Events – Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative

Why Are Prescription Drug Costs Rising, and What Can We Do About It?

TBHC — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 19:18:50 +0000

If you take a prescription medication, you have likely seen it increase in price. According to the health policy journal Health Affairs, drug cost increases have “far outpaced inflation” and have also “outstripped growth in other medical costs.” The Mayo Clinic estimated that “the average price of cancer drugs for about a year of therapy increased from $5,000 to $10,000 before 2000, to more than $100,000 by 2012, while the average household income has decreased by about 8% in the past decade.” This is of course alarming to consumers, providers and payers alike. So why is this happening?

For one, the federal government does not regulate prices for drugs, unlike many other countries. For example, in Denmark, where the government negotiates prices with the pharmaceutical industry, about 35 cents is spent for every dollar the U.S. spends on prescription drugs.

In addition, the length of a typical drug patent is shorter in the U.S. than other countries. This means that new drugs usually will have a monopoly for about a dozen years, and will increase the price of the drug as the patent expiration date gets nearer.

Another issue is lack of competition. When there are only a few companies making a drug, there is little incentive for them to keep the price low. This is furthered by the fact that many drugs are made to treat rare conditions affecting a relatively small number of people – new companies have little incentive to enter into such a market.

These are multifaceted issues tied up in economics, policy and health care trends. As such, the solutions are equally complex.

The Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative hosted a forum on May 19 during which experts discussed these issue in detail. A panel representing the pharmaceutical industry, health care providers, health care payers and consumers discussed how Tampa Bay is impacted, and what the region can do to ensure everyone has access to the medications they need. The panel was moderated by Mary Shedden, News Director, WUSF and included:

Jack McRay, Advocacy Manager, AARP
David Pizzo, Florida Blue Market President, West Florida Region
Aaron Rigali, Director of Pharmacy, Empath Hospice
Tara Ryan, Vice President, State Policy, PhRMA
Joe Santini, Director, Community Health Centers of Pinellas

Panelists shared information on the issue of rising drug costs and discussed possible solutions such as:

requiring pharmaceutical companies to publicly release information on how they set prices
allowing Medicare to negotiate medication prices
limiting charges for high-cost drugs
allowing people in the United States to buy drugs imported from Canada

The Kaiser Family Foundation found that, in general, Americans favor these actions as ways to prevent extreme rises in prescription medication costs.

Continue learning more about this complex issue in the Tampa Bay Area with the Collaborative’s Advocacy Committee. And, to stay plugged into this dialogue, and others about local health policy issues, please join the Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative’s mailing list.

You Made it Possible: The 4th Annual Wellness Conference!

TBHC — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 14:06:31 +0000

For this year’s annual Wellness Conference, The Future of Health and Wellness in the Workplace, the Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative, in partnership with the Wellness Council of Tampa Bay, invited leading experts and pioneers in wellness to share emerging trends, best practices, and useful resources in workplace wellness. Presenters from across the country gathered at the Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa to share these insights with a large and diverse cross-section of Bay Area stakeholders. After six break-out sessions and an interactive keynote presentation, attendees left with fresh ideas for improving and implementing wellness in their own workplaces.

The morning began with three breakout sessions. A Collaborative Approach to Wellness: The Broker, Employer, and Carrier Relationship was a presentation given by Trish Blocker, Wellness Coordinator, and Jerald D. Carlson, Vice President for Employee Benefits, both of the Wallace Welch & Willingham company. Financial Planning as a Benefit was presented by Brandan Hardie, a financial advisor and manager of a Financial Wellness program with Ameriprise Financial. The Future of Onsite Health Clinics was presented by Dave Demers, Vice President for Business Intelligence and Analytics, and Paul Montgomery, Vice President for Relationship Management, both of Marathon Health, Inc.

Dave Demers of Marathon Health, Inc., gives a presentation on the future of on-site clinics.

