March 2015 - The Health Care Blog

King v. Burwell: Will the Supreme Court Save the Republican Party from Itself?

By GARY L. KAPLAN Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the most recent and pernicious attack on the Affordable Care Act – aka Obamacare. In the absence of a dysfunctional Congress, the case would be beneath the dignity of Court: it addresses...

Published Thu, Mar 12 2015 7:21 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Obamacare, GOP, Exchanges, SCOTUS, King v Burwell

Apple’s ResearchKit is Not (Yet) Ready For Primetime – But Soon? A Medical Researcher’s Perspective

By PHILIP JONES, MD I am a clinician and a clinical trialist. Medical research in some form or another (performing it, consuming it, reviewing it, editing it, etc.) occupies much of my time. Therefore, you can imagine my excitement while watching Apple...

Published Thu, Mar 12 2015 12:14 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Clinical Trials, Apple, iPhone, Big Data, ResearchKit, Attrition bias, Observer Bias, Asthma

Validic meets Cerner–Drew Schiller speaks

By MATTHEW HOLT Validic is one of the more interesting companies in what we define as the “data utility layer.” They’ve had a bit of a meteoric rise in the past 2 years, and now have over 45 employees, over 90 customers and are now one...

Published Thu, Mar 12 2015 11:37 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Health 2.0

Apple Research Kit is Open Source But Is It “Open”?

By VINCE KURAITIS For now, the answer is “we don’t know”. But… the question is very important and worth tracking over the coming months. Let’s not assume that open source will equate to “open”. What is ResearchKit? Apple’s press release provided an overview...

Published Thu, Mar 12 2015 8:18 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Open Source, iPhone, Android, Control points, ResearchKit, Attrition bias, iWatch

Do Value-Based Payments Lead to Higher Doctor-Satisfaction Scores?

By JACK COCHRAN, MD and CHARLES KENNEY Recently we wrote a blog post promoting the benefits of shifting from fee-for-service to value-based payments. We praised the recent decision by leaders at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to...

Published Wed, Mar 11 2015 1:43 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Jack Cochran, Charles Kenney, Doctor-Satisfaction Scores, Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute, value-based care

This isn’t what we meant when we said “Like Uber For Doctors”

DEPARTMENT OF WHAT? HAT TIP: Josh Gray Read More...

Published Wed, Mar 11 2015 9:26 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Department of What?

Value-Based Health

By CYNDY NAYER In recent weeks, the market has reacted to a few noteworthy headlines, all involved with or touching upon value-based discretionary actions, and many with the not-so-hidden question: What’s In It for Me or WIIFM? CMS announced that by 2016...

Published Wed, Mar 11 2015 4:44 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Outcomes, Incentives, ACO, Value-based health reform, Health Value Continuum, Value-based healthcare

From Google to New Reimbursement Models, Digital Health Trends for 2015

By RYAN BECKLAND There is no question that 2014 was an exciting and eventful year for digital health. Even with all of the advancements and innovations in 2014, this year promises to be even better. The growth in business cases for new models of healthcare...

Published Tue, Mar 10 2015 4:55 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Telemedicine, Tracking, Wearables, 2015 Predictions, Ryan Beckland

Livongo–update on the “new diabetes meter experience”

By MATTHEW HOLT I spent a day in Chicago last week and caught up with Stephanie Kowalski from Livongo. This is the company that has a very cool new blood glucose meter, with cloud communication, and a careteam and coaching function built in. The CEO is...

Published Tue, Mar 10 2015 4:40 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Health 2.0, Glen Tullman, Stephanie Kowalski, livonogo

HIT Newser: What’s the ICD-10 Contingency Plan?

By MICHELLE RONAN NOTEBOOM AMA: What’s the ICD-10 Contingency Plan? The AMA and about 100 other physician groups urge CMS to develop an ICD-10 contingency plan in the event of a “catastrophic” backlog following the October 1 transition. The organizations...

Published Mon, Mar 09 2015 11:20 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: EHR, Uncategorized, Cerner, ICD-10, HIT Newser, NextGen, health information exchange, Corepoint Health, Caradigm

Why Data Handoffs Matter

By JORDAN SHLAIN, MD Chief information officers (CIOs) and chief medical information officers (CMIOs) have spent the better part of two decades on a quest for interoperability; yet, their Achilles heel lies in the “information” part of their titles. If...

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

Filed under: THCB, Quality, Data, Medical Claims, Data Handoffs, Cost

THCB Corporate Supporter

THCB Thanks Read More...

Published Mon, Mar 09 2015 10:03 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Corepoint Health, Corporate Supporters, Interface

Does the ACA Actually Mandate Free Checkups?

By CHRISTIAN GLASON “Where in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) does it mandate that every health insurance policy must include a free annual checkup?” I posed this question to Al Lewis and Vik Khanna in the comments of their recent post entitled: The High...

Published Sun, Mar 08 2015 8:29 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, prevention, Wellness, Al Lewis, Vik Khanna, Check Up, Ezekial Emanuel

When Good Patient Engagement Goes Bad

By HOLLY KORDA The rush to implement patient portals to meet Meaningful Use Stage 2 deadlines has focused most attention on getting the technology up and running, and convincing patients and providers to move to shared communication online. Hospitals...

Published Sun, Mar 08 2015 4:05 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB

Race, Ethnicity and Patient Engagement

By MICHAEL MILLENSON A few years ago, I was upgraded to First Class on a flight from California back to Chicago. Not long after I settled in, a tall, muscular man easily four inches taller than me walked up to my aisle seat in the first row and prepared...

Published Sat, Mar 07 2015 7:43 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Michael Millenson, patient engagement, Unmentionables, Digital Divide, Race, Ethnicity