The federal government has recognized this and has attempted to address the rising shortage for decades. More recently the Biden administration has implemented multiple programs including investing in primary care facilities, and loan forgiveness for doctors who practice in rural and designated crisis counties. The programs have totaled more than a billion dollars yet haven’t had any large or noticeable impact on the shrinking pool of available doctors. This crisis has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused many providers to burn out or retire early. In a report by the company Definitive Healthcare, more than 60% of doctors nationwide said their workload has increased since the pandemic, and between 2021 and 2022 more then 70,000 or 6% of physicians left the field.

There’s more behind this provider shortage then just burnout. People aged 65 and older are the fastest growing cohort and by 2030 nearly 80 million Americans will be in that category. On the supply side, young doctors and students are finding less incentive to become physicians. The pay and labor gap between physicians and other specializations that require just a few more years of education has caused many doctors to reject family medicine in favor of more specialized fields that come with higher pay and less workload.

A common culprit for the pay discrepancy between physicians and specialized fields falls on the RUC, a body of doctors that advises insurance companies and the federal government on how medical procedures should be priced. The RUC routinely rates general care procedures at a significantly lower cost than more specialized care, meaning doctors in general care get lower compensation from insurance for their work. In response to this market failure, nurses and physician assistants have filled the gap.

Between 2013 and 2019 the portion of healthcare visits handled by nurses and physician assistants nearly doubled, and according to the National Institutes of Health, “The proportion of visits delivered by nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the USA is increasing rapidly and now accounts for a quarter of all healthcare visits.” The trend of non-physicians filling the role of primary care has only grown since the pandemic, and continues to be one of the ways healthcare providers are attempting to meet demand with rising overhead costs and a shrinking pool of doctors. This practice has been touted as providing equal care while cutting costs by 25%.

Amy Sheaffer, President of A-1 Medical Staffing in Iowa has been in the field for over 20 years and says this isn’t the first time there’s been a shift in nurse’s responsibilities. “During World War I, the Red Cross created a volunteer nurse aid program as many nurses became overworked and tired. In the late 1960s, the physician assistant position was created as there was a shortage of primary care physicians due to access to healthcare and insurance increasing,” Sheaffer describes. 

She says what she is seeing today with many doctors leaving the medical field is nothing like we’ve seen throughout history. Sheaffer notes though that many nurses are altering their roles and how they approach their job to fill in some of those gaps. “Nurses are reconsidering their priorities for a better work life balance and choosing flexible work opportunities. We are also seeing many trying to further their education to practice advanced nursing. This allows them to be properly compensated and assist in reducing the physician shortage by filling the primary care gap,” she said.

She also notes that as the healthcare landscape evolves, so do the roles within it. The increasing complexity of insurance policies and hospital billing has placed a heavier burden on medical staff, requiring more administrative oversight than ever before. Just as past workforce shortages led to the creation of new roles, today’s challenges in reimbursement and claims processing have given rise to specialized professionals who focus on Denial Management. These experts work to ensure that hospitals and clinics receive proper payment for services rendered, reducing financial strain on both providers and patients.

While this shift in roles has cut costs, it has pushed much of that onto lower paid and overworked nurses and physician assistants. Consumers and lawmakers worry this trend may lead to a weakening in the doctor-patient relationship and worsen health outcomes for patients. Some worry that this will lead to a healthcare gap between people in different economic classes, with the wealthy being able to retain a personal physician, while those with less money will have to deal with an incongruent, rotating cast of doctors for routine checkups. So far though, data suggests that outside of emergency or specialty care situations, nurses and physician assistants have similar patient outcomes to traditional family doctors.

The post How Nurses are Affecting the Doctor Shortage appeared first on KRUI Radio.

On February 8th, the Iowa Department of Public Health announced a contract with Microsoft for an online vaccine scheduling system. A little over a week later, on February 17th, Governor Reynolds announced the contract’s cancellation.

Reynolds said of the Microsoft system, “…it would not be possible, in a timely manner, without significant disruption to [Iowa’s] current systems.” Reynolds spoke of plans to improve current systems rather than implement a new one. “We did not want to slow down the progress that we’re making,” said the governor.

As of today, Iowa has no centralized registration system. The Department of Public Health advises Iowans to contact local health providers and to regularly check pharmacy websites for openings.

Local tools

Several Iowans created new tools to make vaccine registration easier in the absence of statewide action. Todd Brady created Vaccine Hunter, a website that finds and publishes any available appointments at pharmacies across the state.

