MHA Today | October 15, 2021

Staff Contact: Kara Amann-Kale or Keri Barclay

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously to approve booster doses for both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.

Specifically, the Moderna COVID-19 booster dose was approved under Emergency Use Authorization for a 50mcg booster dose at least six months after completion of a primary series for:

• Individuals 65 years of age and older
• Individuals ages 18-64 at high risk of severe COVID-19
• Individuals ages 18-64 years of age whose frequent institutional or occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2 puts them at high risk of serious complications of COVID-19, including severe COVID-19

The Janssen Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was approved under EUA as a booster dose in individuals 18 years of age and older at least two months after a single primary dose.

Additional discussions occurred around the mixed use of vaccines as booster doses. The next step in the process is for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to meet on Oct. 20-21 to provide additional operational guidelines and recommendations. Facilities should await further guidance from the CDC and updated standing orders from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, if applicable, before initiating booster programs for these vaccines.

Staff Contact: Brian Kinkade

MHA sponsored a webinar Thursday that featured experts representing University Health (formerly Truman Medical Centers, Inc.), SSM Health and BJC HealthCare discussing the strategies their hospitals use to identify, engage and support patients who now qualify for Medicaid coverage. Missouri’s Medicaid expansion will extend eligibility to more than 270,000 individuals, many of whom will be hospital patients when they apply for coverage. A recording of the webinar is available to MHA members. MHA also provides detailed guidance for hospitals on Medicaid expansion issues.

Staff Contact: Andrew Wheeler

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued updates to MLN Connects Provider eNews. eNews includes information about national provider calls, meetings, events, announcements and other MLN educational product updates. The latest issue provides updates and summaries of the following.

• Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, 20 Valent
• Non-physician outpatient services provided before or during inpatient stays: bill correctly
• DATA2000 waiver training payments still available for rural health clinics

Staff Contact: Sherry Buschjost

An on-demand webinar that provides a review of the fiscal year 2022 Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Program measure and non-measure data results is now available on the Quality Reporting Center.

Staff Contact: Stephen Njenga

The RAND corporation released a report discussing the role of rideshare-based nonemergency medical transportation in serving the transportation needs throughout the country, including in rural areas. The report provides insight into the different types of transportation services, such as door-to-door, curb-to-curb, hand-to-hand and area-to-area, as well as breaks down the different groups that benefit from rideshare-based nonemergency medical transportation by transportation limitations, age and insurance type. It discusses the efficacy for rural areas, medical and logistical barriers, and makes policy recommendations.

Staff Contact: Shawn Billings or Kaylen Payne

A preliminary study finds that 20% of surgical patients who start taking prescription opioids after their procedure continue to take them more than three months post-surgery. According to researchers, few patients should still need opioids three months after surgery unless they have cancer or had chronic pain prior to the procedure. Lead author of the study, Gia Pittet of UCLA, said, “the more than 100 million surgeries in the U.S. every year create an unintended and alarming gateway to long-term opioid use.”

The study analyzed data from nearly 14,000 adults who had surgery between 2013 and 2019 at UCLA hospitals. All were opioid-naive, meaning they had not filled a prescription for an opioid painkiller for up to one year before their surgery. Afterward, they were prescribed opioids to control pain and 21% refilled their prescription between three months and one year after their operation. Researchers suggest that patients should be counseled about the safe use of opioids and offered alternative pain management choices, if available.

Staff Contact: Jill Williams

To better understand and address behavioral health workforce barriers and service delivery to Missourians, the JRI Behavioral Health Workforce Development Workgroup worked with Professor Kelli E. Canada at the University of Missouri – School of Social Work to develop a Qualtrics survey for behavioral health care providers in Missouri.

Survey participation included service providers from nearly every county in Missouri, with more than 215 participants. Questions spanned three main areas: behavioral health workforce retention, adult consumer access to services, and services provided to the adult justice-involved population.

Staff Contact: Jill Williams

Quint Studer is hosting a complimentary, one-hour webinar on well-being, stress and trauma at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20. During this webinar, Studer will review well-being tools and, most importantly, how to best use them. He’ll walk through the assessment tools and then help prioritize the tactics based upon your organization’s specific needs. The webinar, well-being tools and resources are available at no charge as a way of saying “thank you” to courageous health care workers.

Staff Contact: Becky Boyce

Mercy Hospital St. Louis named David Meiners, M.D., its new president, effective Monday, Oct. 11. Dr. Meiners succeeds Steve Mackin who recently was appointed president and CEO of the health system.

Dr. Meiners will be the first physician president at Mercy Hospital St. Louis. He has served in many roles at Mercy, including chief administrative officer for Mercy Clinic, surgery department chair in Mercy’s eastern Missouri region, clinical director of surgical services and medical director of surgical specialties.