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Fall is Upon Us: What Does this Mean for Covid-19?

September 17, 2020 By

Fall is Upon Us – What does this Mean for Covid-19 in the US and Abroad?

Officials had hoped that the number of coronavirus cases would decline over the summer; since case numbers did not drop, many health professionals are worried that case numbers will spike across the United States and in other nations. In fact, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that country could be facing “the worst fall, from a public health perspective, we’ve ever had.”

There were more than 22,526,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide as of August 20, 2020, according to Johns Hopkins University, and 5,567,955 of those cases were in the United States. With vaccine still months away, a number of factors could affect whether the number of cases will increase or decrease into autumn.

On August 13, 2020, the CDC predicted that the number of new cases could decrease into early September. The CDC used several models to make this prediction; many of the models base their assumptions on whether current interventions, such as social distancing, will continue into the fall. The CDC has not yet offered a prediction for the number of COVID-19 cases for autumn, but the federal agency does offer a reminder that the second and more deadly wave of the 1918 pandemic occurred in the fall.

Factors that could affect COVID-19 cases in the US and abroad

The rise or fall of COVID-19 cases in autumn will depend on a number of factors, including the onset of flu season, the use of social distancing and facemasks, the proportion of students returning to in-person classes rather than distance learning, the return to amateur, college and professional sports, and the development of a vaccine.

Unless cases drop dramatically in the next few weeks, the coronavirus outbreak will likely coincide with the flu season, which means the number of sick people could overwhelm an already-stressed healthcare system. Flu season typically starts in October and worsens through January and February. While flu vaccinations could help reduce the burden on healthcare systems, only about 45 percent of American adults received a flu vaccine during last year’s during the 2018–19 flu season, according to the CDC.

Mask wearing is common and culturally acceptable in many parts of the world, particularly in East Asia, but not so in the United States. About 63 percent of people in Japan wore masks during the pandemic, for example, but a July Gallup poll found that only 44 percent of American adults said they “always” wear a mask when outside their homes.

Opening Schools During Covid-19 Pandemic

Opening schools poses a challenge in the US and abroad – while education is essential, in-person learning could cause a spike in infection rates. During the first few months of the pandemic, children seemed to have a much lower infection rate than did adults, but a recent collaborative report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association showed that there was a 24 percent increase in child cases between July 30th and August 13th.

Europe’s flattened curve and lower infections rates tempted officials to open schools, but it has not gone as planned. All of Germany’s northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s schools opened at the beginning of August, for example, but two schools shut down at the end of the first week infections; the use of masks in schools is preferred but not mandatory.

Schools never closed in Sweden and administrators never major adjustments to class size, lunch policies, or recess rules. This would have been a perfect opportunity to study schools’ role in the spread of the virus; unfortunately, officials never tracked infections among schoolchildren, even when outbreaks led to the closure of individual schools or when staff members died of coronavirus.

Fall Sports During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Fall sports provide ample opportunities for transmission, in that most sports involve close contact between players and the physical exertion associated with sports make mask-wearing difficult. To reduce the risk of transmission, many US high schools are canceling or rescheduling fall sports programs, but Florida and several other states intend to resume as planned. Guidance from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) may help inform decisions about reopening athletic activities in schools while keeping transmission rates low.

The NFL and a number of professional sports teams plan to start their regular seasons, but with some adjustments to lower risk of transmission, such as frequent testing and phased ramp-up to the regular season. The protocols put in place by the NFL, such as daily testing, banning fans at camp and canceling preseason games, seem to be holding for now – that may change as the season opens, however.

It will be difficult to predict the effects of reopening schools and resuming sports will have on the number of COVID-19 infections or deaths, especially in the absence of social distancing, masks, and a vaccine. In the next installment, we’ll take a look at how the number of COVID-19 cases changed over the fall season and predict what will happen with the approach of winter.

FRANK MAGLIOCHETTI

Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Last year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment. Frank is also CEO of ClickStream, ClickStream’s business operations are focused on the development and implementation of WinQuik™, a free to play synchronized mobile app and digital gaming platform. The platform is designed to enable WinQuik™ users to have fun, interact and compete against each other in order to win real money and prizes. Twitter at @ClickstreamC and @WinQuikApp.

Frank was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Designer Genomics International, Inc. The Company has accumulated a growing body of evidence that highlights a link between alterations in the immune and inflammatory systems and the development of chronic human disease. The Company is visionary and has established itself as a leader in the field of inflammatory and immune genetic DNA and RNA biomarkers that play a causative role in debilitating conditions, such as atherosclerosis/heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and cancer.
A proprietary state-of-the art data mining bioinformatics program, called ‘cluster analysis’ will be used to measure disease development susceptibility with potential for earlier diagnosis and intervention. The company is developing a healthcare program based on its proprietary genetic panels that will allow people to be their own healthcare advocate and take an active role in their health status as well as longevity.

Mr. Frank Magliochetti MBA
Managing Partner
Parcae Capital
www.parcaecapitalcorp.com
www.frankmagliochetti.com

SOURCES:

https://www.webmd.com/coronavirus-in-context/video/robert-redfield

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/forecasts-cases.html

https://github.com/cdcepi/COVID-19-Forecasts/blob/master/COVID-19_Forecast_Model_Descriptions.md#JHU

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/three-waves.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/coverage-1819estimates.htm

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0237691

https://news.gallup.com/poll/315590/americans-face-mask-usage-varies-greatly-demographics.aspx

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932e3.htm

https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/

https://fortune.com/2020/08/10/covid-schools-reopening-class-children-coronavirus/

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/how-sweden-wasted-rare-opportunity-study-coronavirus-schools

https://www.maxpreps.com/news/qiL5GOXkFkyfJ9jwZ8wb-g/where-the-start-of-high-school-sports-stands-in-all-50-states-amid-pandemic.htm

https://www.nfhs.org/media/3812287/2020-nfhs-guidance-for-opening-up-high-school-athletics-and-activities-nfhs-smac-may-15_2020-final.pdf

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29548681/2020-nfl-preseason-schedule-training-camp-other-key-dates

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-training-camp-amid-covid-19-pandemic-what-you-need-to-know

Filed Under: CoronaVirus, Covid19 Virus, Featured, Frank Magliochetti, Healthcare Industry, News, Pandemic Tagged With: , , , ,

Covid-19: How Will It Affect Fall Sports

September 16, 2020 By

Covid-19 Pandemic Affecting Fall Sports

The coronavirus pandemic has changed how Americans do business – it has also affected how we play.