Another Iowan, Brian Finley, took to social media with his appointment-searching technology. His Twitter account, Iowa Vaccine Alerts (@IAVaccineAlerts) automatically posts when new appointments are available. The automated tweets contain various pharmacy locations; from there, it is up to the user to schedule an appointment on the pharmacy’s website.

The account currently has over 30,000 followers. Finley encourages users to turn on tweet notifications, because appointments usually fill up in a matter of minutes.

Additionally, Connor Uhlman created Iowa Vaccine Notifications, a website that allows users to sign up for text messages. The site checks for open Hy-Vee pharmacy appointments in the user’s area. When interviewed by the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Uhlman said he hoped his website could assist typically underserved populations.

Finley told the Iowa City Press-Citizen that he decided to help Uhlman by altering his own notification system. Finley’s system now checks for appointments every 3 to 4 minutes while Uhlman’s website checks every 60 seconds, aiding more vulnerable users.

By the numbers

It seems that these local efforts have indeed helped vaccine distribution. As of April 16th, Iowa has administered over 2 million doses, according to the state’s COVID-19 informational website. A total of 851,762 Iowans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while an additional 389,124 Iowans await a second dose.

Demographic data on the state’s website shows that over 80% of vaccine recipients were white. The 60-69 age range continues to be the most vaccinated, making up nearly 23% of administered doses. 56.53% of recipients were female, while the other 43.47% were male.

Compared to the rest of the nation, Iowa is doing pretty well with vaccine distribution. According to CDC data, 27.2% of the state is fully vaccinated, ranking Iowa at 16th in the nation. Maine currently ranks 1st, with 31.5% of the state’s population fully vaccinated, and Georgia ranks last with 17.9%.

Concerns

The numbers look good for Iowa, but not everyone is actively looking for the vaccine. An Iowa Poll from the Des Moines Register shows that 27% of Iowa adults don’t plan on getting vaccinated.

Another concern is the recent halt on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Out of over 7 million recipients, six women developed a rare blood clot within 1-3 weeks after their vaccinations. The FDA instructed pharmacies across the U.S. to stop administering doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in order to further investigate whether or not it is linked to the blood clots.

The delay is unfortunate; Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was easier to distribute because it only required one dose. With a substantial portion of the U.S. already hesitant about receiving the vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson news may perpetuate certain fears. Public officials continue to stress that there is no evidence of any significant issue with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, encouraging all citizens to get their vaccines as soon as possible.

The post Vaccines in Iowa: How are we doing? appeared first on KRUI Radio.

August 11th, the date everyone knows, was the day the Big Ten announced it was postponing all fall sports, including football. The decision was made by an 11 to 3 vote. The three who voted against the cancellation were Nebraska chancellor Ronnie D. Green, Ohio State president Kristina Johnson, and Iowa president Bruce Harreld.

“The ruling on the field is an incomplete pass.”

The criticism came from far and wide, and rightfully so. Many of the Power 5 and Group of 5 conferences had privately adopted a “wait-and-see” approach to the season, rather than flat out punting it like the Big Ten and eventually the Pac-12.

Fans, coaches, athletes, and athletes’ parents all challenged the conference, pushing commissioner Kevin Warren to find a way to play college football in the fall of 2020. Parents of football players went so far as to protest on the grounds of the Big Ten office in Rosemont, Illinois. A group of Nebraska football players also filed a lawsuit against the conference.

“The ruling on the field is under further review.”

Starting less than a week after the Big Ten, the now-infamous Sir Yacht began his series of tweets that lasted all the way until the conference’s decision on Wednesday. Many of the tweets were incorrect and some stirred more conversation than others. However, by the time the start of September rolled around the whispers had grown louder.

At this point, if it were a replay review, many would not be convinced the call was going to be overturned. There wasn’t enough evidence. As a matter of fact, there was much chatter about evidence that turned out to be completely false.

A Penn State doctor erroneously reported that studies of the university’s athletes showed that 30-35% of the student-athletes who tested positive for COVID-19 had contracted myocarditis, a minor heart condition linked to all viral infections. The national media took the ball and ran with it like a defensive end picking up an errant sideways pass.

That was until officials blew the whistle and called the play dead. Multiple Big Ten universities refuted the claim made by Penn State doctor Wayne Sebastianelli. Sebastianelli later walked back his claim and Penn State stated that he was citing “outdated information.”

Rumors were heating up that the Big Ten was close to deciding on an October 10th return date. Many felt it was a little too coincidental that the story broke as the rumors were beginning to heat up, as reputable reporters had begun to give merit to them.