After the first round of breakout sessions, attendees were provided with lunch from Inside the Box Café. Keynote speaker Cheryl Jones, Director of Mindfulness at Aetna and author of Mindful Exercise: A Bridge Between Yoga and Exercise, shared information and resources about how to incorporate mindfulness into their worksites and guided attendees through a mindfulness exercise to demonstrate how mindfulness can transform workplace culture and improve employee wellbeing. (You can find the materials from Cheryl’s presentation here.)

Another set of breakout sessions followed lunch and the keynote. Technology and Social Networking for Wellness Programs was presented by Joe Sullivan, Senior Vice President for Sales at Virgin Pulse. Health Coaching was delivered by Jason Barnett, Operations Manager, and Erin O’Brien, a certified health and wellness coach, both with BayCare Health Systems. Telemedicine: Revolutionizing Healthcare Through Delivery was presented by Perry Broeseker, Director of Broker and Consultant Sales, and Paul Kowalski, Vice President for Employer Sales, both of Teladoc, Inc.

The conference concluded with recognition for the hard-working members of the TBHC Wellness Committee, the Wellness Council of Tampa Bay and the event’s generous sponsors: Aetna, Diamond Sponsor; BayCare, Gold Sponsor; Health Designs, Silver Sponsor; JCA Education, Bronze Sponsor; Tobacco Free Florida, Bronze Sponsor; IOA’s Corporate 5K, Bronze Sponsor; DayQuest Life, Bronze Sponsor; the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, Bronze Sponsor; Health & Wellness Professionals, Bronze Sponsor; Florida Blue, Food Sponsor; Metropolitan Ministries, Venue Sponsor; and Florida Print Solutions, Inc., Print Sponsor.

BayCare was the Gold Sponsor for the 4th Annual Wellness Conference.

As we reflect on the 4^th Annual Wellness Conference held Wednesday, June 15^th, the Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative once again thanks and congratulates our partners for making this year’s conference a huge success. TBHC is a model of and vehicle for collaboration, and our engine is fueled by the active participation and contributions of our members. Your hard work not only made this year’s Wellness Conference possible, but our best yet!

4th Annual Wellness Conference Explores the Future of Health and Wellness in the Workplace

TBHC — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 20:57:21 +0000

Workplace health and wellness programs are becoming more prevalent across the county. A recent study estimated that nearly 70% of employers with more than 50 workers offered a wellness program. There’s good reason for this – research has found that the cost of employees missing work falls by about $2.73 for every dollar spent on such programs, and medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent. Despite this, though, another study found that only about 40% of workers participate in various wellness programs.

So what are the best ways to promote health and wellness in the workplace, and what will it look like moving forward? These are the questions the Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative and the Wellness Council of Tampa Bay sought to answer during their 4^th Annual Wellness Conference: The Future of Health and Wellness in the Workplace.

Workplace wellness experts shared the tools and strategies they are implementing to engage more people in their health and wellness at work. Two key themes emerged: the use of technology and the importance of integration.

Conference participants listen as Joseph Sullivan from Virgin Pulse discusses Technology and Social Networking for Wellness Programs

Workplace wellness programs, at their core, are about helping employees make healthier choices so they can prevent illness and/or manage chronic conditions. Technology can help people do this in many ways. We have seen apps that track fitness, and even allow you to compete against colleagues; you can see a doctor virtually with your laptop or phone; you can even check in with your wellness coach when you have questions about nutrition. Technology helps workers take ownership of their health – especially when it’s part of education and coaching programs that support people as they strive to make healthier choices.

None of this is possible, though, without integration. Workplace wellness programs are most effective when they align with a culture of wellness, which is one where the workplace provides the things needed to achieve better health. This could mean that the employer offers incentives if employees successfully improve their health by doing things like losing weight or quitting smoking. The converse of this, of course, is employers seemingly punishing those who don’t do these things. Side note – in many cases, punitive strategies have actually produced more results than incentives, although many legal and ethical questions surround such programs.