Many organized sports took a hiatus during the spring and summer as players, organizers, public health officials, and fans looked for ways to play safely, and are now trying to squeeze out a fall schedule. For example, soccer is a patchwork of canceled games, limited practices, and normal seasons… at least for now, as COVID-19 flare-ups may dash the dreams of players of all ages.

The decision to play has been especially difficult at the high school level. Most states have canceled high school basketball championships and spring seasons, for example, even before the start of school. Football was a different story, though. Football is a beloved fall tradition and, for pros and amateurs alike, marks the beginning of sports season. The decision whether to nix the fall season has been a controversial and often divisive one – nearly everyone wants football to return, but many wondered how to do it safely.

Twenty-five states had already kicked off their high school football season by September 17, and nine more planned to start their seasons in the fall. By then, a number of states and the District of Columbia said they would push their seasons back to 2021. Colorado had announced they would offer football in both fall and spring. Michigan had reversed their decision twice, moving football from fall to spring on August 14 then moving it back to fall on September 3,2020.

The pandemic has also tripped up recruiting efforts, particularly for high school seniors. High school sport seasons provide athletes with an opportunity to score scholarships that could change the course of their lives. In a typical year, young athletes have several chances to impress college scouts, but 2020 is anything but typical – the pandemic prevents coaches and prospects from traveling to meet in person, and it led to the cancelation of exposure camps normally held in late summer and early autumn.

Fall Sports at the Collegiate Level

On September 22, 2020, the NCAA announced that a number of college sports would hold their 2020 fall championships in the spring of 2021. Sports included are men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross-country, women’s volleyball, field hockey, and men’s water polo. They will cap bracket sizes at 75 percent of normal capacity, predetermine championship sites, and reduce the number of preliminary-round sites to support health and safety. While the NCAA has halted most college sports for the fall season, college football goes on. Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced their return on September 25, 2020, which means all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conferences are now competing in the fall. They committed to playing a 6-game conference-only schedule running from November 4th through December 18 or 19, with the MAC championship game. To keep players safe, MAC implemented COVID-19 testing protocols that call for four COVID tests per week, starting October 5. MAC is not allowing general public attendance or tailgating; Conference protocols will guide participation of any Marching Bands, Dance, Cheer and Spirit Squads at football games according to institutional discretion and public health guidance. MAC’s announcement cited the availability of COVID-19 tests and the quick turnaround time of test results across the Conference as leading to the decision to play.

Big Ten recently announced it would start its season on October 24, 2020, prompting 90 teams to attempt playing a full schedule this fall. The ACC, Big 12 and SEC as the Power 5 conferences will also try to play this fall, as will the American, Conference USA and Sun Belt.

Pro Sports During the Pandemic

Professional football is on in full force this fall, with the NFL planning to play a complete schedule. Just one year after celebrating the NFL’s 100th season in grand fashion, this year will feature mostly empty stadiums and canned cheers, officials and coaches in masks, the wearing of tracking devices for contact tracing, daily testing, socially distant meetings, and other protocols to keep fans and players safe. Players who test positive are placed on the reserve/COVID list. On September 26, Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell became the first player to be sidelined after a positive COVID-19 test.

It is hard to know how the pandemic will affect athletes and fans as we move from autumn to winter, but rest assured, the world of sports may never be the same.

FRANK MAGLIOCHETTI

Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Last year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment. Frank is also CEO of ClickStream, ClickStream’s business operations are focused on the development and implementation of WinQuik™, a free to play synchronized mobile app and digital gaming platform. The platform is designed to enable WinQuik™ users to have fun, interact and compete against each other in order to win real money and prizes. Twitter at @ClickstreamC and @WinQuikApp.

Frank was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Designer Genomics International, Inc. The Company has accumulated a growing body of evidence that highlights a link between alterations in the immune and inflammatory systems and the development of chronic human disease. The Company is visionary and has established itself as a leader in the field of inflammatory and immune genetic DNA and RNA biomarkers that play a causative role in debilitating conditions, such as atherosclerosis/heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and cancer.
A proprietary state-of-the art data mining bioinformatics program, called ‘cluster analysis’ will be used to measure disease development susceptibility with potential for earlier diagnosis and intervention. The company is developing a healthcare program based on its proprietary genetic panels that will allow people to be their own healthcare advocate and take an active role in their health status as well as longevity.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is frankmagliochetti_FrankMagliochettiNews.jpg
Mr. Frank Magliochetti MBA
Managing Partner
Parcae Capital
www.parcaecapitalcorp.com
www.frankmagliochetti.com

Sources

https://www.maxpreps.com/news/qiL5GOXkFkyfJ9jwZ8wb-g/where-the-start-of-high-school-sports-stands-in-all-50-states-amid-pandemic.htm

https://www.maxpreps.com/news/ha3S_dWexUOaekUFjBMfkA/high-school-football-kickoff-dates-in-all-50-states.htm

https://www.ncaa.com/live-updates/ncaa/ncaa-sports-news-schedule-changes-coronavirus-updates-all-sports

https://getsomemaction.com/news/2020/9/25/football-maction-is-back.aspx

https://www.nfl.com/news/falcons-cb-a-j-terrell-tests-positive-for-covid-19-placed-on-reserve-list

CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 IMPACTING SOCCER

Filed Under: CoronaVirus, Covid19 Virus, Featured, Frank Magliochetti, Healthcare Industry, Healthcare Industry News, News, Pandemic Tagged With: , , , , ,

Innovations in Genetic Testing

August 16, 2020 By

Genetic Testing Innovations

Genetic testing is quickly becoming a cornerstone of healthcare, with new medical technologies and innovations enhancing how scientists work with genetics. Gene therapy, simplified genetic tests, and analysis of fully sequenced genomes are just some of the genetic testing innovations improving healthcare today and in the future.

