November 2010 - The Health Care Blog

Friends, with Benefits

By JONATHAN BUSH What if one doctor could “friend” or “link in” with another for the purpose of patient exchange? Today when we hear people talk about clinical integration, they’re talking about financial integration…literally owning every stage of the...

Published Tue, Nov 30 2010 4:12 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Physicians, Jonathan Bush, HIEs

The Cost of Success

By ROB LAMBERTS, MD For those of you who didn’t know, I entered the National Novel Writing Month “contest” (which has no winners). I got to the goal of 50,000 words yesterday. One of the main questions that is asked... Read More...

Published Tue, Nov 30 2010 12:13 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Physicians, Patients, Rob Lamberts

The preview of the Health 2.0 Accelerator Apps Network is now available on video

At the Fall 2010 Health 2.0 Conference seven companies demonstrate composite applications to connect and support patients, caregivers and providers. San Francisco, November 10, 2010 - The preview of the Health 2.0 Accelerator Apps Network is now available...

Published Tue, Nov 30 2010 10:40 AM by The Health Care Blog

From Pain to Poverty

By STEVE SANDERS “What am I going to do now Doc?” asked Mike, a down on his luck, 29 year–old recently unemployed truck driver, as he handed me his hospital bill. Mike was seen at our local emergency department on... Read More...

Published Tue, Nov 30 2010 7:07 AM by The Health Care Blog

The Libertarian Mind

By RONALD PIES, MD “It is an eternal obligation toward the human being not to let him suffer from hunger when one has a chance of coming to his assistance.” –Simone Weil Libertarianism is much in the news these days,... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 29 2010 11:54 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: health care reform, Libertarian, Ronald Pies

Is This Normal?

By PAUL LEVY This is a story about consumer choice using publicly available information. Unfortunately, it is also about the power of suggestion as used by an incumbent provider organization. The friend who sent me this note is a research... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 29 2010 7:39 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Patients, Health Plans, Paul Levy

Healthcare Messages Over the Internet: The Direct Project

By BRIAN AHIER, RICH ELMORE and DAVID C. KIBBE The Direct Project announced today the completion of its open-source connectivity-enabling software and the start of a series of pilots that will be demonstrating directed secure messaging for healthcare...

Published Mon, Nov 29 2010 3:42 AM by The Health Care Blog

The Bond Markets and Health Care Financing

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI When will the Congress and the White House finally make the hard decisions in order come to grips with the federal deficit problem? When will we finally deal with real health care reform and get the entitlements,... Read More...

Published Sun, Nov 28 2010 11:00 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Robert Laszewski, Policy/Politics, Health care costs

Could It Be That Patients Aren’t Any Safer?

By ROBERT WACHTER, MD On the occasion of last year’s tenth anniversary of the IOM Report on medical mistakes, I was asked one question far more than any other: after all this effort, are patients any safer today than they... Read More...

Published Fri, Nov 26 2010 5:49 AM by The Health Care Blog

Thanks Giving

By ROB LAMBERTS Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Christmas is great, but the commercialization of it has largely spoiled it. Thanksgiving seems to be the one holiday that has remained as it was when I was young: a time... Read More...

Published Fri, Nov 26 2010 5:08 AM by The Health Care Blog

Engage with Grace at Thanksgiving

Since 2008 THCB has featured Engage with Grace at Thanksgving. We invite everyone to post this to their blog or Facebook page, and to link here with their status update. You can download a "blog ready" html version of this... Read More...

Published Thu, Nov 25 2010 3:47 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Matthew Holt

The Too Informed Patient

The Too Informed Patient from Marketplace on Vimeo. Produced by Gregory Warner and Mara Zepeda. Created by Sebastienne Mundheim ofWhite Box Theatre, acted by Charles DelMarcelle and Doug Greene, and voiced by two actors from Philadelphia’s Pig Iron Theatre...

Published Wed, Nov 24 2010 4:15 PM by The Health Care Blog

Online Health Data in Employers’ and Insurers’ Predictive Analytics

By FRANK PASQUALE Did you know that buying generics instead of brands could hurt your credit? Or that a subscription to Hang Gliding Monthly could scare off life insurers? Or that certain employers’ access to electronic health records could lead... Read...

Published Wed, Nov 24 2010 1:06 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Consumers, Frank Pasquale, Online Health Data

The Doctor will Sync You Now

By MARKUS POHL Takeaway: mHealth developers expect the importance of app stores to diminish. mHealth apps will predominantly be distributed through traditional healthcare channels by 2015. Our firm, Berlin-based research2guidance, conducted a global mHealth...

Published Wed, Nov 24 2010 8:30 AM by The Health Care Blog

The MLR Rules - About as Valuable as Taking Your Shoes Off at the Airport

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI This whole medical loss ratio (MLR) provision in the new health care law is a fool’s errand. When it comes to controlling health care costs it is about as productive as taking your shoes off at the... Read More...

Published Tue, Nov 23 2010 9:12 AM by The Health Care Blog