October 2009 - The Health Care Blog

Good Intentions Aren't Enough with Health Care Reform

By SARAH PALIN Now that the Senate Finance Committee has approved its health care bill, it’s a good time to step back and take a look at the long term consequences should its provisions be enacted into law. The bill... Read More...

Published Sun, Oct 18 2009 6:16 PM by The Health Care Blog

A Crucial Requirement To Cure U.S. Healthcare Long-Term: Curb Raging Inflation

By Albert Waxman, Ph.D, CEO and Senior Managing Member of Psilos Group The Senate Finance Committee pushed the likelihood of mandatory U.S. healthcare insurance a giant step forward this week by passing a healthcare reform bill that is likely to... Read...

Published Fri, Oct 16 2009 10:23 AM by The Health Care Blog

Why AHIP needs the public option

By Matthew Holt It’s been a fun week. After years of THCB explaining that neither could AHIP do genuine research nor could its venerable President open her mouth without lying, the rest of the world has caught on. I won’t... Read More...

Published Fri, Oct 16 2009 8:35 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Policy/Politics, Matthew Holt, Policy, Health Plans, Charlie Baker

Health Care Reform Lite

By J.D. Kleinke “The only constant in health care is change.” It’s one of those shop-worn things you hear too often on health care’s rubber-chicken circuit; and not only is it not true, but it is exactly untrue. The only... Read More...

Published Fri, Oct 16 2009 6:27 AM by The Health Care Blog

Two east coast conferences worth a look

By Matthew Holt Two conferences I won’t be at (because I’ve been on enough aeroplanes this year already and have to do a bunch more traveling in November) are later this month. One is GelHealth in NYC which is the... Read More...

Published Thu, Oct 15 2009 6:36 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Technology, Matthew Holt

Health 2.0 and the Big Bang

By GLENN LAFFEL It’s hard to believe that last week’s Health 2.0 conference was just the third annual installment of the event. The phrase, “Health 2.0” entered our lexicon at light speed and seems to have been there longer than... Read More...

Published Thu, Oct 15 2009 9:09 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Health 2.0

What’s Next? Follow the Money

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI With the passage of the Senate Finance bill the health care effort now moves to a critical stage with the Senate Majority Leader and the House Speaker now clearly in charge. The more important effort will be... Read More...

Published Wed, Oct 14 2009 7:54 AM by The Health Care Blog

Why is this the one thing?

By JOE FLOWER When the terrorist attacks of 9/11 hit the United States, and then suddenly we were plunged into war, first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq, I don’t remember anyone demanding that the wars be “deficit neutral.” No... Read More...

Published Wed, Oct 14 2009 7:31 AM by The Health Care Blog

Physician Accountability for Violation of Safety Rules: The Time For Excuses Has Passed

By BOB WACHTER In a recent New England Journal, Peter Pronovost and I make the case for striking a new balance between “no blame” and accountability. Come on folks, it’s time. At most hospitals, hand hygiene rates hover between 30-70%,... Read More.....

Published Wed, Oct 14 2009 7:15 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Physicians, Bob Wachter

Ur Doin It Wrong

By CINDY THROOP Susannah Fox aptly illustrated what is happening in health care during the 'The Patient Is In' panel of the Health 2.0 conference with some amusing LOLCat pictures captioned "ur doin it wrong." Put simply, when it comes...

Published Tue, Oct 13 2009 8:49 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Health 2.0

Shutting Down Social Media? Not Here.

By PAUL LEVY Paul Levy is the President and CEO of Beth Israel Deconess Medical Center in Boston. He blogs about his experiences at Running a Hospital, one of the few blogs we know of maintained by a senior hospital... Read More...

Published Tue, Oct 13 2009 8:13 AM by The Health Care Blog

Obama administration CTO Aneesh Chopra at Health 2.0

Around the Web in 60 Seconds: Health 2.0 San Francisco

All Things Digital - "Keas' Adam Bosworth speaks about new health care startup" by Kara Swisher Fast Company "The Future of Healthcare is Social" NY Times.com "A White House Message to Healthcare Start Ups" NY Times.com...

Published Mon, Oct 12 2009 2:30 PM by The Health Care Blog

Op-Ed: Our Misplaced Faith in High-Tech Medicine

By MERRILL GOOZNER The following essay appeared on the website of the Hastings Center, which is running a colloquium on the values behind health care reform. "One could make a good case that improvements in education and job creation could... Read...

Published Mon, Oct 12 2009 2:15 PM by The Health Care Blog

The Senate Finance Health Bill Has No Clothes

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI Readers of this blog know that I have lots of concerns for the Senate Finance health bill primarily because it does not so much represent health care reform as just an expensive entitlement expansion. Readers also know... Read More...

Published Mon, Oct 12 2009 8:38 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Robert Laszewski, Reform