November 2010 - The Health Care Blog

A Prevention Revolution

By SUSAN BLUMENTHAL, MD "I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure." These are the words of the Hippocratic Oath, an ancient vow that has been recited by physicians for centuries. However, with seven out......

Published Mon, Nov 08 2010 2:00 AM by The Health Care Blog

Unhealthy Skepticism

By JOHN MOORE There remains an unhealthy level of skepticism in the market as to whether or not consumers will use a personal health record (PHR). While a certain level of skepticism is healthy in any market, the level to... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 15 2010 4:53 AM by The Health Care Blog

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

Swamp Creature

By JEFF GOLDSMITH Many people forget that before Washington DC was our nation’s capital, it was a pestilential swamp, whose few hardy residents regularly succumbed to tropical diseases like malaria. It was virtually uninhabitable in the summer (some say...

Published Fri, Nov 05 2010 5:06 AM by The Health Care Blog

Wachter: Three Stories

By ROBERT WACHTER In my travels, I frequently hear short stories that help illuminate my work and world. Here are three recent examples; think of them as little health policy tapas. I recently spoke in a session with Peter Pronovost,... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 08 2010 5:15 AM by The Health Care Blog

Sharing the Buden

By RICHARD SLOAN Jessie has written about her perspective as the patient in an extremely stressful situation. I can add a different one: that of the husband of my seriously ill wife. As a public person, Jessie not only has... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 08 2010 4:45 AM by The Health Care Blog

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

The $6-an-Hour Health Minimum Wage

By JOHN GOODMAN The stunning election results will put even more pressure on Congress to deal with the economy and jobs when it reconvenes in mid-November. But as it turns out, one way to boost the economy is to reconsider... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 08 2010 3:45 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Costs, John Goodman, Health care costs, Employers

The Electronic Medical Home

By JOHN HALAMKA In previous blog posts, I've mentioned an idea deserves its own dedicated post. Over the weekend, I keynoted the eClinicalWorks National User's Conference in Florida. One of the attendees emailed me the following question: "I...

Published Thu, Nov 04 2010 5:30 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: John Halamka, Electronic Medical Home

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

S.M.A.R.T. Objectives: An Essential Step in Strategy Formulation

By MATT MODLESKI We are often asked to weigh in on organizational strategy when the proverbial “house is on fire” and a client’s business is experiencing challenges. Our first question to the CEO and his/her staff once we begin our... Read More...

Published Wed, Nov 17 2010 4:00 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: ACOs, Matt Modleski

Alzheimer's Disease: The $20 Trillion Enemy We Must Not Forget

By LISA SUENNEN In the last several weeks I lost my phone (recovered), my iPod (gone) and even a piece of jewelry (I am pretty sure the cat is guilty). I was at the airport when I couldn’t remember where... Read More...

Published Fri, Nov 12 2010 3:41 AM by The Health Care Blog

Physicians, Nurses and the Coming Transformation of our Health System

By GLENN LAFFEL Last week, we highlighted an unintended consequence of the Affordable Care Act: it will dramatically worsen an already gaping mismatch between the demand for and the supply of physician services in the US. Put simply, there aren’t... Read...

Published Thu, Nov 11 2010 5:40 AM by The Health Care Blog

Doctor Patient

By ROB LAMBERTS I did a little “self care” earlier this week. I did it by not caring for myself. I went to the doctor. I was sitting in the waiting area for my appointment and saw the mother of... Read More...

Published Wed, Nov 10 2010 1:00 PM by The Health Care Blog

EHRs in Surgical Practices

By JOHN HALAMKA I was recently asked to offer advice about implementing EHRs in surgical practices. Here are the lessons learned from our Massachusetts EHR rollout experts. 1) . Surgical practices are challenging in general because they frequently use...

Published Tue, Nov 16 2010 4:21 AM by The Health Care Blog