March 2010 - The Health Care Blog

Reform: Round 2

By JOE FLOWER It’s coming back! The health care reform debate is only through the first round. In a few years, as early as 2013 or 2014, we are likely to see another round, with at least as much whacked-out... Read More...

Published Wed, Mar 31 2010 10:55 AM by The Health Care Blog

Really Managing Care and Costs

By BRIAN KLEPPER One of my favorite health care stories is about Jerry Reeves MD, who in 2004 took the helm of a 300,000 life health plan in Las Vegas, including about 110,000 union members, and drove so much waste... Read More...

Published Tue, Mar 30 2010 5:13 PM by The Health Care Blog

THCB Comments back online

have at it! Read More...

Published Tue, Mar 30 2010 4:11 AM by The Health Care Blog

Health 2.0 Webinar on EMRs, meaningful use & clinical groupware

By Matthew Holt The Health 2.0 crew is in Paris—yes Health 2.0 Europe is next week (April 6 & 7) but the Health 2.0 clock is still running in the US with conferences in Florida for physicians on April 24,... Read More...

Published Mon, Mar 29 2010 8:31 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Electronic Medical Records, Health 2.0, Matthew Holt

Who Is Don Berwick and What Will He Mean for Reform?

By MAGGIE MAHAR The rumors that I wrote about Friday are, in fact, true. President Obama will name Dr. Donald Berwick, president of the Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI), to run Medicare and Medicaid. Berwick, who is a professor... Read More...

Published Mon, Mar 29 2010 8:15 AM by The Health Care Blog

Interview with Alex Savic, CEO of Alensa Next Widgets

By Indu Subaiya Alex Savic is CEO of Alensa NextWidgets, based in Zurich, Switzerland. Alex is a repeat presenter at Health 2.0 and will be presenting an update on the NextWidgets platform at Health 2.0 Europe in Paris April 6-7,... Read More...

Published Mon, Mar 29 2010 6:26 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Health 2.0, pharmaceuticals

Physicians--grumpy & getting grumpier

By Matthew Holt As the careful THCB reader may have noted, we like to feature Daniel Palestrant (CEO of Sermo) and Jonathan Bush (CEO of athenahealth) relatively frequently because a) they’re both very entertaining and b) their companies are providing...

Published Sun, Mar 28 2010 2:21 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Electronic Medical Records, Health 2.0, Matthew Holt, Physicians

THCB status update

Uh oh. If you're having trouble posting to THCB you're not alone. Over the last 24 hours, we've received numerous emails from users letting us know that they're having problems leaving comments in response to posts on the site. (Several...

Published Sat, Mar 27 2010 11:57 AM by The Health Care Blog

Are The Attorneys General’s Constitutional Claims Bogus?

By Mark Hall, Wake Forest University School of Law Immediately after passage of health care reform, over a dozen state A.G.s sued to declare it unconstitutional, as violating states’ rights. The Florida complaint is here, and Virginia’s here. Reminiscent...

Published Fri, Mar 26 2010 4:14 PM by The Health Care Blog

Op-Ed: After Reform

By Gary S. Campbell, CEO Centura Health Systems Our current national health policy is certainly not the result of a well-conceived, comprehensive approach to health care; rather it is the result of decades of incremental legislation, regulation, and market...

Published Fri, Mar 26 2010 1:20 PM by The Health Care Blog

Dear Mr. Angry

THCB reader Carissa Pillow, a former RN, is one of many readers who objected to the tone of the satirical post "Let's Pay Nurses Minimum Wage." Carissa writes: "Dear Mr. Angry, I just wanted to take a moment to express... Read More...

Published Fri, Mar 26 2010 10:00 AM by The Health Care Blog

The Numbers Tell The Story

By DANIEL PALESTRANT Yesterday, athenahealth and Sermo released our Physician Sentiment Index℠ (PSI). With over 1,000 physicians polled, the national survey is thought to be the largest of its kind. While many of the findings will come as no surprise...

Published Fri, Mar 26 2010 7:27 AM by The Health Care Blog

Healthcare's Privacy Problem (Hint: It's Not What You Think It Is )

By LYGEIA RICCARDI I recently applied for life insurance. The broker, whom I’ve never met, asked about my health history. “So you’ve just had a baby,” he began. I asked him how he knew. “You’re on Twitter.” In the last... Read More...

Published Thu, Mar 25 2010 8:51 AM by The Health Care Blog

Health Reform: A Class Act

By THOMAS GREANEY, St. Louis University School of Law A few headlines from coverage of the passage of the health reform bill: Winners, Losers in the House Healthcare Bill (Reuters) Health Reform: What’s in it for you? (US News) Already... Read More.....

Published Wed, Mar 24 2010 12:45 PM by The Health Care Blog

Database of Bad Doctors Blocks Public From Seeing Names

By Jim Morris, Staff Writer, The Center For Public Integrity In the mid-1980s, incompetent and negligent doctors were moving freely between states, with state licensing boards and hospitals largely oblivious to lawsuits or disciplinary actions in other...

Published Wed, Mar 24 2010 6:49 AM by The Health Care Blog