December 2014 - The Health Care Blog

Healthcare.gov? Go to the Back of the Line!!!

ACA DATABASE Aardvark in North Carolina writes: On the Healthcare.gov web site I was filling the application – an arduous process that – even when pre-filled from last year, takes 30 – 45 minutes. At the review and sign, I found ONE...

Published Mon, Dec 01 2014 11:13 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, ACA, Design, ACA Database, Healthcare.gov, Edit Button, glitches

Marketplace: Digital Health Maven Growth Salon NYC

In MARKETPLACE Have You Ever Attended a Digital Health Event Specially Designed to Meet YOUR Needs? Now You Can On December 12, attend an intimate New York City event designed to focus on your unique strategic, business, relationship and knowledge needs...

Published Wed, Dec 03 2014 3:29 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, THCB Marketplace, Events, Digital Health Maven

Paper EOBs? Please Make Them Stop!

ACA Database This one is important. Maggie writes in to ask: When I had Premera Blue Cross (Washington state), I could opt-out of receiving paper EOBs. I received a email when an EOB was available and I viewed it online. Now I have MA BC/BS, and I do...

Published Fri, Dec 05 2014 9:35 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, ACA Database, EOBs, BC/BS, Paper, Digital

HIT Newser: Massachusetts Modifies Meaningful Use Mandate

By MICHELLE NOTEBOOM New Life for ACOs CMS announces that 89 new organizations were selected to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings program, bringing the total number of participating ACOs to 424. The announcement comes on the heels of a recently...

Published Tue, Dec 30 2014 4:35 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Meaningful Use, Massachusetts, ACOs, Total Child Health

Flu Report: Providers Prescribing Antivirals at Higher Rate

By IYOUE SUNG Earlier this week, we reported on the current rates of influenza-like illness (ILI), based on data from roughly one million patient visits on the athenahealth network. That report showed a steep increase in ILI rates for the week ending...

Published Fri, Dec 19 2014 12:23 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Data, ILI, athenahealth, Antiviral, Influenza, H3N2

A User Interface Is Like a Joke

By THCBist HAT TIP: @Bob_Watchter, @Rosskopel Read More...

Published Mon, Dec 22 2014 4:52 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Health IT

HIT Newser: Appalling Meaningful Use Penalties

By MICHELLE RONAN NOTEBOOM Omnibus Bill Impacts HIT The 2015 federal budget includes about $60.4 million for the ONC, which is less than the $75 million requested and on par with the 2014 budget. Congress allocated an additional $38.8 million to the HHS...

Published Tue, Dec 23 2014 12:01 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, AMA, Meaningful Use, CMS, HIT Newser

Rediscovering Medical Professionalism

By MARTIN SAMUELS, MD I am a doctor today because of Dr. J.W. Epstein, my pediatrician in Cleveland in the 1950s. An immigrant from the Nazi terror in Europe, he had trained in Vienna and spoke English with a Germanic accent. His house calls are etched...

Published Fri, Dec 26 2014 9:50 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Martin Samuels

Stories You Won’t Read In 2015

By PAUL KECKLEY The headlines and their storylines that you’re not likely to read in 2015: Physicians optimistic about their future. They’re wildly enthusiastic about the mandate to use electronic medical records to coordinate patient care more...

Published Mon, Dec 29 2014 10:46 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Affordable Care Act, Regulation, Crystal Ball, Prognistifications, Paul Keckley, 2015

2014 A Healthcare Odyssey

By SAURABH JHA, MD It might have been the best of times. It could have been the worst of times. But 2014 turned out to be the most mediocre of times. Here’s a recap. Why did Sebelius resign? Never make a promise to your kids that you can’t keep. And never...

Published Tue, Dec 30 2014 11:25 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Medicaid, Jonathan Bush, Sebelius, Halbig et al v. Sebelius, Ebola, Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, Speak-o

CVS Health: Making Health More Affordable

BROUGHT TO YOU BY CVS HEALTH More people are getting coverage…but there’s a shortage of doctors. So CVS Health is making health more affordable and accessible. With over 900 MinuteClinic locations for walk-in medical care, open nights and weekends. Read...

Published Thu, Dec 18 2014 3:27 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB

The Pseudoscience of Quality Improvement

By Karen Siebel, MD No one wants a hospital-acquired infection—a wound infection, a central line infection, or any other kind. But today, the level of concern in American hospitals about infection rates has reached a new peak—better termed paranoia than...

Published Sun, Dec 07 2014 8:41 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Quality, Nurses, Doctors, Infection Prevention, Rules, JCAHO, Hygiene hypothesis, OR, iPads, iPods, Hand washing

The Anti-Hypocrisy Rule

By MARTIN SAMUELS, MD Pundits abound when it comes to health care plans. They come from many different backgrounds: conservatives, liberals, academics, business people, doctors, politicians and more often all the time various combinations of these. But...

Published Wed, Dec 10 2014 2:03 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Health policy, Pundits, Disclosure, Punditry, Canada, Punditocracy

Starvation: The Cure For the Obesity Epidemic. Or Will Esther Dyson Be My Next Mother-In-Law?

By MARTY FELSENTHAL I was enjoying drinks last week with Jody Holtzman (AARP), Terry Booker (IBC), and Doug Ghertner (change:healthcare) at a wonderful conference sponsored by Oliver Wyman. Jody was waxing eloquent about how every start-up needs a strategy...

Published Fri, Dec 12 2014 2:40 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Obesity, Esther Dyson, Geriatrics, Humor Not Legitimate Policy Proposals (HNLPP), AARP

Sony Hack Reveals Health Details on Employees and Their Children

By DEBORAH PEEL, MD On top of everything else, the Sony data breach revealed employees’ sensitive health information: Top Sony executives saw lists of named employees who had costly medical treatments and saw detailed psychiatric treatment records of...

Published Sun, Dec 14 2014 10:25 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Sony, health information, Patient Privacy Rights, Trusted Relationships