ideas and a place to test and learn. He plans to build on the insights gained by the joint venture. CNBC reported many Haven workers would join one of the three companies, which will continue efforts in the healthcare sector independently. "The Haven team made good progress exploring a wide range of healthcare solutions, as well as pilot- ing new ways to make primary care easier to access, insurance benefits simpler to understand and easier to use, and prescription drugs more affordable," Haven spokesperson Brooke Thurston told CNBC. Why did the venture fail? Harvard Business Review outlined three big reasons: 1. Their 1.2 million employees didn't have enough market power to negotiate lower prices, especially since employees lived across many states and markets. 2. Fee-for-service continues to dominate healthcare payment structures, and until there is a capitation model that ties outcomes to payment, hospitals don't have incentive to keep people out. 3. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted all energy to caring for infected patients. Health systems also face huge losses due to canceled or postponed elective surgery, and some may be unwilling to enter into new risk-based contracts as a result. n

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