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Synapse The UCSF Student Newspaper
Thursday, March 14, 2013
synapse.ucsf.edu
NEWS
START-UP UCSF NEWS
Trinity Health Reduces Costs of Team-based Care
An online collaboration care tool for multidisciplinary teams at UCSF By Geraldine Tran Staff Writer
P
rior to starting my first year of medical school, I understood that UCSF excels in basic science, clinical, and translational research, the traditionally critical components of a leading academic institution. It wasn’t until I attended a mixer hosted by the UCSF Health Tech Interest Group that I learned about UCSF’s advances in telemedicine and health care information technology (Health IT). At one meeting, I learned from Dr. Aenor Sawyer about Trinity Health, a secure web-based platform for clinical collaboration that she and Dr. Pierre Theodore have developed at UCSF. Dr. Theodore, an associate clinical professor, and a cardiothoracic and lung transplant surgeon, and Dr. Sawyer, an orthopedic surgeon and director of the Skeletal Health Service, both saw the tremendous benefits of team-based care
Photo courtesy of Trinity Health
Dr. Aenor Sawyer is co-founder of Trinity Health.
but repeatedly encountered hurdles to providing it in the current health care system. I had an opportunity to sit down with Dr. Sawyer and learn more about Trinity Health.
Trinity Health » PAGE 4
Is UC SHIP Sinking?
Student health insurance plan incurred $57 million debt over three years By Jenny Qi Staff Writer
O
ver the past three years, the University of Califrnia Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP) incurred a large deficit, projected to reach approximately $57 million by the end of the 2012-13 plan year. A small but impassioned group of UCSF students and staff gathered on March 7 to discuss the recently disclosed insurance crisis and its impact on students at UCSF. Shanni Silberberg, a member of the UCSF Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) and neuroscience graduate student, explained that UC SHIP was established in 2010 as a nonprofit insurance plan for undergraduate and graduate students on all UC campuses. Instead of involving an insurance company, the premiums that were collected from students were used to pay claims. Eliminating an intermediary allowed for low pricing of premiums, but the prices were set far too low, due to allegedly inaccurate claims projections by the consultants AonHewitt. As a
NEWS
UCSF AMCP Chapter Heads to National P&T Competition By Oliver Ubeda Associate Editor
I
Volume 57, Number 23
n the annual Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) competition last week, nine teams made up of students from different school years competed locally for a shot to represent UCSF at the National Competition in San Diego. In real life, a P&T committee determines what medications become approved drugs to be used on patients in a hospital or be covered by an insurance company (meaning the drugs become part of the formulary). All P&T students competing received a file called a monograph on the same particular drug, in this case, Tapentadol (Nucynta), a narcotic pain reliever. The monograph contains a summary of information of the drug chosen. Student teams were then expected
to research the drug and the disease for which the drug is intended and find out its efficacy. The teams were also expected to look at the budget impact of approving or rejecting the drug and present their findings to a mock P&T committee made up of alumni and faculty from the School of Pharmacy. “This year’s P&T Competition was the strongest it has ever been, both at the local and national level,” said Tien Ho, president of the AMCP-UCSF Student Chapter, which hosted the event. “This is a wonderful sign that interest in managed care is growing within our chapter and across our profession.” Ben Parcher, president-elect of AMCP-UCSF Student Chapter, said, “The judges were impressed by each of the teams’ countless hours of work, deliberation, collaboration and preparation, and the decision to choose the winning
P&T Nationals » PAGE 3
result, UC SHIP has incurred a massive deficit over three years. Now, premiums must be increased to avoid further debt, and the incurred debt must also be paid back. The UCSF SHAC aims to minimize the premium increase and retain benefits for students. Importantly, the committee hopes to prevent the Office of the President (UCOP) from adding the prior debt to students’ premiums. The SHAC states that it “[does] not believe it is appropriate for future students to pay the bills of those who have left … because of underfunded premiums that should have been apparent much earlier.” A $57 million debt translates to a $400 increase per student per year. It was further noted that the deficit is not distributed evenly across all campuses. According to Dr. Joseph Castro, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, “61% of the deficit … was attributed to UCs Davis, Irvine and San Diego. UCSF accounted for [only] 2.5% of the projected deficit.” UCSF students currently pay much higher premiums ($2,766 a year), compared to students at larger campuses such as UCSD ($1,782 a year). What’s the solution? UCOP is taking legal action against AonHewitt to recover losses. But they have not eliminated the possibility of adding the deficit to our premium increases. Immediate action must also be taken to prevent future debt. The most practical solutions are to increase premiums and adjust the plan structure, which includes premiums, benefits, management and co-pays. But how? Silberberg stressed that we must consider our values. Are we willing to pay $4,000 year to recover the funds lost by UC? What about $3,200 a year to keep all benefits? Can we minimize increases without sacrificing care?
UC SHIP » PAGE 3