The Health Care Blog

Why CMIOs Matter, and Why We Hired One

By JONATHAN BUSH On Monday morning, April 4, we were proud to announce that Dr. Todd Rothenhaus has come onboard here at athenahealth to serve in the role of chief medical information officer, or CMIO. It’s a new position and we’re excited he’s joined...

Published Sun, Apr 10 2011 3:18 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: EHR, THCB, Jonathan Bush, CMIO, EMR

To the Barricades!

By DAVID DRANOVE Last week, Republican Congressman Paul Ryan unveiled his plan to save Medicare and Medicaid. Supporters hailed the plan as revolutionary; critics decried the plan as revolutionary. For something so revolutionary, it sure is based on some...

Published Mon, Apr 11 2011 1:51 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Medicare, David Dranove, Paul Ryan

Interview: ICA

It’s video week on THCB! We’ve overcome some technical difficulties with videos, so for the next couple of days we are getting caught up on our queue with some great interviews from companies who attended HIMSS in February or World Health...

Published Thu, Apr 21 2011 1:30 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Tech, HIMSS 2011, ICA

Primary Care Revolt: Replace the RUC

By RICHARD REECE, MD An under-the-radar revolution is going on out there. It is a revolt of primary care physicians against the AMA and CMS. It is a request for parity with specialists. It is a movement to replace how primary care practitioners are paid...

Published Thu, Apr 21 2011 7:56 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Physicians, primary care, AMA, CMS, RUC, Richard Reece, specialists

Interview: Health Dialog

It’s the end of video week on THCB! Following fixing some technical difficulties doing videos we’re putting a whole lot more up and showing some great interviews from companies who attended HIMSS or World Health Care Congress. Matthew Holt...

Published Fri, Apr 22 2011 1:10 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, WHCC, Health Dialog

Finding A Path Through The Health Insurance Market ‘Gobbledygook’

By LISA W. DREW My ZIP code is a black hole for individual health insurance. That’s what I recently discovered when I tried to find the coverage I want at an affordable price. What hubris I had. My story started in 2009, when my position as a journalism...

Published Sat, Apr 23 2011 9:34 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB

Who Gets Autism?

By NEUROSKEPTIC The paper is from Leonard et al and it’s published in PLoS ONE, so it’s open access if you want to take a peek. The authors used a database system in the state of Western Australia which allowed them to find out what happened...

Published Mon, Apr 25 2011 12:10 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Autism

A Modest Proposal: What If All Specialty Procedures Were Coded with 4 CPT Codes?

By PAUL FISCHER, MD In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Barbara Levy, Chairwoman of the Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC), commented on the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) decision to have minimal primary care participation on the...

Published Tue, Apr 26 2011 10:00 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, AMA, RUC, Coding

Ten Rules for Health Care Organizations Interested in Using Social Media

By JAAN SIDOROV, MD Include social media like ”Facebook” or “Twitter” in health care business plan, and you’ll probably prompt glazed looks from the average health care administrator. Those who recognize the terms will want...

Published Thu, May 05 2011 5:01 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Social Media, Facebook, Jaan Sidorov, Healthcare organizations, Twitter

How Many Diseases Does It Take?

By MARYA ZILBERBERG, MD It is not a secret that I dislike tobacco companies. Intensely. I do not see the point of allowing them to sell a product whose value is all in the negative. I am appalled that we are looking for expensive ways to diminish lung...

Published Fri, May 06 2011 8:54 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Marya Zilberberg, Free will, Lung cancer, Personal responsibility, Societal responsibility

What If You Give a Party and No One Comes?

By PAUL LEVY Here is a short update on a post I put up about a month ago about CMS’ proposed regulations for setting up Accountable Care Organizations. The ACO proposal calls for shared savings and other incentives for providers, with a transition...

Published Mon, May 09 2011 8:35 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Paul Levy, ACOs, CMS regulations

Outrage is Easy. Solutions are Hard.

By MERRILL GOOZNER The inspector general of HHS reported this week that nearly half of the anti-psychotic drugs fed to the demented elderly in nursing homes are inappropriately prescribed. That’s about one in fourteen nursing home residents. Forget about...

Published Tue, May 10 2011 4:42 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, HHS, Nursing Homes

Maybe there really is mobile health after all

OK, I’m kidding–but Ford Motor Co is excited enough about its new collaboration with WellDoc that it wanted to fly me to Detroit to take a look at it. (I declined–perhaps they should move their headquarters to San Tropez). Welldoc is...

Published Wed, May 18 2011 2:36 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Health 2.0, Matthew Holt, micro

The System Firsthand

By BRAD FLANSBAUM, DO Grandma is 93. The matriarch of my family is in worsening health, and her decline is difficult to observe. We all experience the travails of the US health care system at some point, and in my family’s case, ours is no exception....

Published Thu, May 19 2011 10:09 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Geriatric, BOOST, Brad Flansbaum, Relocation trauma

Health 2.0 Pavilion @ Maker Faire Bay Area THIS WEEKEND

By MATTHEW HOLT Maker Faire Bay Area is the worlds biggest DIY and tinkerers festival–at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds (about 20 mins south of San Francisco). I’ve heard it called a cross between the Home Depot & Burning Man. And this...

Published Sat, May 21 2011 10:45 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: THCB, Health 2.0

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