NEWS
Off the Market
The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed job growth in health care , according to a study conducted by staffing and recruiting firm Merritt Hawkins .
Since March 2020 , the first month of the pandemic in the U . S ., the number of physician recruitment searches dropped by 30 %, as the market has
switched from a buyer ’ s market to a seller ’ s market .
Cutting Down on Screen Time
Many older adults are being overscreened for cancers , even though they exceed the recommended upper age limits for screening , according to a survey of more than 100,000 U . S . adults .
A JAMA Network Open review showed that many patients were being screened when they were above the cutoff ages recommended by the U . S . Preventive Services Task Force , including for :
59.3 % of men
COLORECTAL CANCER ( 75 years )
56.2 % of women
“ Rather than having many practice opportunities to choose from , physicians now may have to compete to secure practice opportunities that meet their needs ,” the report authors wrote .
Source : Merritt Hawkins , “ 2020 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives .”
COLORECTAL CANCER ( 75 years )
Admission Attrition
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic , hospital admissions unrelated to the disease dropped , but they may be rebounding , according to a study of non – COVID-19 admissions from 201 U . S . community hospitals .
Compared with pre-pandemic levels :
45.8 % of women by April 2020 , admissions were down 43 %
CERVICAL CANCER ( 65 years )
74.1 % of women by July 2020 , admissions were down 16 %.
BREAST CANCER ( 74 years )
This decline represents about 2.5 million fewer Americans being admitted to the hospital for acute medical illness thus far in 2020 in the U . S ., the authors reported .
The researchers suggested a potential solution to this problem : Insurance companies could stop reimbursing providers for screening after the recommended upper age limit .
Source : Moss JL , Roy S , Shen C , et al . Geographic variation in overscreening for colorectal , cervical , and breast cancer among older adults . JAMA Netw Open . 2020 ; 3 : e2011645 .
Source : Birkmeyer JD , Barnato A , Birkmeyer N , et al . The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital admissions in the United States . Health Aff . 2020 September 24 . [ Epub ahead of print .]
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