The number of job openings in California for nurses, therapists, and physician assistants decreased from 15,620 in May 2014 to 15,253 in May 2014. The searcher-to-job opening ratio increased from 1.64 to 2.12 in the same span. Image source: http://pediatric-nurse-practitioners.blogspot.com/2012/12/top-5-cardiac-care-nursing-jobs-for-we.html
The consumer price index (CPI) went up from 237.693 in June 2014 to 237.909 in July 2014, an annualized rate of 1.09%. 
The price index for medical care commodities went up at an annualized rate of 3.99% from June 2014 to July 2014. During the same period, the price index for medical care services and hospital and related services went up at an annualized rate of 1.44% and 5.01%, respectively, whereas professional services went down at an annualized rate of 0.59%. Image source: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-54762670/stock-photo-background-concept-illustration-consumer-price-index.html
The health care and social assistance industry gained 100 jobs from June 2014 to July 2014. Compared to July 2013, the cumulative number of jobs added in this industry is 33,300, an annual increase of 2.5%.
Image source: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2012/01/06/health-care-sector-adds-jobs-as-overall-employment-picture-looks-healthier/
The number of job openings in Texas for nurses, therapists, and physician assistants decreased from 9,612 to 9,298 from May 2014 to June 2014. The searcher-to-job opening ratio increased from 1.09 to 1.52 during that same span.
Image source: http://www.carrollhs.org/s/1253/index.aspx?pgid=877
The number of military Veterans requesting care from the VA is at a historic high.
In the coming weeks, we will be publishing a series of post describing the work we have performed on VA wait times data obtained from the LA Times.
The underlying VA data was obtained from the June 2014 government audit of the VA. In our study we look at:
– The different types of wait times experienced by military veterans
– Socio-economic factors related to VA times such as percentage of vets and poverty rates in the surrounding area
– Detailed look at vets receiving mental health care and the wait times that they experience
The consumer price index (CPI) went up from 37.083 in May 2014 to 237.693 in June 2014, an annualized rate of 3.09%.
The price index for medical care commodities went up at an annualized rate of 8.36% from May 2014 to June 2014. During the same period, the price index for medical care services and professional services went down at an annualized rate of 0.16% and 1.31%, respectively, whereas hospital and related services went up at 2.06%.
Image source: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-54762670/stock-photo-background-concept-illustration-consumer-price-index.html
The number of job openings and searcher-to-job opening ratio in Texas for nurses, therapists, and physician assistants increased from 9,292 and 0.95, respectively, in April 2014 to 9,612 and 1.09, respectively, in May 2014.
Image Source: http://www.carrollhs.org/s/1253/index.aspx?pgid=877
In May 2014, VA launched the Accelerating Access to Care Initiative, a nation-wide program to ensure timely access to care. As part of the Initiative, the VHA identified Veterans across the system experiencing long waits. The VA also published a 50 page report on the delays experienced by VA patients. Among the findings, they found:
1. The VA scheduling system resulted in confusion among
scheduling clerks and front-line supervisors.2. Meeting a 14-day wait-time performance target for new appointments was simply
not attainable3. The concept of “desired date” is a scheduling practice unique to VA, and difficult
to reconcile against more accepted practices such as negotiating a specific
appointment date based on provider availability, or using a “return to clinic”
interval requested by providers.4. . Overall, 13 percent of scheduling staff interviewed indicated they received
instruction (from supervisors or others) to enter in the “desired date” field a date
different from the date the Veteran had requested. At least one instance of such
practices was identified in 76 percent of VA facilities. In certain instances this
may be appropriate (e.g., a provider-directed date can, under VA policy, override
a date specified by a patient), but the survey did not distinguish this, nor did it
determine whether this was done through lack of understanding or malintent
unless it was clearly apparent.5. Eight percent of scheduling staff indicated they used alternatives to the Electronic
Wait List (EWL) or Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology
Architecture (VistA) package. At least one of such instance was identified in 70
percent of facilities. As with desired date practices, we did not probe the extent
to which some of these alternatives might have been justified under VA policy.
The questionnaire employed did not isolate appropriate uses of external lists.6. Findings indicate that in some cases, pressures were placed on schedulers to
utilize inappropriate practices in order to make waiting times (based on desired
date, and the waiting lists), appear more favorable. Such practices are
sufficiently pervasive to require VA re-examine its entire performance
management system and, in particular, whether current measures and targets for
access are realistic or sufficient.7. Staffing challenges were identified in small CBOCs, especially where there were
small counts of providers or administrative support.