Eric C. Reese, PhD

To help patients dealing with a lack of access to healthy foods, providers should consider partnering with an organization that can help them provide these patients with the means for purchasing healthy food using technology such as swipe cards or mobile e-vouchers, The ability to track such purchases can allow a provider to more effectively work with these patients to address dietary issues, says Sam Jonas of Snap2Save, a developer of this approach.

HFMA recognizes articles published in hfm as the fiscal year 2021-22 winners of the Helen Yerger/L. Vann Seawell Best Article Award for outstanding editorial achievement.

The revenue cycle should be designed to give patients choices that help make healthcare more affordable for them, says Bruce Haupt, president and CEO of ClearBalance Healthcare. By clearly communicating those choices, organizations can promote improved health by encouraging patients to seek care they might otherwise have deferred.

If we are to meaningfully address our nation’s crisis in mental health, we need to start by treating mental illness the same way we treat physical ailments, says Thomas Young, MD, a Board-certified physician and long-time vocal advocate for improving mental health in the United States.

U.S. hospitals, and the healthcare industry overall, must learn to apply data more proactively if we are to begin to make meaningfully progress toward addressing the financial and social challenges besetting our healthcare system, says Daniel Marino, managing partner of Lumina Health Partners.

Lance Robertson, a former HHS leader, is encouraged by the federal response to the nation’s need to address problems such as health inequity, increased health risk and avoidable high costs for populations that are adversely affected by social determinants of health (SDoH). He sees addressing SDoH as a necessary preliminary step on the nation’s journey to achieving value in healthcare.

The economic and social impacts from deferred healthcare due to COVID-19 were already a major concern in the pandemic’s first year, portending severe declines in health status for Americans who stopped seeking care for fear of exposure to the coronavirus. In this Q&A, Strata Decision Technology’s Steve Lefar shares insights based on extensive data that tell the story of deferred care across the nation, and the likelihood that providers will see a rising tide of severely ill patients.

Judy Kuriansky, PhD, a professor of psychology, NGO representative to United Nations and trustee of the United African Congress, shares her insights and experiences from working to improve healthcare equity and access among populations in the world who are “furthest behind,” which is a priority in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Kuriansky describes recent international efforts aimed at promoting the United Nations 2030 Agenda, and she address ways U.S. health systems could play an important role in such efforts.

The January 2022 edition of HFMA’s Cost Effectiveness of Health Report, sponsored by Kaufman Hall, explores key tactics successful independent community hospitals use to help them sustain their mission to the communities they serve. Also included is a preview of the first of a series of columns by hfm columnist David Johnson addressing the need for nonprofit health systems to address 5 structural defects that keep them from delivering truly high-quality care to patients.

Two leaders of health system hospital-at-home programs describe how the acute hospital care at home model represents an important change in how our nation approaches healthcare delivery, because it has been shown to yield improved care outcomes and greater patient satisfaction.