October 2010 - The Health Care Blog

Losing Patients With Insurers

By ROB LAMBERTS, MD We are losing patients. Certain insurance companies are trying to “play hardball” with doctors, unwilling to negotiate with us over their outlandishly low rates. We have lost patience. So the signs went up in the exam... Read More...

Published Fri, Oct 29 2010 8:48 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Rob Lamberts, Insurers

Connected Healthcare: Wellness and Emerging Technology

You are invited to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Enterprise Forum’s latest Networking/Panel Event, Connected Healthcare: Wellness and Emerging Technology on Wednesday, November 17th. Technology is changing how people connect with...

Published Fri, Oct 29 2010 8:47 AM by The Health Care Blog

So That's How The Rates Are Set

By PAUL LEVY The Wall Street Journal published a very important article this week. Written by Anna Wilde Mathews and Tom McGinty, it is entitled, "Secrets of the System: Physician Panel Prescribes the Fees Paid by Medicare. Here's the lede:....

Published Fri, Oct 29 2010 8:15 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Medicare, Physicians, Paul Levy

Engage with Grace

By Alexandra Drane This is the full text of Alexandra Drane's talk about Engage with Grace at TEDMED. I'm so proud of Alex for what she's done and her talk was outstanding--Matthew Holt So when I heard that I was... Read More...

Published Fri, Oct 29 2010 7:55 AM by The Health Care Blog

Health Insurance and Life Expectancy

By JOHN GOODMAN Did you know that Hispanic Americans live longer than non-Hispanic whites? If that doesn't knock your socks off, consider this: American Hispanics are three times as likely to be uninsured as non-Hispanic whites. If you're still...

Published Thu, Oct 28 2010 3:48 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: John Goodman, Health insurance, Hispanics

Health 2.0 Developer Challenge Code-a-thon Finalist: Team Transpera Health

By Bianca Grogan Team Transpera Health, led by Cathy Huang, introduced software that will enable consumers to make healthcare provider and procedure decisions based on costs and quality. The team utilized databases from the CMS Medicare Physician Fee...

Published Thu, Oct 28 2010 11:42 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Health 2.0

Alexandra Drane doing Engage With Grace at TEDMED

By Matthew Holt Just one photo from TEDMED, a really fascinating conference where I've been this week (courtsey of RWJ). This is Alex Drane telling Za's story and presenting Engage with Grace. She was remarkable. Read More...

Published Thu, Oct 28 2010 10:38 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Matthew Holt

Confessions of a Health Literacy Expert

By HILARY SELIGMAN, MD I have a patient who I will call Antonia. Antonia is in her early 70’s. She came to the United States from Guatemala many years ago, but never learned to speak much English. This doesn’t cause... Read More...

Published Thu, Oct 28 2010 9:06 AM by The Health Care Blog

The Shame of Malpractice Lawsuits

By PAUL LEVY This posting is not about tort reform. It is not about defensive medicine (e.g., MDs taking too many tests to avoid the chance of lawsuit.) It is not about controlling costs or improving the quality of care.... Read More...

Published Wed, Oct 27 2010 4:10 PM by The Health Care Blog

How Come Comparative Effectiveness Research is All the Rage?

By KENT BOTTLES, MD Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) is suddenly a hot topic at all the health care conferences. How come? Everybody agrees that we have to decrease per-capita cost and increase quality. Why? Government programs like Medicare and...

Published Wed, Oct 27 2010 8:54 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Comparative Effectiveness Research, Kent Bottles

SureScripts, A Defacto NHIN

By JOHN MOORE Yesterday in New Orleans, SureScripts announced a new line of business: Clinical Interoperability. Leveraging their existing ePrescribing solution platform, currently serving over 200K physicians nationwide, and combining it with the technology...

Published Tue, Oct 26 2010 9:28 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: EHR, NHIN, John Moore, HIEs

Dear Mr. Smith.....

By DAVID DRANOVE John Smith of Chicago (not his real name) asked the following question in a recent letter to a local newspaper: “Over the last several years my annual deductible has increased from $500 to $2000…With higher rates, I... Read More...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2010 1:23 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: David Dranove, Health care costs

Fred Goes to Washington

By ROB LAMBERTS, MD Everyone must have sore butts from sitting on the edge of their seats while reading my previous episodes of “The Doctor is (Not Totally) In.” I am sorry if you are one of the sore butted... Read More...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2010 11:36 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Meaningful Use, Rob Lamberts

Suing the Right to Life ―While Playing the Lyre

By LUCAS RESTREPO, MD Last week, the fire department of a small town in Tennessee called South Fulton ignored the call of a man who needed help quelling a fire near his house. The firefighters declined lending a hand because... Read More...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2010 8:35 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: PPACA, Lucas Restrepo, Uninsured

Crossing the ROAD to Real Reform - or how American Medical Education can (or can't) meet the ACA's Call to Action

By ALI KHAN, MD, MPP “So, why didn’t I take the ROAD again?” It’s a question that I regularly hear from many of my co-residents in internal medicine – and no, we’re not questioning our travel routes to the hospital.... Read More...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2010 3:56 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: ACA, Ali Khan, Medical residents, Physician shortage