The global genetic testing market hasrisen over the past few years. This rise is fueled by the increasing prevalence of genetic disorders and growing awareness about the benefits of genetic testing. In fact, the global genetic testing market will likely reach 22.834 billion USD in 2024, registering 11.50 percent CAGR throughout the assessment period (2019-2024), according to Market Research Future.

Genetic testing involves a set of laboratory tests that study the patient’s genetic makeup, and identify any gene mutations or alterations in the patient’s DNA that could potentially lead to the development of genetic disorders. Healthcare professionals can use genetic tests to confirm or rule out a suspected genetic disorder. Genetic testing can also help determine the probability that an individual will develop a genetic disorder or pass one down to the next generation.

Types of Genetic Testing and Innovations

As of August 2017, there were about 10,000 unique genetic test types, and approximately 75,000 genetic tests on the market including direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests like 23andMe – more are under development every year. The general types of genetic tests include:

Newborn testing – used just after birth to detect genetic disorders early, when they are easiest to treat

Diagnostic testing – identifies or rules out a specific genetic condition

Carrier testing – identifies people who carry one copy of a gene mutation that, when coupled with another gene with the same mutation, causes a genetic disorder; this test can help couples determine their risk for having a child with a genetic disorder

Prenatal testing – offered during pregnancy if there is a chance that the baby will have a genetic disorder, prenatal testing detects changes in a fetus’s genes prior to birth

Pre-implantation testing – used to detect changes in embryos created through in-vitro fertilization or other assisted reproductive technology to reduce the risk of having a child with a specific genetic disorder

Predictive and presymptomatic testing – detect gene mutations associated with conditions that develop after birth or even later in life; helpful for people whose family member has a genetic condition, but who have no signs or symptoms of the condition at the time of testing

Forensic testing – uses DNA sequences to identify someone for legal purposes, such as identifying victims of a crime or catastrophe, rule out or implicate a suspect in a crime, or to establish paternity or other biological relationship

Genetic Testing Delivery Systems

Innovations in genetic testing involve new delivery systems, finding new genetic variants, and finding new uses for genetic therapies. Researchers from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center recently started using gold nanoparticles as a scalable delivery vehicle for their CRISPR systems, for example, instead of the “old fashioned” approach of using electric shock or viral vectors to deliver genetic editing tools to DNA.

Another group of researchers analyzed coding genes from nearly 46,000 people to identify four genes that contained rare genetic deviations linked to type 2 diabetes. Pharmaceutical companies could use these genes and the proteins they encode as targets for new diabetes medications and treatments.

Doctors in the United States have begun using CRISPR gene-editing therapy to treat cancer patients for the first time. The University of Pennsylvania is following the first two patients in the country to undergo the new therapy – one with sarcoma and one with multiple myeloma, whose cancers did not respond to conventional treatment.

Genetic testing could even help scientists understand COVID-19; they currently use genetic testing known as RNA or PCR tests, to detect the disease.

genetic testing and innovations clinical trials

The tsunami of gene therapy clinical trials underway right now will create a flood of data, particularly in oncology. Oncology is an area that currently represents a quarter of Phase I and Phase II trials. Much of the push to expand genetic testing will come from the consumers themselves. Patients are currently pushing to expand genetic testing beyond its current confines of rare diseases to cover common conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease. In cases in which insurance does not cover the costs of these tests, patients may seek to enroll in clinical trials. When genetic testing is not affordable or accessible, consumers will turn to at-home genetic testing.

FRANK MAGLIOCHETTI

Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Last year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment. Frank is also CEO of ClickStream, ClickStream’s business operations are focused on the development and implementation of WinQuik™, a free to play synchronized mobile app and digital gaming platform. The platform is designed to enable WinQuik™ users to have fun, interact and compete against each other in order to win real money and prizes. Twitter at @ClickstreamC and @WinQuikApp.

Genetic Industry

Frank was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Designer Genomics International, Inc. The Company has accumulated a growing body of evidence that highlights a link between alterations in the immune and inflammatory systems and the development of chronic human disease. The Company is visionary and has established itself as a leader in the field of inflammatory and immune genetic DNA and RNA biomarkers that play a causative role in debilitating conditions, such as atherosclerosis/heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and cancer.
A proprietary state-of-the art data mining bioinformatics program, called ‘cluster analysis’ will be used to measure disease development susceptibility with potential for earlier diagnosis and intervention. The company is developing a healthcare program based on its proprietary genetic panels that will allow people to be their own healthcare advocate and take an active role in their health status as well as longevity.

Frank Magliochetti News is developing Genetic Innovation News.com the site is devoted to genetic innovations; we encourage contributors – the site wants to broadcast your news, discoveries,and innovations.

Mr. Frank Magliochetti MBA
Managing Partner
Parcae Capital
www.parcaecapitalcorp.com
www.frankmagliochetti.com

SOURCES:

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/genetic-testing-market-2009

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5987210

https://www.genome.gov/dna-day/15-ways/direct-to-consumer-genomic-testing

https://www.23andme.com/

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/testing/uses

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-019-0385-5

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1231-2

https://www.docwirenews.com/docwire-pick/first-u-s-cancer-patients-treated-with-crispr-gene-editing-therapy/

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/sars-cov-2-spike-protein-shares-sequence-with-a-human-protein-67596

https://asm.org/Articles/2020/April/COVID-19-Testing-FAQs

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/pharmaceuticals-and-medical-products/our-insights/gene-therapy-coming-of-age-opportunities-and-challenges-to-getting-ahead

Filed Under: Featured, Genetic News, Genetic Screening, Healthcare Industry, Healthcare Innovations, Healthcare Trends, News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Covid19 The Pandemic (Almost) Nobody Saw Coming

April 23, 2020 By

Of all the changes 2020 had brought, almost nobody saw coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) coming.

First reported in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, the newly discovered coronavirus (2019-nCoV) quickly made its way around the globe, killing thousands and sickening hundreds of thousands more. There is quite a bit of information out there to disseminate we felt it time to give an overview and a few thoughts on Covid-19; as this situation is fluid we do expect to add more information in future posts.

On March 12, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, meaning the disease had spread to multiple continents around the globe. Like other pandemics, COVID-19 seemed to move swiftly, taking governments, healthcare providers and citizens by surprise. 