*Camera shows the angle that starts to convince people it was a catch*

What began to turn people’s heads was the conversation that Kevin Warren had with President Trump regarding the use of saliva-based COVID tests that could give 97.1% accurate readings in a 15-minute span. All signs pointed that the meeting had gone well and that a fall Big Ten slate was foreseeable.

In the end, the Big Ten did not end up using the federal tests offered by the President, as the conference wanted to keep those tests available to the general public. Instead, the conference plans on using antigen-based tests that not only give lightning-fast results but can also trace the virus before the person can become contagious.

This debate is what began to shift the Big Ten’s thinking. Along with the avalanche of data that showed that the risk to student-athletes from myocarditis was not nearly as great as initially thought, which had been a driving force in the Big Ten’s initial decision to cancel.

The conference had no other choice but to reconsider, and from the sound of it, everyone was on board.

“After reviewing the play, the ruling on the field is reversed, the receiver did maintain possession, First Down, Big Ten.”

Many were relieved, many were condescending, a few were vehemently opposed, but in the end, nearly everyone is excited that Big Ten football is back. It has also appeared to have triggered a domino effect in college athletics.

Boise State head coach Brian Harsin released a statement on Wednesday stating that his players and coaches want to play, and the Mountain West appeared to hear their message, loud and clear.

Then, as of Wednesday night, it appears the USC and UCLA are spearheading a movement to put the Pac-12 in action by the end of October. The Pac-12 has always been the tougher sell in reversing their decision as the state governments of California and Oregon have had some of the toughest COVID restrictions in nation.

The Big Ten’s reversal was a giant replay review for college athletics. Those who wanted football and went ahead on football knew they were doing the right thing. Those who didn’t want football because of the pandemic disagreed and some threw temper-tantrums that would make toddlers blush.

In the end, it was right for the Big Ten to restart fall football. The fans needed it, communities need it, universities need it, and most importantly, the student-athletes need it.

And they got it.

The post Douglas: Big Ten’s Change of Course was a Replay Review for College Athletics appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Those four varsity sports included men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis, and men’s gymnastics. University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld and Athletic Director Gary Barta released a joint letter, addressing the public on the difficult decision made by the university.

A source with knowledge of the decision told KRUI that there was no formal communication between the sports’ student-athlete leadership and the Iowa administration prior to Friday morning. The athletes first found out about their program’s discontinuation at the 10:30 A.M. meeting on Friday.

All four programs had attained varying degrees of success at the University of Iowa. Iowa’s swimming and diving program holds a notable place in the history of competitive swimming, as the program is the birthplace of the Butterfly stroke.

The technique was developed by Iowa swimming coach David Armbruster and athlete Jack Sieg in the early 1930s. While the technique was not initially accepted, the International Swimming Federation went on to adopt the stroke for races in international competition.

Men’s Gymnastics had seen newfound success in recent years, including winning a share of the Big Ten title in the 2018-19 season. That season saw three Iowa gymnasts take home All-American honors, and was also the 50 year anniversary of the program’s 1969 NCAA Championship.

Men’s Tennis also appeared to be on the rise as the 2019-20 season saw the program reach their highest ranking in school history with a high-water mark of #23. The program also saw it’s longest winning streak since 1991 by winning seven matches in a row.

The cuts came about from the aforementioned deficit in the 2020-21 Iowa athletic budget due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget deficit stands at $65-70 million and a loss of revenue of over $100 million, all stemming from the cancellation of the fall football season from Big Ten president’s and conference commissioner Kevin Warren.

Iowa becomes the first athletic department in the Big Ten to announce the discontinuation of athletic programs because of COVID-19 related financial hardship. While other schools have cut salaries and furloughed employees, it is with near-certainty that program cuts across the Big Ten will become prevalent without fall football revenue.

The post Iowa Athletic Department Announces Discontinuation of Four Sports appeared first on KRUI Radio.

In my short answer: yes, there absolutely should be.

The time on the calendar that sports fans begin to set their sights on the upcoming college football season has been the debate that has been raging hot since the 4th of July holiday.

However, we can’t deny the reality of our current situation. National cases are on the climb, over 130,000 Americans have died from the virus and the closest vaccine is likely on hold until this upcoming winter. These are the facts.

The Ivy League has already made the decision to postpone all fall sports until spring, a move that makes sense for them as sports actually drain money from Ivy League schools. For Power 5 conferences, it is not as simple a decision.

Conferences such as the Big Ten and SEC have made football into a billion dollar business and their athletic departments rely on football to pay the bills for sports that lose money. In most cases, they are Olympic sports such as wrestling, track and field, soccer, etc.

