January 2015 - The Health Care Blog

How the Advent of Propofol Changed the Meaning of the term “Sedation”

By KAREN SIBERT, MD “Twilight! She has to have twilight,” insisted the adult daughter of my frail, 85-year-old patient. “She can’t have general anesthesia. She hasn’t been cleared for general anesthesia!” We were in the preoperative area of my hospital...

Published Sat, Jan 31 2015 5:52 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Propofol, Twilight, Anesthesia, General anesthesia

Tele Taking Off

By CECI CONNOLLY In Washington, sometimes the most significant developments quietly creep up on you. No epic debate or triumphant bill-signing ceremony, but rather a collection of seemingly small events begin to tip the scales. That’s what is happening...

Published Sat, Jan 31 2015 5:16 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Tech, Telehealth, Doctor on Demand App, Teledentistry, Anti-kickback laws, Ceci Connolly

You Owe Me a BMW

By ROBERT McNUTT, MD During a move necessitated 20+ years ago by my change from a “private practice of medicine” life to a “back to school” life, I decided to undertake the move on my own using a rented van. I also had to affix a small trailer packed...

Published Thu, Jan 29 2015 7:06 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Insurance, Outcomes, Pain Management, Evidence-based care

Medical Necessity and Unnecessary Care

By PAUL KECKLEY Unnecessary care that’s not evidence-based—usually associated with excess testing, surgical procedures or over-prescribing—accounts for up to 30% of what is spent in healthcare. In recent months, enforcement actions against physicians...

Published Thu, Jan 29 2015 6:53 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Medical Necessity, Unnecessary Care

A Tale of Two Sore Throats: On Retail Clinics and Urgent Care

By LESLIE KERNISAN, MD Six years ago, just after arriving in Baltimore for a winter conference, I fell sick with fever and a bad sore throat. After a night of feeling awful, I went looking for help. I found it at a Minute Clinic in a CVS near the hotel...

Published Wed, Jan 28 2015 9:11 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, urgent care, Retail Clinics, Strep throat, Leslie Kernisan, Longform, Practice Models

Meaningful Use Retreat Report

By MARTIN SAMUELS, MD I’m afraid that if we don’t drill down on our brand equity on the front end, we’ll have to model it out on the back end to align our incentives or pad our ask regarding the co-branding deliverables on the horizon...

Published Wed, Jan 28 2015 5:36 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Meaningful Use, MBA, Government, Marty Samuels

The Little Exchange that Could…Transform the U.S. Health Care System

By ROBERT S. RUDIN and JAYME FUGLESTEN What do the classic children’s’ book “The Little Engine that Could” and federal investment in health information exchanges have in common? More than you’d think. Much has been said about the fragmentation of the...

Published Wed, Jan 28 2015 3:32 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, HIEs, Rand

A Courageous First Step

By BOB KOCHER, MD AND FARZAD MOSTASHARI, MD Earlier today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced that HHS is doubling down on the historic shift taking place across the health care industry towards value-based care...

Published Mon, Jan 26 2015 10:09 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, HHS, ACO, Farzad Mostashari, Bob Kocher, Value-Based Medicine

Three Recommendations for President Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative

By SPENCER NAM One of the pleasantly surprising announcements President Obama made during his 2015 State of the Union address was “a new Precision Medicine Initiative to bring us closer to curing diseases like cancer and diabetes.” Given precision medicine...

Published Mon, Jan 26 2015 9:30 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Clayton Christensen Institute, Precision Medicine

HIT Newser: An Epic Loss for Cerner & GE + Google Glass Confusion

By MICHELLE RONAN NOTEBOOM An Epic Loss for Cerner and GE Mayo Clinic announces it will replace its existing Cerner and GE systems with Epic’s EHR and RCM system. The prestigious Mayo Clinic name and clinical reputation make the win especially sweet for...

Published Mon, Jan 26 2015 6:50 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, AMA, Meaningful Use, ONC, GE Healthcare, AAFP, Epic, Cerner, Pristine, NextGen, Augmedix, HITNewser, Orion Health, eClnicalWorks, EHR certification, Google Glass

Safe Doctors, Unsafe Patients: A Tale of Two Infections

By MICHAEL MILLENSON Call it a tale of two infections. It’s the story of how hospitals have blocked transmission of a dangerous infection that patients can give doctors, while a hospital-caused infection that can kill patients continues to be widely tolerated...

Published Sun, Jan 25 2015 2:26 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, AHRQ, CDC, CLABSI

What’s Next For Physician Compare?

By STEVE FINDLAY Of the many hidden gems in the Affordable Care Act, one of my favorites is Physician Compare. This website could end up being a game changer—holding doctors accountable for their care and giving consumers a new way to compare and choose...

Published Fri, Jan 23 2015 8:59 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB

Make Your Organization a HIMSS15 Standout!

In MARKETPLACE Don’t get lost amongst the 1,200+ exhibitors that will be fighting for the attention of 38,000 or so health IT professionals at next spring’s HIMSSconference. Make sure your brand is top-of-mind before the attendees descend on Chicago April...

Published Fri, Jan 23 2015 12:25 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Tech

Dump the Business Model

By JOE FLOWER There are no winners in the fee-for-service game. It’s time to toss the whole business-as-usual model — for your own good and the good of your customers. The emerging Default Model of health care — the “consumer-directed” insured fee-for...

Published Thu, Jan 22 2015 4:22 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Hospitals, business models, Fee-for-service, Consumer Directed, narrow networks, Providers

My World in 2015

By JACOB RIDER, MD I started my blog over 15 years ago. Yes – it’s been less active in recent years, and as I reflect on why I’ve been less active – only part of the reason is that I was working for a publicly traded company from...

Published Wed, Jan 21 2015 6:31 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, ONC, Khosla Ventures, Blogging, Jacob Reider, Innovation