February 2011 - The Health Care Blog

Direct Project Implementations Take Flight

By RICH ELMORE and PAUL TUTEN The Direct Project has taken off, with the first-in-the-nation production use of the Direct Project for secure direct clinical messaging. Arien Malec, ONC’s Direct Project Coordinator, announced today that pilots in Minnesota...

Published Wed, Feb 02 2011 1:35 PM by The Health Care Blog

NJ ACO: A Sheep in PHYCORE Clothing

By SCOTT SHREEVE, MD I am on an email list of Bill DeMarco’s, a reputable industry insider who has written and consulted extensively in the physician group and medical management space. He recently sent me a note about several physician... Read More....

Published Wed, Feb 02 2011 3:54 PM by The Health Care Blog

It Hurts To A Point

By STEVE SANDERS, DO She sat straight up, gripping the arms of her chair as if by releasing them she might tumble forward on to the floor. “I’m tired of hurting,” were her first words to me as I entered... Read More...

Published Sat, Feb 05 2011 9:30 AM by The Health Care Blog

ACOs and Antitrust

By MERRILL GOOZNER Beyond the legal challenges, a major new hurdle is emerging for the health care reform law. Recent studies show that the major players in the health care marketplace – insurers, hospitals and physician practices – are consolidating...

Published Thu, Feb 03 2011 12:23 PM by The Health Care Blog

2011 Predictions: MU Goes Tactical, ACO Strategic

By JOHN MOORE In the Healthcare IT (HIT) market, 2010 was the year of meaningful use (MU). Healthcare organizations (HCOs) of all sizes developed plans, began making IT modifications and began adopting the technology they needed to meet Stage One... Read...

Published Thu, Feb 03 2011 4:45 AM by The Health Care Blog

What’s In a Word?

By MARK FRISSE, MD The “HIE” at HIMSS 2011 appears noticeably different than the “HIE” of HIMSS 2010 or 2009. HIE will be ubiquitous. It is not just a topic for a Sunday session any more. Of the 26 sessions listing HIE as a topic...

Published Tue, Feb 22 2011 10:55 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: HIEs, Front Page, HIMSS, Mark Frisse

I’m Dying To Know

By AMY BERMAN In some ways, I consider myself lucky. I know this is a strange comment from someone diagnosed with Stage IV *** cancer. I say this, though, because the first steps on my journey with end-stage cancer were undertaken with the help of a team...

Published Fri, Feb 18 2011 10:10 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Front Page, Amy Berman, Breast cancer

Personal health records: will doctors connect?

BY JANE SARASOHN-KAHN What doctors are most likely to use patients’ personal electronic health records? Fewer than 1 in 2 are willing to. Those who most likely would include Hispanic physicians, doctors who practice in rural areas, those employed in hospitals...

Published Sun, Feb 20 2011 9:34 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: HITECH, Physicians, PHRs, Front Page

The Individual Mandate: Another Look at the Penalty Trade-Off

By ROGER COLLIER Most of the recent attention on the 2010 health care reform legislation has focused on the individual mandate. After two federal court rulings upholding the mandate, a third federal judge—in Virginia—ruled that the Constitution does not...

Published Fri, Feb 18 2011 12:00 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Health Plans, Roger Collier, Penalties, Individual mandate

HIMSS11 Live: Meaningful Use

By NEIL VERSEL What can be said about “meaningful use” of electronic health records that hasn’t already been said? Actually, plenty, if the events leading up to Monday morning’s official opening of HIMSS11 are any indication. Last week, HIMSS honcho Steve...

Published Mon, Feb 21 2011 8:53 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: HIT, Front Page, HiMMS 11, Neil Versel

What Venture Capital Can Learn from Emerging Markets

By VIJAY GOVINDARAJAN and JUSTIN CHAKMA Venture capitalists are increasingly interested in emerging markets, and in working with local funds based in those markets (despite the fact that reverse innovation in venture capital seems counterintuitive). The...

Published Sun, Feb 20 2011 1:22 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Front Page

NIH and Drug Innovation

By MERRILL GOOZNER For most of the past decade, Democrats and Republicans in Congress have competed over who could pour more money into the National Institutes of Health, the largest funder of biomedical research in the world. But the party is over. The...

Published Mon, Feb 14 2011 4:51 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Merrill Goozner, Op-Ed, NIH, NEJM, Drug development

Robert Reich Connects the Dots

By JANE SARASOHN-KAHN “I’m not a class warrior. I’m a class worrier,” Robert Reich told a standing-room only crowd of thousands of health IT geeks as he delivered the first keynote address of the annual meeting of HIMSS, the Healthcare Information Management...

Published Tue, Feb 22 2011 9:37 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Medicare, Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, Front Page, Economy, Robert Reich, HIMSS

Cruel Shoes

By JOHN HENNING SCHUMANN, MD A thirtysomething friend of mine, let's call her Sally, started running last year in an effort to get in better shape. As often happens in these scenarios, Sally developed some foot pain. So she went... Read More...

Published Wed, Feb 09 2011 12:26 PM by The Health Care Blog

Where Doctors Locate

By JOHN GOODMAN, PhD Pop quiz. How many doctors are at the top of Mt. Everest? None, actually. Yet, think about how many people get sick up there. Think about how many die. Do you think extra bonus payments could... Read More...

Published Tue, Feb 08 2011 8:01 PM by The Health Care Blog