August 2010 - The Health Care Blog

The Topography of Ignorance

By PAUL LEVY Here is a statement* that Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., as dean of Harvard Medical School, gave in an introductory lecture to the medical class on November 6, 1861: Science is the topography of ignorance. From a few... Read More...

Published Thu, Aug 26 2010 5:51 AM by The Health Care Blog

First Day at Health 2.0 Europe Conference

By Bianca Grogan Matthew Holt and Indu Subaiya of Health 2.0 and Denise Silber of Basil Strategies give the introduction to the Health 2.0 Europe Conference, April 6-7, 2010, in Paris, France. In their presentation they give a complete overview... Read...

Published Fri, Aug 27 2010 2:21 PM by The Health Care Blog

A Meaningful Use and Standards Rule FAQ Part II

By JOHN HALAMKA As a followup to the HIMSS Webinar I gave last week, here's an FAQ in the spirit of last month's Meaningful Use and Standards Rule FAQ. 1. The Emergency Department is mentioned in 9 Core Measures and... Read More...

Published Mon, Aug 30 2010 1:30 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Meaningful Use, John Halamka

Interview with Mary Hiller, MedExpert International

By Matthew Holt Mary Hiller is Executive Director at MedExpert International -- one of the companies behind Safeway's remarkable results in reducing health care costs. The company manages a system that aligns best practices from intensive literature...

Published Mon, Aug 16 2010 1:27 AM by The Health Care Blog

Ingenix buys Axolotl

By Matthew Holt Ingenix, the arms dealer that's been supplying all sides in the health care information war for the past decade or so, built itself up by buying lots of little companies in the data analytics space. Now it’s... Read More...

Published Mon, Aug 16 2010 2:18 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Technology, Matthew Holt

The Other Medicare Report

By JOHN GOODMAN President, CEO & Kellye Wright Fellow National Center for Policy Analysis The release of this year’s Medicare Trustees report was unprecedented. As noted in previous posts here and at my blog here and here, Medicare’s chief actuary...

Published Tue, Aug 17 2010 11:30 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Medicare, John Goodman

Health 2.0 Fall Agenda Announced, Oct 7-8

By Matthew Holt This week we've announced the line up (or the first chunk of it) for the 4th annual Health 2.0 Conference in San Francisco Oct 7-8. The conference is the climax of Health Innovation Week -- a week... Read More...

Published Thu, Aug 19 2010 1:30 AM by The Health Care Blog

Announcement: eHealth Initiative Posts New Positions Experienced Applicants Encouraged to Apply

The eHealth Initiative (eHI) is growing! We encourage you to take a look at our new job openings and spread the news amongst your colleagues and friends. eHI is a Washington, D.C.-based independent, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality...

Published Fri, Aug 20 2010 11:11 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Announcements

If Insurers Thought the Public Plan Was A Threat

By MERRILL GOOZNER Check out this study from the Healthcare Performance Management Institute, a business-backed think tank that promotes self-insurance among employers. The survey claims that insurance companies are refusing to provide employers with...

Published Mon, Aug 02 2010 6:14 AM by The Health Care Blog

The New Rules for Insurance Appeals Under PPACA

BY KATHERINE MATOS On July 22, the Obama Administration released interim final rules that allow patient appeals of health insurance coverage decisions as required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (”PPACA”) and Health Care and Education...

Published Tue, Aug 03 2010 5:23 AM by The Health Care Blog

Public Is More Savvy than Harris Polltakers

By JOHN C. GOODMAN National Center for Policy Analysis President & Kellye Wright Fellow Are the nation’s polltakers part of a surreptitious plot to convince us that what’s good for us is bad and what’s bad is good? A new... Read More...

Published Wed, Aug 04 2010 12:58 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: health care reform, John Goodman

Should We Fear Genetic Testing?

By THOMAS GOETZ Though the prospect of learning about our DNA might seem wrapped in mystery and intrigue, genetic information is not so different from any other metrics we know about ourselves: Our age, our weight, our blood pressure. With... Read More...

Published Thu, Aug 05 2010 7:01 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Thomas Goetz, Genetic testing

The Circle of Trust

By MARGALIT GUR-ARIE Every day millions of Americans and billions of people around the globe are routinely accepting colorful pieces of paper in return for their labor and placing those hard earned possessions in modern glass buildings whose owners they...

Published Mon, Aug 09 2010 4:01 AM by The Health Care Blog

Massachusetts Update

By PAUL LEVY Here is one of my occasional updates on the Massachusetts scene, for people looking for hints as to the kind of issues that might arise nationally as health care reform is implemented. I have written several times... Read More...

Published Tue, Aug 10 2010 11:49 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Paul Levy, Massachusetts

No One Is Perfect, Not Even Computers

By HERBERT MATHEWSON My last post described how a precisely regimented dosage of intravenous medication delivered to me over six hours by a state-of-the art computer actually depended on the existence (and the survival for 6 hours) of a handwritten.....

Published Thu, Aug 12 2010 8:04 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: CPOE, Herbert Mathewson, Patient Safety