March 2010 - The Health Care Blog

Aneesh Chopra on txting in Haiti

By Matthew Holt Here's a quick video I took at the end of Aneesh Chopra's (the Federal CTO) talk at HIMSS. It’s a remarkable story of the role of SMS, tools and crowdsourcing in aiding in a disaster zone. A... Read More...

Published Mon, Mar 15 2010 9:38 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Technology, Health 2.0, Matthew Holt

Confused, Conflicted, Clueless and Cranky

By HUMPHREY TAYLOR Humphrey Taylor is Chairman of The Harris Poll. Prior to joining Harris, Taylor worked in Britain where he conducted all of the private political polling for the Conservative Party and was a close adviser to Prime Minister... Read More...

Published Mon, Mar 01 2010 11:15 AM by The Health Care Blog

Octopus and other Fishes

By Matthew Holt One of the most fun times at HIMSS last week was the MEDecision party at the Georgia aquarium. I took a few videos of the Fish and the humans—so something a little different for you all The... Read More...

Published Tue, Mar 09 2010 12:28 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Matthew Holt

Innovation, Not Legislation: Venture Capital is the Path to Improving Patient Safety and Reducing Waste and Error in the U.S. Healthcare System

By Lisa Suennen All eyes are on Toyota’s recall of 8.5 million vehicles due to faulty gas pedals and brakes. The recall has sparked congressional hearings, a probe by the U.S. Department of Transportation, possible criminal charges stemming from a......

Published Wed, Mar 10 2010 11:35 AM by The Health Care Blog

The Vote is 6pm EST

By Matthew Holt Just a quick note that the vote on the Health care reform bill is at 6pm EST tonight. It looks like the Stupak 6 (the anti-abortion Dems) have been persuaded that a Yes vote will be OK... Read More...

Published Sun, Mar 21 2010 9:13 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Policy/Politics, Policy

Dispatch from HIMSS

By JOHN HALAMKA I've just finished my day in Atlanta and am beginning a commute to Tokyo. Every year, I describe my top 10 impressions from HIMSS. Here's my summary of the event for 2010 1. Meaningful Use is everywhere.... Read More...

Published Thu, Mar 04 2010 5:34 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

The Enthusiasm Gap

By ROBERT REICH I had dinner the other night with a Democratic pollster who told me Dems are heading toward next fall’s mid-term elections with a serious enthusiasm gap: The Republican base is fired up. The Dem base is packing... Read More...

Published Tue, Mar 02 2010 6:00 PM by The Health Care Blog

MedApps on TV

By Matthew Holt Kent Dicks from MedApps does a very nice job on Fox Business News. Kent explains what his company’s cell(phone)-based transmission solution does, why it’s not a privacy threat, who else is in the market, and what the... Read More...

Published Thu, Mar 11 2010 8:19 PM by The Health Care Blog

The Top Ten Immediate Benefits Americans Will Receive When Health Care Reform Passes

By MAGGIE MAHAR Yesterday, the Democratic Caucus of the House listed the provisions of the health reform bill that will take effect “as soon as health care passes,” The legislation would: Prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions for children in all...

Published Wed, Mar 17 2010 10:48 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

A Tribute to Austin Ross

By GARY S. KAPLAN, MD, Chairman and CEO Virginia Mason Medical Center The selection of Austin Ross for the Modern Healthcare Hall of Fame is fitting. His ideas on leading and managing in health care – which he’s written about... Read More...

Published Wed, Mar 24 2010 5:55 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

Hospital Quality Group Obscures Hospital Quality Reports, Journalists Charge

By MICHAEL MILLENSON The Joint Commission, which accredits four-fifths of the nation’s hospitals, is being accused of misleading consumers about the quality of care at those hospitals and then ignoring suggestions on how to correct the problem. “The organization...

Published Tue, Mar 09 2010 4:23 AM by 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