Not everyone was blindsided, though – a handful of experts in global health, the biosciences, national security, emergency response and economics got together in October 2019 to talk about what would happen if a global pandemic suddenly hit the world’s population. The experts discussed how Americans and others around the world would fare if a novel and highly transmissible coronavirus outbreak reached pandemic proportions.

Just as its real-life counterpart did, the fictional coronavirus jumped between countries and continents via international air travel. In both accounts, the virus caused problems for health care systems, economies, and political leaders. The fictional scenario assumed governments would first try closing borders and banning travel, but by the time authorities enacted border closures and travel bans, carriers would have unknowingly transmitted the disease to others before developing symptoms. The experts also projected the travel bans would disrupt trade and worsen international cooperation.

The simulation provided a shocking glimpse into the near future, but in today’s rapid-fire news cycle, very few people took notice. When the predictions began to come true in the form of COVID-19, many people regarded the threat somebody else’s problem because it was occurring in another country and could never reach the shores of our nation. Others thought COVID-19 was nothing more than a seasonal influenza. They were wrong on both counts.

COVID-19 is Here, and it is More than Just a Flu

The first patient with COVID-19 walked into a U.S. emergency department on January 19, 2020. Today, thousands of Americans have tested positive for novel coronavirus.

COVID-19 is similar to the flu in many ways, and is significantly different in other ways. Both are infectious illnesses, for example, and both cause a dry cough and fever. Influenza causes aches, chills, fatigue, and headache and chills; these symptoms are less common with COVID-19. Flu symptoms come on suddenly, getting worse over a day or two. Symptoms of COVID-19 develop gradually, worsening over the course of several days.

COVID-19 is different from the flu in other ways:

  • Difficulty breathing and shortness of breath are the hallmarks of COVID-19 – they are also signs to seek immediate medical attention; flu does not cause shortness of breath and difficulty breathing
  • COVID-19 is more likely to kill than the flu – about 3.4 percent of people with COVID-19 have died and seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1 percent of those infected
  • Unlike the flu, there is no vaccine for COVID-19, and it will probably take a year to develop one
  • There is no treatment for COVID-19
  • Children, who are typically at high risk of contracting flu, are at lower risk for COVID-19 than are older adults

With a higher basic reproduction number, which is the number of infections one infected person can cause COVID-19, is more infectious than the flu. COVID-19 seems to have a basic reproduction number somewhere between 2 and 2.5, so the average person infected with the coronavirus spreads the disease to 2 to 3 other people. The basic reproduction number of seasonal influenza varies from year to year, but is often about 1.28.

COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on nearly every segment of the population, but it presents special danger to some. Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine Dawn Brown reported an increase in calls to the NAMI hotline. Callers expressed a wide variety of concerns, including feelings of depression and loneliness from social isolation, worries about job stability and income, fears of getting sick, grief over the death of a loved one, and homelessness. “Right now, the bigger concerns are around anxieties about the unknowns, you don’t know what you don’t know, and the people we serve tend to be a little more vulnerable to anxiety and panic.”

What Happens in the Future Depends Largely on What We Do Today

Arguably late to the situation, the U.S. government issued The President’s Coronavirus Guidelines for America, which directs citizens to listen to state and local authorities, stay home when sick, self-isolation measures, and good hygiene. States have issued a variety of public health emergency declarations, including the activation of National Guards, school and business closures, and limits on event sizes.

The medical community geared up quickly in response to the pandemic. Hospitals began enacting preparedness plans, clinicians developed treatment plans for critically ill patients, and researchers immediately turned their attention to developing a vaccine. Mayo Clinic announced the development of a new test that provides results in 24 hours.

The actions of individuals, families, businesses and communities will have the greatest influence in how the pandemic ends – they will also bear the brunt of its consequences. In even the best case scenario, hundreds or thousands of people in the United States could perish; new research suggests the number of deaths in the nation could exceed 2 million.

While nobody knows exactly how COVID-19 will change our lives, almost everyone can agree that the changes will be profound.

To View Frank Magliochetti Press Releases Please CLICK HERE

Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Earlier this year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is GRACE-HEALTH-TECHNOLOGY_Frank-MAgliochetti.jpg

Mr. Frank Magliochetti MBA
Managing Partner
Parcae Capital
www.parcaecapitalcorp.com
www.frankmagliochetti.com

SOURCES:

http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/news/news/2020/3/who-announces-covid-19-outbreak-a-pandemic

https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19—3-march-2020

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200306-sitrep-46-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=96b04adf_2

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265345236_Estimates_of_the_reproduction_number_for_seasonal_pandemic_and_zoonotic_influenza_A_systematic_review_of_the_literature

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/03.16.20_coronavirus-guidance_8.5x11_315PM.pdf

https://www.nga.org/coronavirus/#stateshttps://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/COVID19/Documents/COVID-19%20Healthcare%20Planning%20Checklist.pdf

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2762996

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-clinical-trial-investigational-vaccine-covid-19-begins

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/03/12/new-mayo-clinic-test-could-speed-detection-of-covid19

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf

Filed Under: CoronaVirus, Covid19 Virus, Featured, Healthcare Industry, Healthcare Industry News, News Tagged With: , , , ,

Top 3 Challenges in Healthcare in 2020

January 14, 2020 By

1. Cybersecurity

The medical and healthcare sector collects highly sensitive patient information, which puts the industry in the crosshairs of cybersecurity attacks. There were 2,546 healthcare data breaches involving more than 500 records in the United States between 2009 and 2018, resulting in the in the exposure and theft of 189,945,874 healthcare records – this equates to more than 59 percent of the nation’s population. In 2017 alone, the medical and healthcare sector experienced more than 350 data breaches that exposed 4.93 million patient records.

While experts are still finalizing the breach figures for 2019, it looks to be the worst year yet. Today, the healthcare industry accounts for four out of every five data breaches, according to HIPPA Journal. The cost of these breaches to the industry will likely reach $4 billion in 2020.

Black Book Market Research LLC recently surveyed 2,876 security professionals from 733 provider organizations to identify the reasons healthcare organizations continue to experience data breaches and cyber attacks. They found that budget constraints prevented the replacement of legacy software and devices, which left them more vulnerable to attack. “It is becoming increasingly difficult for hospitals to find the dollars to invest in an area that does not produce revenue,” said the founder of Black Book, Doug Brown, in a press release. Ninety percent of hospital representatives in the survey said that their IT security budgets have remained unchanged since 2016.