Pushing the football season to spring isn’t a given. What if there is no clear decline in cases by the time spring semester arrives? What if the vaccine, that many people are banking on existing, isn’t here yet? There’s too many risks of the season being completely canceled to move the season to spring.

On Monday, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard released an open letter to fans about what impact no football would have on the Iowa State athletic department. In his letter, Pollard states that the Cyclones athletic department would lose $40 million dollars of it’s athletic revenue if there is no football.

This means it’s probable that athletic programs will be cut within the Iowa State athletic program. This will happen all over the country at Power 5 programs without a football season. Kids that have come to universities for an athletic opportunity could have that dream snatched because of not playing due to a virus that has only killed 149 people that are 15 to 24 years old (As of July 8) in the United States.

My best friend from my hometown runs track and field at UNI along with his younger sister. The UNI men’s track and field program has 3 combined conference championships in indoor and outdoor track in the last 3 years, and is arguably the most successful athletic program at UNI in the past decade.

But he nearly didn’t have a program to run for, according to his coach. Track and field has continuously been brought up as a program that would likely be cut if UNI continues to suffer financial hardships in its athletic department. UNI athletics will be hurting even more if no football is played and the fact they lost their buy game with Iowa, which was a missed $650,000 payday.

With no football, the two options UNI has are this: either move it’s football program down to a Division I non-scholarship program (Similar to Drake), or cut more athletic programs. Judging by history, it’s very likely UNI chooses the latter.

The talk of moving football to spring would also affect track and field. If football is played in the spring, track and field would be moved to the fall of 2021. With athletes already preparing for the fall training season, that would mean a preparation period of an entire year before running a track meet.

By the time outdoor conference championships happen for track athletes, everyone is hanging on by a thread. Injuries become more and more common and everyone’s bodies are more than fatigued. Making them practice for a year before running another meet is absolutely crazy.

How is that fair to track and field athletes?

Another aspect to think about is the local economic impact, separate from the athletic departments. To use Iowa State as an example, it is estimated that the Ames area grosses an average $8.9 million every weekend of a home football game.

Plug Iowa City in that equation, the number is likely well over $10 million due to the higher volume of people that Iowa City holds on Saturday’s than Ames does with Kinnick having a capacity that is 7,750 higher than Jack Trice.

Now plug a city in that equation such as Columbus, Ohio, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Austin, Texas. That number doubles, triples, maybe even quadruples that of Iowa and Iowa State. These businesses in college towns make most of their money back from football weekends. It would be crippling to take that away from them.

This past weekend we saw our first football action since the country shutdown. Nebraska held their annual Shrine Bowl at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

A crowd of nearly 2,500 people in a stadium that holds 6,500 people, and based on the information in the tweet above, Nebraska did show the sports world how football will be played with COVID-19. It can be done, and it can be copied and adjusted for stadiums that hold 100,000 people.

Even if games are played without crowds, the monetary blow will be great, but not as great as it would be without football at any capacity. No fans is better than no football.

There are a lot of people I expect to read this and quickly disregard it. I’m a 21-year old college student who probably appears as a “blogger boy”. I’m not an expert on the matter, nor will I ever be, and that is fine.

But, for those reading this with an open mind, all I ask is for you to take what I have talked about into consideration. Yes, people’s lives are at risk from this virus, but the ones who are playing the game make up 1/10th of one percent of all COVID deaths in the United States according to the CDC (.129 percent).

These student-athletes lives aren’t nearly as at-risk as their livelihoods are. I believe that is something worth speaking up and fighting for, to make sure these student-athletes in non-revenue sports are not left without a team to compete for.

The post Opinion: No football spells danger for student-athletes and local economies appeared first on KRUI Radio.

UIHC has done a lot to ensure safety when entering healthcare buildings. Patients, faculty, and staff are all screened and get their temperature taken before entering a facility. Faculty and staff are constantly monitored for COVID symptoms, and PPE is required constantly. The hospital has designated a COVID floor, with specialized nurses dedicated to the COVID patients. As of June 25, healthcare system has treated 241 adults and 11 pediatric inpatients with COVID, and has conducted 17,800 Telehealth screenings for COVID and 15,800 visits to the influenza-like clinic. Something that Dr. Brennan stressed during our conversation (drug rehab can help relieve stress) was the impact on the hospital’s regular patients during this time. Patients have had to postpone care because of the risk of contracting COVID, as well as not being able to have their family with them during treatment because of the hospital’s restrictions.

