March 2010 - The Health Care Blog

What Happens Next in MA?

By PAUL LEVY What happens next in Massachusetts with insurance reimbursement rates now that many of the facts and figures have been made public? Here's what I see. The dominant parties in the state on whose watch the disparities in... Read More.....

Published Tue, Mar 09 2010 3:21 AM by The Health Care Blog

Antitrust Warfare

By Daniel Palestrant, MD Not since the days of monopoly busting and Standard Oil has anti-trust been such a contentious topic in American politics. Today, Teddy Roosevelt has been replaced by Nancy Pelosi and the oil barons have been replaced... Read...

Published Tue, Mar 02 2010 1:44 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Physicians

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

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

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

George Clooney Was Onto Something

By JESSIE GRUMAN In the Oscar-nominated movie “Up in the Air,” Ryan Bingham (aka George Clooney), travels around the country firing employees for company bosses who don’t have the stomach to do it themselves -– the ones who prefer to... Read More...

Published Wed, Mar 17 2010 5:15 AM by The Health Care Blog

The Paradox of Technology in Healthcare

By THOMAS GOETZ Thomas Goetz is the author of "The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in the New Age of Personalized Medicine." The executive editor at Wired Magazine, you can follow him on Twitter twitter.com/tgoetz. One of the.....

Published Thu, Mar 18 2010 9:12 AM by The Health Care Blog

A Culture of Fear and Intimidation: Reforming Medical Education

By MAGGIE MAHAR Even as we set out to reform U.S. health care, we continue to train medical students as if they were going to work in the old, broken system. Today, everything about medical education needs to be re-thought,... Read More...

Published Sat, Mar 20 2010 3:21 PM by The Health Care Blog

"I Am Not Bound To Win. But I Am Bound To Be True."

By MAGGIE MAHAR So many said it would never happen. But now, on Sunday, March 21, 2010, it appears that reformers have the votes. Rep. Bart Stupak, the leader of the anti-abortion hold-outs, has announced that he will vote "yes."... Read More...

Published Sun, Mar 21 2010 6:28 PM by The Health Care Blog

The Reinvention of Social Progress

By MERRILL GOOZNER I watched C-Span through the entire voting process on Sunday night. Socialism? Tyranny? The Republican hyperbole was unhinged from reality. Democratic claims that the health care reform marked a major milestone in domestic policy were...

Published Tue, Mar 23 2010 5:25 AM by The Health Care Blog

Apple Targets Healthcare Enterprise

By JOHN MOORE While the Apple iPhone was first targeted at the general consumer, Apple has been taking the necessary steps to bring this device into the enterprise, directly competing with RIM’s Blackberry. Unseating the Blackberry in many sectors, such...

Published Tue, Mar 23 2010 11:48 AM by The Health Care Blog

A little HIMSS housekeeping

By Matthew Holt Today till Weds I'll be at HIMSS in Atlanta. You can see me at the Bloggers panel at 3pmMonday, or more importantly at the talk Jane Sarasohn-Kahn & I are giving on Health 2.0 & Participatory Medicine... Read More...

Published Mon, Mar 01 2010 4:07 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Technology, Matthew Holt

Community Wars? WebMD launches Health Exchange

By Matthew Holt Just when we thought things were calming down in the world of Health 2.0, it’s kicking off. WebMD has been watching Everyday Health take over its spot as top Health site ranking in the ComScore rankings (cue... Read More...

Published Tue, Mar 09 2010 1:41 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Health 2.0, Matthew Holt

RememberItNow! and Prezi

By Matthew Holt RememberItNow! is a feisty little start-up that's aiming at the medication reminder/management space. I like the feature set and the approach, and I hope the Pam Swigley the engaging CEO gets some traction. It’s launching officially...

Published Thu, Mar 11 2010 1:31 AM by The Health Care Blog