2. Transparency

Transparency has been a hot topic for several years, and will continue to be a burning issue into 2020 and beyond. A 2016 survey by Accenture found that 91 percent of consumers wanted to know their out-of-pocket costs before they received care.

Triggered by the Executive Order on Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First issued in June of 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new rules to increase price transparency.

The first rule, Calendar Year (CY) 2020 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) & Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Price Transparency Requirements for Hospitals to Make Standard Charges Public Final Rule, requires that hospitals provide patients with easily accessible information about standard charges for services and items offered. Standard charges must be available in a single data file that other computer systems can read. Hospital websites must display “shoppable services” information in a consumer-friendly format. This rule takes effect on January 1, 2021.

CMS’s second proposed rule, the Transparency in Coverage rule, would impose price transparency requirements on insurers.

3. Patient-friendly Payment Models

Patient financial responsibility for outpatient, and emergency department care is on the rise, with out-of-pocket costs increasing by 12 percent in 2018, according to TransUnion.

This shift towards patient financial responsibility could bog down invoice and payment processing, particularly for practices that do not have an in-house invoicing and payment processing system geared towards accepting payments from patients. These practices will need to build patient portals, secure payment processing, and other infrastructure to handle such payments and fund administrative costs of maintaining these technologies. Furthermore, they will need to ensure their payment portals and processing systems are compliant with guidelines that protect patient information.

Unfortunately, 90 percent of healthcare providers still use paper and manual payment processes, according to a 2018 InstaMed survey. To make matters worse, 70 percent of consumers said they were confused by medical bills. Not surprisingly, 77 percent of providers said it takes more than a month to collect a payment. To be paid on time, providers must overcome the obstacles of upgrading their payment processing systems and clarify billing.

With a little planning – and a bit of luck – those in the healthcare industry can overcome these challenges and put themselves in a great position for the rest of the decade.

To View Frank Magliochetti Press Releases Please CLICK HERE

Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Earlier this year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment.

Mr. Frank Magliochetti MBA
Managing Partner
Parcae Capital
www.parcaecapitalcorp.com
www.frankmagliochetti.com

SOURCES:

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/cybersecurity/11-of-the-biggest-healthcare-cyberattacks-of-2017.html

https://blackbookmarketresearch.com/health-data-security-and-privacy

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/healthcare-data-breaches-costs-industry-4-billion-by-years-end-2020-will-be-worse-reports-new-black-book-survey-300950388.html

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-improving-price-quality-transparency-american-healthcare-put-patients-first/

https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/cy-2020-hospital-outpatient-prospective-payment-system-opps-policy-changes-hospital-price

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cms-9915-p.pdf

https://newsroom.transunion.com/out-of-pocket-costs-rising-even-as-patients-transition-to-lower-cost-settings-of-care/

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190415005538/en/

Filed Under: Cybersecurity, Featured, Frank Magliochetti, Healthcare Industry, Healthcare Industry News, Healthcare Innovations, Healthcare Trends, News, Patient Friendly Payment Models, Top Challenges in Healthcare 2020, Transparency Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Trends in Healthcare to Watch for in 2020

November 10, 2019 By

5 Trends to Watch for in 2020

Healthcare is changing at the speed of light as researchers discover new treatments and as developers create new technologies that improve the health and well-being of the public. A dizzying array of new healthcare products will hit the market in the next year. Here are five of the most important healthcare trends to watch in 2020.

5 Must-Watch Healthcare Trends for 2020

1. AI and Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning use computers that study algorithms and statistical models – and learn from them – without guidance from humans. Machine language systems can solve problems just as a clinician might – by weighing evidence. Unlike a single clinician, though, these systems can simultaneously observe and process a nearly limitless number of inputs.

Using insights from past data to make informed clinical decisions is the essence of evidence-based medicine. Researchers have traditionally used mathematical equations, such as linear regression, to identify and characterize patterns within data. AI uses machine learning to uncover complex associations that fit easily into mathematical equations. Using sophisticated machine learning and very large data sets allows AI to predict outcomes and estimate patient risk faster – and sometimes better – than clinicians and medical researchers.

2. Laboratory Informatics

A rising need for laboratory automation, development of integrated lab informatics solutions, growing demand for biobanks/biorepositories to store millions of biological samples used in research, and the ongoing struggle to comply with regulatory standards is fueling growth for laboratory informatics.

Laboratory informatics (LI) is information technology that uses instruments, software, and data management tools to capture, migrate, process, and interpret scientific data for immediate and future use.

Laboratory informatics will grow from USD 2.6 billion in 2019 to USD 3.8 billion by 2024, according to MarketsandMarkets, and boast a 7.5 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the forecast period. High accuracy and efficiency of laboratory informatics results, rising burden certain diseases, and increasing applications of LI solutions are driving this market.

3. Silver Technology

In 2018, the number of people over the age of 65 surpassed the number of children younger than 5 years for the first time in history, according to Our World in Data. “Silver technology” provides healthcare solutions that support that aging population.

Technology has historically helped improve the health of older adults through diagnostics, communications, imaging, and health informatics. Silver technology in 2020 will help reframe the delivery of healthcare, and facilitate communication between older adults, their family caregivers, and service providers.

Technology can help older adults live independently longer, manage medications, monitor changes in cognition, stay connected with friends and family members, drive a car, and access healthcare. Some technologies, such as health information technology (HIT), remote monitoring and telehealth, technologies that allow adults to age safely in place, mobile health technologies and workforce-training technologies, will have a profoundly positive effect for older adults in 2020.

4. Wearable Fitness Technology

Fueled by consumer appetite for sophisticated gadgets, rising popularity of wearable fitness and medical devices, growing popularity of the IoT, expanding awareness about the importance of fitness, and the increase in disposable incomes in developing economies, wearable fitness technology will likely trend upwards in 2020. MarketsandMarkets says that the wearable fitness technology market earned USD 5.77 billion in 2016 and predicts it will take in USD 12.44 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 13.7 percent.

Major trends in wearable fitness technology include smartphone apps featuring advanced data analysis, advanced sensors capable of tracking athletic performance and other qualitative attributes, purpose-specific wearables, and even the integration and implantation of technology with and in the human body.