Integration can also mean that an employer fosters an environment that promotes wellbeing in every day interactions. For example, Aetna has dedicated an entire team to promoting mindfulness in the workplace. During the conference, Cheryl Jones, Director of Mindfulness at Aetna and author of Mindful Exercise: A Bridge Between Yoga and Exercise, discussed how providing the space for mindfulness has helped employees to be present in the moment, so that they are better aware of what distracts them. According to Jones, when we are able to be present in the moment, we are better able to focus and be more effective. This philosophy is promoted across the organization, signaling to workers that their wellness is a priority and deserves attention, along with the other aspects of their job.

Jones shares how mindfulness can transform workplace culture during the conference keynote address.

As workplace wellness programs evolve and grow, expect to see a move towards slick tech tools and embracing wellness across various facets of organizations. Given that most Americans report working about 47 hours per week, it is critical to make health and wellness a part of the workplace.

AOHE February Planning Session

TBHC — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 22:28:31 +0000

ST. PETERSBURG – On the morning of February 23rd, 2016, stakeholders from communities across the Tampa Bay area returned to St. Petersburg College’s Collaborative Labs for the Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative’s (TBHC) oral health planning session. This gathering was oriented toward providing context to the health equity framework, as well as sharing findings from TBHC’s community oral health landscape assessment and establishing active priorities to address identified barriers as the Achieving Oral Health Equity (AOHE) Initiative progresses into its second year.

Attendees reflected TBHC’s commitment to bridging gaps between stakeholders. A broad cross-section of organizations represented the far-reaching impact of deficiencies in the oral health system. Understanding that significant change begins at the grassroots level, the Collaborative sought to bring diffuse stakeholders with common interests to the same table.

In March of 2015, TBHC launched the AOHE Initiative as a vehicle for significant systems and public policy change. The overarching goal for this initiative was the establishment of new social norms around oral health as part of the DentaQuest Foundation’s national Oral Health 2020 Movement. Carrie Hepburn, Executive Director for the Collaborative, kicked off the February planning session by spotlighting this emphasis on social justice with a visual distinction between equality and equity. She went on to outline THBC’s vision, goals, and systems change framework for 2016 and beyond.

To establish the basis for these objectives, Carrie deferred to Erin Sclar, a consultant for TBHC, to convey the results of the AOHE community landscape assessment. Nine in ten survey respondents agreed that oral health was important, but half reported being in poor oral health. Attendees noted the challenges in assessing education due to disparate perceptions of what constitutes good oral health. Half of all survey respondents additionally reported being unable to afford dental care, while more than a third delayed care due to uncertainty about cost and a majority avoided care because of fear or anxiety.

Attendees discussed these and other barriers at length, and many recounted their own struggles to overcome those barriers within the communities they served. This sense of shared struggle visibly energized the room, and attendees buzzed around to network as they broke for lunch (provided by Inside the Box Café).

After lunch, the planning session moved towards establishing priorities. Attendees split into small groups to brainstorm ideas for addressing barriers in four areas: care, community, finance, and policy. The Collaborative Labs’s Executive Director, Andrea Henning, led the group in a discussion of each recommendation in order to narrow it down to the best suggestions. Attendees then voted for their top priorities in each category, which included: incentivizing dental professionals to work in underserved communities; improving early education efforts to break intergenerational cycles of poor oral care; further integration of primary and oral health care; and further collaboration with faith-based organizations to improve access to existing resources and education.

As the AOHE Initiative marches into 2016 and onward towards 2020, the input, advice, and guidance of the Collaborative’s members, partners, and the people of Tampa Bay will be the foundation of all that we hope to achieve. This planning session helped us to better understand their needs and perspectives, all the better to leverage our resources to continue helping them do what they do better.

Achieving Oral Health Equity in Action! #ExpectOralHealth

TBHC — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 20:02:38 +0000

On the morning of November 13, 2015, community stakeholders from throughout Tampa Bay gathered at the Collaborative Labs within St. Petersburg College’s Epicenter for the Tampa Bay Healthcare Collaborative’s (TBHC) oral health community forum. As guests checked in, they were ushered into a bustling meeting area; its walls alight with digital monitors that featured oral health experiences shared with the Collaborative by Tampa Bay residents.

