Hospitals aren’t just seeing reductions in elective procedures, like knee and hip replacements, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They are also reporting significant drop offs in acute conditions that require immediate care, including heart attacks and appendicitis, raising concerns about whether people are avoiding necessary care for fear of becoming infected by coronavirus. These reports of declines in hospitalizations for acute conditions have been largely anecdotal, coming from emergency physicians and cardiology specialists who say their departments are empty of the kinds of cases they would normally see before the coronavirus crisis hit and state governors issued orders for people to stay home. Now, clinical researchers at Cigna Corp. said a review of the insurer’s claims data and preauthorizations over the past few months confirms these reports, revealing often-steep declines in the rate of hospitalizations for a variety of acute conditions.
Read the full article: Cigna Claims Data Shows Declines in Hospitalizations for Serious Conditions //
Source: https://www.modernhealthcare.com/insurance/cigna-claims-data-shows-declines-hospitalizations-serious-conditions