Wearable technology products, such as smart watches and wristbands, spurred an evolution in fitness technology. The wearable fitness technology of 2020 will include a wide variety of smart apparels and other innovative products, such as smart shoes, headbands, and more.

5. 5G Mobile Healthcare Technology

5G will become widely available starting in 2020. In fact, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg says that half of the United States will have the technology by then.

The transition from 4G to 5G will open new cloud applications for the healthcare industry. 5G provides mobile data speeds that are up to 10 times faster than 4G and up to 100 times faster than other existing networks. Faster speeds will support real-time, high-quality video for telemedicine that allows patients to interact with their care teams, remote patient monitoring, virtual and augmented reality for use in clinician training, and other emerging medical technologies that test the limits of existing network speeds. 5G will also alleviate concerns about internet of things (IoT) and potentially allow billions of monitoring devices and wearables that provide essential information about patients’ well-being.

Spurred by advances in computer technology and research, the medical world will continue to change in 2020 and beyond. These changes will likely help older adults live independently longer and help the next generation be healthier.

To View Frank Magliochetti Press Releases Please CLICK HERE

Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Earlier this year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment.

My background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Earlier this year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment.

Mr. Frank Magliochetti MBA
Managing Partner
Parcae Capital

https://twitter.com/F_Magliochetti1
www.parcaecapitalcorp.com
www.frankmagliochetti.info 

SOURCES

https://www.facs.org/media/press-releases/2019/carrano102919

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/lab-informatic-market-203037633.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAtf_tBRDtARIsAIbAKe1NAHHnFhIGLrwW1avAsxlVwwOrsLY0wjIxMikZeJcNPY_4njamWTsaAu-IEALw_wcB

https://ourworldindata.org/population-aged-65-outnumber-children

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/wearable-fitness-technology-market-139869705.html

https://www.wearable-technologies.com/tag/smart-shoes/

https://www.usa.philips.com/c-e/smartsleep/deep-sleep-headband.html

https://www.advisory.com/research/health-care-it-advisor/it-forefront/2019/04/5g-transformation

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/01/verizon-ceo-sees-functioning-5g-wireless-in-half-the-us-next-year.html?__twitter_impression=true

Filed Under: Featured, Frank Magliochetti Report, Healthcare Industry, Healthcare Industry News, Healthcare Innovations, Healthcare Trends, News Tagged With: , ,

Healthcare: Ready for Blockchain Technology

September 30, 2019 By


Using Blockchain Technology in Healthcare

Healthcare requires prompt access to confidential patient information – lives can sometimes depend on it. Easy access comes at a price, though, as easily accessible information puts patient privacy and hospital data at risk. Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by providing access to secure, accurate information.
Health information technology is becoming more crucial to the healthcare system, as doctors and nurses now spend more time typing than talking to patients, according to a study by Mayo Clinic. Health information technology is also important to patients who go to different practitioners and specialists who may not have access to the electronic healthcare records (EHR) system their primary physicians may use. Lack of access to health records can lead to repeat lab work, dangerous drug interactions, and more. Blockchain can help eliminate unnecessary repeat lab work, manage medications from different prescribers, and provide a patient’s vaccination history.  Access to healthcare information is also essential for insurance providers and researchers. Many are turning to blockchain.

What exactly is blockchain?
A very succinct history of the platform; An unknown person or group calling itself Satoshi Nakamoto started blockchain technology in 2009, it was started as a way to move the digital currency, bitcoin. In the years since, the uses for blockchain have expanded to exchange other types of digital assets, such as data.
Blockchain is an activity log that is tamper-proof, time-stamped and shared across a network of computers. Each transaction going into the log, or central database, is enclosed in a block and linked in chronological order to create a public chain, hence the name “blockchain.”
The blocks cannot be deleted, changed or otherwise modified, which means that blockchain creates an indelible write-once-read-only record that a transaction occurred.

Blockchain has three main components:

1.  Digital transactions – the information or digital asset stored in the blockchain
2.  Distributed network – a decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture featuring “nodes” of participants, each of whom stores a copy of the blockchain and is authorized to validate and certify any digital transactions on the network
3.  Shared ledger – the participants record ongoing transactions in a ledger shared by all the members, who verify the transactions using algorithms; the transaction is added to the record after a majority of members validate it

How Blockchain Technology can Improve Healthcare
Information management is one of the largest problems facing healthcare today. Spread across multiple and sometimes-inaccessible systems, information may not be available when needed most; unfettered access to this information can be a security risk. Blockchain could change all that by creating a decentralized system accessible to only those who hold the right keys.
The lack of a central administrator creates transparency, in that no single individual or organization can change the information, as could happen if the information were to live in the physical memory of one system. Furthermore, all of the members of the blockchain remain in control of their transactions and information.
Each member connected to the blockchain has two keys – a public key, which acts as a visible identifier, and a secret private key. One must have the private key to unlock a member’s identity and see what information on the blockchain is relevant to that member’s profile. This cryptographically links the two keys in such a way that only those who have the secret private key can identify the member.

As healthcare institutions provide services to patients, they track clinical information in their existing health IT systems. The institution then use application programming interfaces (APIs) to direct the patient’s public (non-identifiable) ID and standard data fields to the blockchain, where the blockchain stores each transaction by the patient’s public ID. Computer software processes the incoming transactions to make them searchable.
Healthcare institutions and other organizations can use APIs to query the blockchain directly to view non-identifiable patient information, such as age, gender and medical condition. Analysis of the information gained from these queries can lead to new insights into healthcare.

Patients who wish to share their identity with healthcare organizations may do so by providing their private keys, which allows the healthcare organizations to unlock patients’ data. The data remains unidentifiable to those without the private key.

Today, most healthcare organizations rely on health information exchanges (HIEs) and other methods of centralized data aggregation to gather wide scale health data. Blockchain creates a decentralized standardized method, which ensures accountability and easy access. The structure of blockchain offers a unique combination of access scalability, security, and data privacy that can facilitate the sharing and security of healthcare information. Many more uses will unfold for blockchain technology in all aspects of healthcare, research, laboratory management, record keeping, accountability, Q.A., and even insurance.

