June 2011 - Health Beat - The Network of Care

Myths about Medical Malpractice: Part 2 Crisis or Hoax?

Conservatives call it the “malpractice crisis.” Public Citizen, a liberal non-profit consumer organization based in Washington D.C., calls it “The Great Medical Malpractice Hoax.” No doubt you have read that ambulance-chasing lawyers have escalated their...

Published Thu, Jun 30 2011 2:29 PM by Health Beat

In Shared Decision Making There Can Never Be “Too Much Information”

“Empowered patients” and “patient-centered care” are key goals of the current health reform legislation. The idea is to get patients and their families intimately involved in making decisions about treatment and encouraging them to play a more proactive...

Published Wed, Jun 29 2011 2:10 PM by Health Beat

Errors in Medical Claims Processing Cost Health Care System Billions Each Year

Here’s a health insurance headache most readers can relate to: My son took a bad fall in an indoor soccer game this winter and fractured his wrist and pinkie toe. He was diagnosed and treated in a specialized emergency room... Read More...

Published Thu, Jun 23 2011 11:47 AM by Health Beat

Myths about Medical Malpractice -- Part 1

A few days ago, I found myself involved in a debate over malpractice suits on The Heath Care Blog. One reader on the thread explained why, in his view, we need some type of tort reform: “What drives physicians to... Read More...

Published Wed, Jun 22 2011 12:11 PM by Health Beat

The Medicaid Paradox

Below, a guest post from Hollie Russon Gilman, a Century Foundation intern and doctoral candidate in Harvard's Department of Government. In the current debate brewing over Medicaid it is becoming increasingly clear that there is a serious lack of...

Published Tue, Jun 21 2011 12:59 PM by Health Beat

Medicaid Heads to the Chopping Block; Again…

It’s starting to look like a sure thing: Medicaid will be a sacrificial cow in the battle to hammer out a bipartisan budget deal. The joint federal-state program that provides medical coverage for 69.5 million of the youngest, poorest, most... Read More...

Published Thu, Jun 16 2011 11:18 AM by Health Beat

New Study Focuses on Medical Errors in Outpatient Settings: A “Wake-Up Call” For Doctors

In the decade since the Institute of Medicine’s landmark report, "To Err is Human," revealed an epidemic of preventable medical errors and safety problems in the nation’s hospitals, virtually all of the safety efforts in health care have focused...

Published Wed, Jun 15 2011 11:38 AM by Health Beat

Keep the Bar Raised on Reducing Hospital Readmissions

Last week the head of the American Hospital Association sent a letter to Donald Berwick, director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, stressing how “crucial” it is that the agency consider the racial and ethnic backgrounds of patients.....

Published Mon, Jun 13 2011 8:14 AM by Health Beat

Uwe Reinhardt on Subsidizing Medical School Education

Do Teaching Hospitals Lose Money or Turn a Profit on Residents? Uwe Reinhardt writes a provocative post about medical education in today’s New York Times. He begins by calling attention to “Why Medical School Should Be Free,” a recent commentary... Read...

Published Fri, Jun 10 2011 2:59 PM by Health Beat

When Hospitals Accept High Infection Rates: A “Cultural Problem”

Find Hospitals in Your State on the Map from Consumer Reports Below Summary: Consumer Reports Health (CRH) has just released a report showing wide variation in how likely it is that a hospital patient will pick up a deadly bloodstream... Read More...

Published Thu, Jun 09 2011 2:09 PM by Health Beat

"Atypical" Antipsychotics Misused As "Chemical Restraints" For Youthful Offenders

Children and the overuse of strong psychiatric drugs: It’s an issue that continues to make headlines as the newest class of antipsychotics like Serequel, Abilify and Zyprexa become first-line treatment for an ever-growing population of troubled kids....

Published Wed, Jun 08 2011 2:01 PM by Health Beat

Healthcare Insurance: Reform Begins to Hold Insurers Accountable

First it was Aetna. Now Blue Shield of California is doing the right thing. Who will be next? Health Insurers are beginning to slice premiums and rebate money to customers. Last year, many of health care reform’s critics (on the... Read More...

Published Tue, Jun 07 2011 8:42 PM by Health Beat

Health Care Bloggers Raise Some Provocative Questions:

Alzheimers - Could it be Over - diagnosed? Are Docs in Danger of Becoming “Slaves” Maybe Insurers' Profits Are Not So Big After All? Is the Affordable Care Act Part of the Answer to the Medicare ‘Crisis’? Despite Chaos in... Read More...

Published Sat, Jun 04 2011 1:12 PM by Health Beat

Cancer Care: Give Patients the Information They Need to Make Informed Decisions

Yesterday the New York Times asked me to participate in a "Room for Debate" forum on Medicare reform. Here’s the topic: "The Obama administration will soon track spending on millions of individual beneficiaries, reward hospitals that hold...

Published Thu, Jun 02 2011 11:30 AM by Health Beat

Arizona's "Fat Tax" Punishes the Poor

The Wall Street Journal calls it the “Medicaid Fat Tax,” Time magazine refers to “Arizona’s Flab Tax” while Arizona’s top health officials say a proposed penalty that would be levied on certain Medicaid recipients “is a way to reward good... Read More...

Published Thu, Jun 02 2011 11:09 AM by Health Beat

June 2011 - Health Beat

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