November 2010 - The Health Care Blog

The Seduction of Primary Care

By ROB LAMBERTS, MD Hey there, big, smart, good-looking doctor…. Are you tired of being snubbed at all the parties? Are you tired of those mean old specialists having all of the fun? I have something for you, something that... Read More...

Published Thu, Nov 18 2010 9:39 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Physicians, Rob Lamberts

Announcing the Health 2.0 2011 Conference Schedule!

By Bianca Grogan We are happy to announce our exciting conference schedule for 2011! Our Spring Fling conference will be held in San Diego on March 21-22. This event will focus on three themes where Health 2.0 can make a... Read More...

Published Fri, Nov 19 2010 12:01 PM by The Health Care Blog

The Penguin Problem

By VINCE KURAITIS Remember the penguin problem described by economists? No one moves unless everyone moves, so no one moves. Overcoming the penguin problem has a lot to do with creating expectations. A recent writing by Dr. James O’Connor in... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 22 2010 1:37 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: EHR, Physicians, Vince Kuraitis

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

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

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

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

Companies Clearly Won’t Stop Hiking Health Care Coverage Premiums

By STEPHEN KRUPA As employees participate in open enrollment for their company’s health insurance enrollment next year, it’s clear they should make a point of participating in their employer’s enrollment information meetings, not merely pick last year...

Published Mon, Nov 01 2010 5:06 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Health insurance, Stephen Krupa

Dimantling the Cottage Industry

By MARGALIT GUR-ARIE Last week I went to see a doctor about an EHR. Dr. Greene (not his real name) is a typical solo primary care physician in a typical small town in the typical middle of nowhere. Four hours... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 01 2010 12:45 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: EHR, Physicians, Margalit Gur-Arie, Private practice

Impact Cancer While On A Beach in Hawaii

By Bianca Grogan Did you know? Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. A third of cancers could be cured if detected early and treated adequately. More than 30% of cancers can be prevented. Prevention is an important method... Read More...

Published Tue, Nov 02 2010 5:13 PM by The Health Care Blog

The Republican Landslide and the Affordable Care Act

By GLEN LAFFEL After their resounding triumph in yesterday’s midterm elections, House Republicans will likely act on their promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the health reform bill President Obama signed into law last March. Their efforts could...

Published Wed, Nov 03 2010 3:15 PM by The Health Care Blog

Eric Dishman talks about Intel in health

By Matthew Holt Eric Dishman has been working with a big team at Intel on the use of technology to help seniors and patients age in place. It's been a long-ish road for Eric but in the last few years... Read More...

Published Thu, Nov 04 2010 11:59 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Technology, Health 2.0, Matthew Holt, Policy, Consumers

The Swing to the Right: The Election and It's Effects On Health Reform

By DAVID HARLOW Like Tom Friedman, who lampooned some of this year's unreasonable campaign rhetoric in a recent column, I too would be in favor of reality-based political campaigns ... but that seemed to be too much to ask for... Read More...

Published Sat, Nov 06 2010 8:08 AM by The Health Care Blog

Health Care and the 2010 Midterms

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI The election has given us a Republican House and a still Democratic controlled Senate. But, instead of Democrats having the 60 Senators they had when health care was passed in December, they will have a slim majority... Read More....

Published Mon, Nov 08 2010 3:56 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Robert Laszewski, Policy/Politics, health care reform

HIT Trends Summary for October 2010

By MICHAEL LAKE This is a summary of the HIT Trends Report for October 2010. You can get the current issue or subscribe here. The evolving health information exchange market. The HIE segment was center-stage this month with a game-changing... Read More...

Published Wed, Nov 10 2010 7:49 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: HIT, EHR, Comparative Effectiveness Research, HIEs