To View Frank Magliochetti Press Releases Please CLICK HERE

Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Earlier this year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment.

Mr. Frank Magliochetti MBA
Managing Partner Parcae Capital
www.parcaecapitalcorp.com
www.frankmagliochettinews.com

Filed Under: Featured, Healthcare Industry, Healthcare Industry News, Healthcare Innovations, News Tagged With: , ,

Change is in the Future of Healthcare Organizations

August 28, 2019 By

Changes in Healthcare Organizations of the Future

From the diseases we face to the technologies we use to treat them, healthcare in the United States is changing rapidly.

Frank Magliochetti confirms: that just a few short decades ago, most people received care from their family doctor and paid for it through private insurance provided by an employer. Diagnostic tests were limited to x-rays and a few blood tests, and treatments involved first generation drug therapies and invasive surgical procedures. Patient records were kept in a dusty basement offsite, and the information they contained was accessed only to provide continuing care to that individual patient. Computerized medical records, advanced fMRI and CT scanning, and robot surgery common today was the stuff of science fiction just 20 years ago.

Tomorrow’s healthcare landscape will be decidedly different from the care provided today, and light-years away from the healthcare of our parent’s day. A number of various factors, such as demographics, legislation, and technology, affect nearly every level of healthcare and affect nearly every person working in healthcare. These factors will drive the major changes occurring in healthcare over the next two to three decades.

The diseases people face will likely change as well. Diseases that were almost unheard of in younger populations years ago, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease, will become major health issues across the generations.

The use of hospital services will likely grow significantly in the next decade, largely because of the increase in Medicare beneficiaries. The cost of hospital care will also rise; The George Washington University School of Business predicts this cost will increase from 0.9 percent to 2.4 percent of the budget by 2025.

Care will likely center on the patient’s experience, rather than on the needs of the institutions providing that care. Patients will have detailed information, on par with that collected by their doctor or hospital, about their own health and about health in general. The patients of tomorrow will also enjoy greater ownership of that data, and they will play a greater role in the decision-making process when it comes to their own health, well-being and medical care.

The Healthcare of Tomorrow

Healthcare in 2040 is only 20 years away, but it will be vastly different from what we have today. Two decades ago, we could not have envisioned the wearable devices that are commonplace today; medical technology will take us places in the next two decade that we cannot begin to imagine today. The next generation of sensors will likely move from wearable devices to invisible, always-on sensors embedded in devices surrounding us – or even embedded inside of us; medtech companies are already investigating ways to incorporate these always-on biosensors and software into devices that generate, gather and share health data.

By 2040, independent streams of health data will merge to create a multifaceted, complex and highly personalized picture of each individual’s well-being, for example. Artificial intelligence (AI) will allow for wide scale analysis of vast amounts of information and the creation of personalized insights into consumer health. The availability of this data and personalized insights can enable precision real-time interventions that allows patients and their caregivers to get ahead of sickness early enough to avoid catastrophic disease. Armed with a lifetime of highly detailed information about their own health and with a natural penchant for mobility, consumers of 2040 will also probably demand that their health information be portable.

Because of the demand for mobility and information management, technology such as interoperable data and AI will be major drivers of change, but only if the open platforms necessary for mobility and AI are secure. Information technology (IT) professionals will continually develop technologies that process threat data more efficiently and more accurately predict criminal activity.

While nobody can predict exactly what the healthcare landscape will look like in 2040 and beyond, nearly everyone can agree that it will be vastly different from the care we receive today.

Source

https://healthcaremba.gwu.edu/blog/how-we-can-expect-the-healthcare-industry-to-change-in-the-future/

To View Frank Magliochetti Press Releases Please CLICK HERE

Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Earlier this year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment.

Mr. Frank Magliochetti MBA
Managing Partner
Parcae Capital
www.parcaecapitalcorp.com
www.frankmagliochetti.com

Filed Under: Featured, Healthcare Industry, Healthcare Industry News, Healthcare Innovations, Healthcare Trends, News Tagged With: , ,

Healthcare Industry Structural Changes Are Coming

August 24, 2019 By

The Structure of the Healthcare Industry will Change Radically

The healthcare industry is changing at a blistering pace. Healthcare policies, technologies, insurance coverage, and the new focus on patient experience have triggered the evolution of healthcare into something yesterday’s providers would never recognize. And, chances are, the healthcare of tomorrow will look drastically different than the care provided today.

Change had come slowly to healthcare industry legislation in the nation’s early years. The first attempt at national health insurance came about in 1905, with the formation of the American Association for Labor Legislation; Speaker of the House Thaddeus Sweet vetoed the bill. The next major change in the healthcare industry didn’t come along until 1965 when, after 20 years of heated debate in Congress, President Lyndon B. Johnson initiated legislation introducing Medicare and Medicaid. The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was the last major healthcare legislation.

While changes to healthcare law and healthcare insurance had came slowly, the nation’s demographics and need for medical care is now changing rapidly. Furthermore, advances in research and medical technology have fueled an astonishing metamorphosis in healthcare.

Factors Contributing to the Changing Landscape of Healthcare

Perhaps the most notable change in healthcare is its explosive growth: healthcare became the largest employer in the United States in the third quarter of 2018, according to The Atlantic.

The nation’s aging population is a major driver of the healthcare job boom. By the year 2025, one-quarter of the workforce will be older than 55. By 2030, more than 170 million people in the United States will have at least one chronic health condition, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA). The rising population of older adults, and the increasing number of people with chronic illnesses, will require a growing pool of healthcare workers. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects jobs in the healthcare industry to account for a large share of new jobs created through 2026.

Other factors, including the health insurance market and healthcare regulation, will affect the structure of the healthcare industry. About half of the privately insured are covered under self-insured plans, which can vary dramatically.

The healthcare system is also moving towards a financial model based on value, rather than on volume. This shift will change the focus from treating diseases in hospitals to keeping patients healthy and out of the hospital.

Expect Monumental Changes in the Healthcare Industry

To handle these changes, the structure of the healthcare industry will undergo radical transformation in a number of areas, from insurance to the makeup of the board and the role of clinicians in leading renovations within an organization.

