Tackling administrative burdens, laws and regulations impacting the health of Kentuckians
BACKGROUND
In 2016, the American Medical Association (AMA) released a report naming administrative burden, stress and lack of time as the top-three challenges facing respondents surveyed on physician satisfaction. While administrative burdens have long been named as key contributors to physician dissatisfaction and burnout, a lesser-discussed side effect to these issues is their impact on the health outcomes of patients.
Kentucky currently suffers from some of the poorest health outcomes in the nation.
- Almost twice as many adults smoke in Kentucky as the national average, including more than a quarter of all adult females.
- Kentuckians die of cancer at higher rates than anywhere else in the nation.
- Adults and children are overweight at rates greater than the national average.
- Influenza and pneumonia cause 25% more deaths in Kentucky than in other parts of the country.
- The state’s overall overdose death rate is nearly twice the national average.
In 2017, the Kentucky General Assembly passed Senate Bill 89, which removed widespread administrative barriers to tobacco screening and cessation programs by requiring the state’s Medicaid MCOs and private insurers to cover those treatments. The passage of Senate Bill 89 was a pivotal first step in eliminating barriers to access, but there is more work to be done in the areas of advocacy, education and public awareness.
WHAT IS AIM?
KMA wants to identify and work toward solutions to lessen administrative burdens. “AIM for Better Care: Administrative Improvements in Medicine” will tackle administrative issues, laws and regulations that are ultimately detrimental to the health of Kentuckians. AIM will focus specifically on five key issues that currently plague Kentucky residents: smoking, drug abuse, obesity, diabetes and flu/pneumonia.
