Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

44 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT & MEASUREMENT Unclear link between physician burnout, care quality: Study By Erica Carbajal A study involving physician surveys and Medicare claims data found no consistent relationship be- tween burnout and patient outcomes, according to findings published in the April edition of Health Affairs. Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City and the University of Kentucky in Lex- ington hypothesized that patients of family physicians reporting more frequent burnout or callousness would have higher annual Medicare costs and higher rates of three outcomes: ambulatory care sensitive admis- sions, or those that could have been prevented with high-quality care; preventable emergency department visits and 30-day all-cause hospital readmissions. They conducted the study by linking survey data from 1,604 family physicians to claims from more than 32,000 Medicare beneficiaries. Findings showed no consistent, statistically significant link between self-reported burnout and measures of care. "Surprisingly, we found that physicians who reported at least some frequency, or even a high frequency, of burn- out had generally lower rates of undesirable outcomes," the researchers said, adding, "It may be that physicians who report at least some burnout are highly conscien- tious and give extra effort to providing good care to their patients." Researchers emphasized that the findings in no way suggest it is beneficial for physicians to feel burned out or that efforts to cut burnout are not important. "Our findings suggest that the relationship between burnout and outcomes is complex and requires further investigation," they concluded. n Biden's plan for long COVID-19: 4 notes By Erica Carbajal P resident Joe Biden on April 5 issued a memorandum directing HHS to coordinate a governmentwide plan to address long COVID-19, estimated to affect 7 million to 23 million Americans. e memo also directs HHS to issue a re- port detailing federal resources and support services for those with long COVID-19. "is effort will advance progress in preven- tion, diagnosis, treatment and provision of services, supports and interventions for in- dividuals experiencing long COVID-19 and associated conditions," the White House said in a news release. Four other actions from the White House's long COVID-19 plan: 1. Expand long COVID-19 clinics run by the Veterans Affairs Department: e VA will establish more long COVID-19 programs and build robust referral and follow-up systems across its facilities. e Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health will also launch the Health+ project to col- lect feedback from people living with long COVID-19 to help inform the development of best practices at these clinics. 2. Invest $20 million to create "Centers of Excellence": is effort will investi- gate "how healthcare systems can best organize and deliver care for people with long COVID-19, provide telemonitoring and expert consultation for primary care practices and advance the development of multispeciality clinics to provide complex care," according to the White House. 3. Strengthen coverage for long COVID-19 care: e White House cited efforts to cover care for those with long COVID-19, includ- ing the American Rescue Plan, which re- quires state Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance programs to cover treatment and therapies for long COVID-19. "Moving forward, the administration will continue to assess opportunities to enhance access to care for long COVID and its associated symptoms through Medicare, Medicaid, insurance marketplace coverage and other options," the Biden administration said, add- ing federal officials will also work to increase long COVID-19 awareness among Federal Employee Health Benefit Program carriers. 4. Accelerate research: e government plans to direct more support to the National Health Institute's $1.15 billion Recover Initiative, a comprehensive research effort on long COVID-19. e administration will work to accelerate enrollment of 40,000 participants for the study. e president has also requested $25 million in his fiscal year budget for 2023 for separate research "to answer key questions on the characteristics, risk factors, underlying mechanisms and health impacts of long COVID — through clinician engagement, electronic health data analyses and grant funding," according to the White House. Experts welcomed the governmentwide plan to advance research and resources to combat long COVID-19, telling The Washington Post it was an "overdue rec- ognition" of the condition. Others called for more to be done, saying the current initiatives do not cover long COVID-19's true scope. David Putrino, PhD, director of rehabili- tation innovation at New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System, critiqued the $20 million investment to launch special- ized Centers of Excellence. "We are talking about $20 million to cover building out care coordination strategies for a mass disabling event that is affecting an es- timated, at least 2 percent, of all Americans with a multisystem, multiorgan condition," he told the Post. "is is complex care — $20 million doesn't get you very far." n

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