One such quote read, “I haven’t taken a picture in three years because of my smile. I need help getting teeth pulled and dentures on top, please.” Another read, “I would really like care for my teeth. I just don’t have the money. I don’t even smile anymore.” These are the words of Tampa Bay community members who took part in the Achieving Oral Health Equity (AOHE) community assessment, either by completing an oral health survey or participating in a focus group.

These quotes shed light on a broad range of issues associated with oral health access. “I’ve got an HMO, and it’s hard to find a dentist that will accept that,” said one, while another said, “I have no access to insurance options. It’s not clear what is and is not paid for. There is a lot of confusion around what benefits I have and do not have with my Medicare and Medicaid package,” demonstrating the confusing and conflicting information (or lack thereof) which community members deal with. Other quotes highlighted different barriers: “I have no time to visit a dentist because of my work schedule, and I can’t get access to a good dentist because of the cost.”

In March of this year, TBHC launched the AOHE initiative and began working towards significant systems and public policy change, aiming to establish new social norms around oral health. Through authentic grassroots community outreach, and in partnership with existing efforts, the Collaborative has undertaken an extensive oral health community assessment of the prevailing attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs across the Tampa Bay area. TBHC’s goal is to reduce oral health disparities and address racial, social, economic, and systemic barriers — such as those related in the quotes above — to improve oral health outcomes for all.

Because the AOHE initiative is community-driven, the Collaborative is committed to ensuring that the voices of those most impacted by our efforts continue to be heard. Stakeholders who participated in the community forum witnessed this principle in action first-hand. The Collaborative’s Program Coordinator, Marissa Davis, and the Collaborative Labs Executive Director, Andrea Henning, welcomed forum attendees by challenging them to consider three questions as they proceeded with the day’s agenda: where are we now, where do we want to be, and how can we get there together?

Stakeholders were asked to contemplate what goals at the national, state, and local levels would drive the movement towards achieving oral health equity; what Florida’s oral health landscape currently looks like; what barriers currently exist within the community for someone seeking dental services; and how stakeholders could work as a network towards this common goal.

Carrie Hepburn, Executive Director for TBHC, provided context with an overview of the Collaborative’s role in achieving oral health equity as part of the DentaQuest Foundation’s Oral Health 2020 Movement, and invited stakeholders to share some of their oral health best practices. Then, she introduced the DentaQuest Foundation’s Vice President for Foundation Programs, Michael Monopoli, and Grants and Program Associate Andrew Bishop, who elaborated on the Oral Health 2020 Movement and the urgent need for increased awareness of oral health disparities. President and CEO of the Florida Institute for Health Innovation, Dr. Roderick King, continued the conversation with a presentation on the state of oral health in Florida.

Andrea Henning then led a team activity, called “The Five Whys,” to determine some of the root causes for Florida’s poor oral health outcomes. Participants used the Collaborative Labs’ live polling technology to home in on the top three. A lack of provider resources (professional dental personnel, capacity, funding, etc.) was identified as the leading root cause by stakeholders. Issues with navigating insurance benefits and a lack of income were tied as the second leading cause. Education-related shortcomings rounded out the top three.

While sharing TBHC’s preliminary oral health community assessment data, Marissa Davis emphasized the connection between these root causes and the barriers reflected in the community data. The discussion came full circle as attendees were once again asked to consider: where are we now, where do we want to be, and how can we get there together?

Affirming that oral health inequities are a matter of social justice, Marissa called attendees to action with a favorite quote from Henry Ford: “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Carrie Hepburn followed up with a debrief, reiterating that TBHC is not trying to duplicate efforts, but instead to leverage existing efforts into opportunities for collaboration toward the shared goal of achieving oral health equity.

The spirit and substance of the day was captured by a tremendously talented artist with the Collaborative Labs, Jonathan, who described his stunning artistic rendering as “bridging the gap to progress with winds of change.”