The US could face a shortage of 46,900 to 121,900 physicians by 2032 affecting primary and specialty care as the country's population ages, according to projections from the Association of American Medical Colleges. "We know older patients use two to three times as many medical services as younger patients, and the number of people over age 65 will increase by almost 50%, just in the next 10 to 15 years alone," said AAMC Executive Vice President Atul Grover. Meanwhile, one-third of actively practicing US physicians will pass age 65 in the next 10 years.

A new accountable care organization called NH Value Care has been formed by eight hospital members of GraniteOne Health and North Country Community Care Organization in New Hampshire. Members of NH Value Care, which recently obtained approval from the CMS, serve approximately 20,000 Medicare beneficiaries, and they believe the ACO will boost value and quality for the state's Medicare recipients.

Fifty-one laws have been enacted by 33 states this year to address the cost of and access to prescription drugs, beating last year's record of 45 laws passed in 28 states, and more legislative activity is expected before the year ends, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy. Measures that allow the importation of prescription drugs, monitor drug price increases, target price transparency and affect pharmacy benefit managers are among the laws enacted this year.

A study in Health Affairs found Medicare spent more money than private insurance on post-hospital care for nearly all conditions and procedures studied, including heart failure, heart attack, stroke, cardiac bypass surgery, hip replacement and colon surgery. Researchers examined four years' worth of data on over 25,000 Michigan seniors and found readmission rates were similar between the groups.

George Washington University Hospital CEO Kimberly Russo says the hospital has improved the patient experience through technology, such as the NicView camera system in the neonatal intensive care unit, which allows families to see infants 24/7. Russo said the hospital is working to ensure that health care is accessible and equitable and that patients get the appropriate care in the right setting at the right time.

A Kaufman Hall report found 88% of US hospital and health system executives said their organization is vulnerable to more consumer-friendly competitors such as Amazon. Part of the problem is that providers have a lot of data but often measure the wrong metrics or fail to uncover meaningful insights from what the data show, Kermit Randa of Kaufman Hall writes.

While the health care landscape looks different around the world, every organization faces consistent challenges: rising health care costs for individuals and employers as well as ever-increasing chronic health conditions. Business leaders must balance controlling costs and encouraging their workforce to live healthier lives. Read more.

As we enter the peak of the 2019 Atlantic Basin hurricane season, a significant number of large-scale natural catastrophes affecting businesses, governments and populations have already transpired globally, recently including Hurricane Dorian. Aon's Be Prepared site is a resource-rich repository of pre- and post-loss materials to help build a more loss-resilient organization. Learn more.