Provider organizations offering insurance products will likely experience substantial restructuring because they are essentially creating new businesses in a highly volatile market. In fact, several health systems have already introduced health plans in recent years, according to the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Organizations without such products are restructuring, creating regionally focused, value-based care teams and enhancing consumer engagement. Moving towards a value-based system requires increased collaboration between health systems and health plans, the implementation of patient-centric technology, increased adoption of virtual care options, and a greater focus on public health. It also requires greater understanding of patient motivation and behavior, so many healthcare organizations will restructure to include patient experience departments.

Changes in organizational structures will manifest themselves in a number of ways. Evolution of an organization’s structure may include centralization and professionalization of the board to look more like boards in other industries, for example. This shift allows senior business leaders with niche expertise to guide healthcare organizations through insurance, risk management, IT, consumer engagement, investments and capital allocation.

Many healthcare organizations are putting physicians in leadership roles, asking their clinicians to lead clinical informatics, care model transformation, and population health management initiatives. In this way, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is evolving into the role of Chief Transformation Officer.

While it is nearly impossible to predict where the healthcare industry will be at the end of the 21st Century, it is safe to say that healthcare in the United States will undergo more changes in the next 80 years than it has in the entire history of the nation.

SOURCES:

To View Frank Magliochetti Press Releases Please CLICK HERE

Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Earlier this year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment.

Mr. Frank Magliochetti MBA
Managing Partner
Parcae Capital
www.parcaecapitalcorp.com
www.frankmagliochetti.com

Filed Under: Featured, Frank Magliochetti Report, Healthcare Industry, Healthcare Industry News, Healthcare Innovations, Healthcare Trends, News Tagged With: ,

Healthcare or IT Business?

July 24, 2019 By

Healthcare is Becoming an Information Technology Business

Frank Magliochetti declares that; Health information technology now plays an important role in patient care, payment and research, but it wasn’t always this way. Today’s health information technology represents an evolution in record keeping within the healthcare industry. In 1924, the American College of Surgeons adopted the Minimum Standard Document to ensure the recording of a complete case record that included identifying data, chief complaint, personal and family history, physical examinations, laboratory results and x-rays.

In the 20th Century, those records were written by hand and paper copies were generally stored on or offsite, unless required for a hospitalization, doctor visit or research. Sharing patient information with even one consultant or payer typically meant long hours at the copying machine to create thick envelopes filled with data that could take a substantial amount of time to sort; sharing only pertinent information with multiple parties was next to impossible.

Computers and the internet heralded the information age and electronic health records (EHR), which allowed the mass sharing and analysis of data in an instant and without cumbersome and costly paper. In 2004, President George W. Bush created the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), which now synchronizes HIT in the U.S. healthcare sector. Passed as part of the larger American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act created incentives to use health care information technology.

Each of these events paved the way to today’s already robust and rapidly growing information technology business. HITECH seems to have worked – as of 2017, 86 percent of office-based physicians had adopted an EHR and 96 percent of all non-federal, acute care hospitals had a certified health IT department or person, according to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

Today’s HIT Business

To meet the growing demand on the clinical side, hundreds of healthcare IT software and service companies have sprung up across the country. Healthcare IT Skills lists more than 350 such companies, including EHRs, consulting firms, medical device providers, population health, revenue cycle management, analytics, and more.

Healthcare information technology (HIT) merges electronic systems with healthcare to store, share and analyze patient information. The advanced technology also integrates with practice management software to improve office functions that lead to better patient care. HIT now features patient portals that provides patients with access to their medical history, allows them to make appointments, message their practitioner, view bills and even pay bills online. HIT also includes features to make practitioners’ lives easier, such as ePrescribing, remote patient monitoring, and master patient indexes (MPIs) that connects patient databases with more than one database, which allows different departments within a facility to share all of the data simultaneously. MPIs reduce the need for manual duplication of patient records for filling out claims and decrease errors involving patient information, which can result in fewer patient claim denials.

As with any disruptive technology, healthcare information technology has its drawbacks and its critics. Some complain that EHRs have led to practitioners spending more time sitting in front of a computer than talk with patients. Others bemoan the cumbersome federal regulations involved. The benefits of HIT, however far outweigh its downsides.

Advantages of today’s health information technology include the ability to use big data and data analytics to manage population health manage programs effectively, for example, which is impossible with old-fashioned paper records. HIT can use data and analytics to reduce the incidence of expensive and debilitating chronic health conditions, use cognitive computing and analytics to perform precision medicine (PM) tailored to each patient’s needs, and create a means by which academic researchers to share data in hopes of developing new medical therapies and drugs. Lastly, health information technology allows patients to obtain and use their own health data, and to collaborate more fully in their own care with doctors.

Tomorrow’s HIT companies will use artificial intelligence (AI), virtual simulations, and other emerging technologies to further enhance and improve healthcare. Technologies will include digital insurance markets, price transparency tools, cloud storage that will render costly and insecure data centers obsolete, self-serve mobile applications that will eliminate forms and faxes, and centralized clearinghouses that share information across organizations and state lines. Many of these HIT applications will improve labor productivity and, given the fact that wages account for 56 percent of all healthcare spending, improvements in this area could generate significant economic gains.

Information technology will undoubtedly continue in its growth as an important and increasingly essential part of healthcare. The benefits of HIT will also continue to expand, as researchers, doctors, patients and healthcare companies integrate healthcare information technology into their everyday lives and standard business practices

To View Frank Magliochetti Press Releases Please CLICK HERE

Frank Magliochetti owes his professional success to his expertise in two areas: medicine and finance. After obtaining a BS in pharmacy from Northeastern University, he stayed on to enroll in the Masters of Toxicology program. He later specialized in corporate finance, receiving an MBA from The Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University. His educational background includes completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the General Management Program at Stanford Business School. Frank Magliochetti has held senior positions at Baxter International, Kontron Instruments, Haemonetics Corporation, and Sandoz. Since 2000, he has been a managing partner at Parcae Capital, where he focuses on financial restructuring and interim management services for companies in the healthcare, media, and alternative energy industries. Earlier this year, he was appointed chairman of the board at Grace Health Technology, a company providing an enterprise solution for the laboratory environment.

Mr. Frank Magliochetti MBA
Managing Partner
Parcae Capital
www.parcaecapitalcorp.com
www.frankmagliochetti.com

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