November 2010 - 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

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 Conservative Way Forward on Health Care

By RICHARD AMERLING The landslide Republican victory, in taking the House and electing some strong conservatives to the Senate, can be interpreted as a mandate to rein in government spending, and specifically to repeal ObamaCare, as these issues were...

Published Mon, Nov 22 2010 1:25 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Physicians, health care reform, Richard Amerling

The Congressional Shift and Health IT

By JUSTIN BARNES Following the shift to a Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, the pre- and post-election focus of GOP leaders on repealing all or parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) have led... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 22 2010 5:40 AM by The Health Care Blog

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

Saving the Good in Healthcare Reform

By JANE ORIENT, MD Some have suggested piecemeal repeal of the most obnoxious features of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The risk of this approach is comparable to that in cancer surgery: you might not get it all. In 906... Read More...

Published Thu, Nov 18 2010 5:40 AM by 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

The Fine Print

By MARGALIT GUR-ARIE Last week the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) released a position paper titled “Challenges in ethics, safety, best practices, and oversight regarding HIT vendors, their customers, and patients: a report of an AMIA...

Published Fri, Nov 19 2010 2:00 AM 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

The Road to Repeal?

By RICHARD REECE, MD Emboldened by their victory in the Midterms, many Republicans are calling for repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). How likely is it that we'll see changes any time soon? Probably not very.... Read...

Published Sat, Nov 13 2010 6:10 PM by The Health Care Blog

Hub's List

By HERBERT MATHEWSON, MD CELL PHONES DON’T CAUSE CANCER- (1) Despite ample scientific evidence to the contrary much buzz continues about cell phone usage causing brain cancer. Why is that ? A recent review in Scientific American magazine points out.....

Published Tue, Nov 16 2010 3:00 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: evidenced-based medicine, Herbert Mathewson

Biotech Grant Funding: Are a Few Crumbs Better Than No Crumbs At All?

By GLENN LAFFEL After assuming control of the House in the mid-term elections, Republicans vowed to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act, the health reform law signed by the Big O last March. Thank heavens therefore, that the Boehners were too... Read More...

Published Thu, Nov 18 2010 6:14 AM by The Health Care Blog

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

THCB Healthcare Marketplace

The OptumHealth Culture of Health Institute is hosting a webinar that explores how employers can boost employee participation in wellness programs by adopting marketing strategies used by top consumer retail companies. This event will feature Rohit Kichlu...

Published Tue, Nov 09 2010 5:00 AM by The Health Care Blog

An issue, guaranteed

By PAUL LEVY I don't mean this in a partisan way, but it is really distressing to read this New York Times article about Republican plans to dismantle parts of the recent health care bill by using the appropriation powers... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 08 2010 3:48 PM by The Health Care Blog