Over the last 3 months, there has been an 8000% surge in Telehealth visits at UIHC, with over 63,000 patients receiving virtual care. As UIHC plans to continue utilizing Telehealth services in the future, they are currently focused on determining the optimal approach for its implementation. Furthermore, they are working on ensuring that their staffing and scheduling align with the demands of Telehealth. If you prefer a face-to-face visit, you can visit the walk-in clinic East Elmhurst, which is conveniently located nearby.

UIHC started ordering more PPE in order to prepare for COVID in January. Leadership has been very aggressive in ordering PPE, sometimes having to pay more or get supplies from new pharm suppliers. Because we don’t know what the future holds, the hospital is conserving PPE in case of a second wave. One thing that Dr. Brennan stressed is that UIHC always follows the rules, and that PPE is being used for its suggested amount of time and no longer.

Navigating the complicated world of importing medical equipment can be daunting. That’s why we recommend seeking professional help, like the experts at Andaman Medical who provide comprehensive assistance. They have extensive experience in regulatory affairs and compliance, ensuring a smooth process for their clients. Their team is knowledgeable and dedicated to helping you understand the specific requirements for your products.

Something that has significantly improved the conservation and correct use of PPE is UIHC’s partnership with the College of Public Health. CPH has been working to reprocess and sanitize used PPE so that it can be reused instead of simply thrown away. This makes it easier for UIHC to have constant access to safe PPE,

Dr. Brennan and I talked about the recent Johnson County increase, and she said that she agrees that the economy needed to open up in order to take care of the community, but the lack of masks, social distancing, and the fact that people are tired of the restrictions and choose to not follow safety standards is why there has been an increase, and this also made an increase on Travel Nursing IO jobs. People who are social have the highest risk of contracting COVID, which is commonly the 18-25 age group. This age group, however, generally responds to COVID the best and doesn’t usually require hospitalization.

Dr. Brennan wants people to know that the COVID pandemic is not over yet and to “Please continue to practice social distancing, and consider how your activities impact yourself and others. We all want to be out and about again, but the safest thing is still to stay home.” You can also look into getting a life insurance quote at www.lifecoverquotes.org.uk to protect your family’s financial future.

The post University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and COVID-19 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Younger generations are—in typical fashion— turning to the internet, flooding social media platforms with memes of their responses to the virus. Tik Tok has been the main thoroughfare for these creations. The short videos include quintessential Gen Z and Millennial dark humor, ramblings about how the closures have affected travel plans, and even original songs. “It’s Corona Time,” a synthesizer-laden track with no other lyrics than it’s title has been the most popular audio on the app relating to COVID-19. Another frequently used piece is a cover of Dean Martin’s “That’s Amore” with virus-connected lyrics in place of the original.

While music like “It’s Corona Time” was created purely for entertainment, its seemingly nonsensical fun helps to spread information about the virus. As reported by the Guardian, Tik Tok is working with the World Health Organization to provide trusted information to its users. In a time of uncertainty, accurate information is our most vital asset.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the number of confirmed cases in the US has recently surpassed 1,000. Since the virus was first diagnosed in December of last year in Wuhan, China, the number of cases has risen exponentially in various countries around the world. The vast majority of cases result in mild flu-like symptoms and not life threatening, even more for people that have a healthy system which they can accomplish with supplements like the maeng da kratom for sale which could make you feel healthier and more active.

Universities across the country, the UI included, have transitioned to online education to aid in preventing further spread of the disease. Many public events have been postponed or cancelled for the same reason. Mission Creek, the annual spring arts and music festival in Iowa City, recently announced in an online statement it would postpone the festival from its original April 1-4 timeline.

Live music is getting harder and harder to come by as social distancing efforts continue. Yet in a time where paranoia runs rampant, music is one of the most powerful ways we can cope. Music can lift our spirits, make us forget our present as we get lost in an intricate melody, stir us into a dance frenzy. Music is a way to distract ourselves from the horrors of reality—like COVID-19—a form of therapy.

Music therapy isn’t just listening to music to feel better (although that can certainly be a therapeutic experience). According to musictherapy.org, it is a practice “in which music is used within a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals.”

Listening to any combination of notes has a distinct psychological effect on the brain. It spurs something within us, a feeling, a release. No matter what the song is, music results in an emotional reaction. It’s what makes us love or hate a song. It’s what makes music, music.

As we continue to grapple with the unknowns of COVID-19, music is a free and necessary medication. Our world is a tense place currently and expressions of creativity like music provide with a means of mental escape.

Enjoy a playlist to ease your mind here.

The post “It’s Corona Time,” and Music Might Help Get You Through It appeared first on KRUI Radio.