I thought people should shop more for health care. Then I actually tried it.
Sarah Kliff in Vox
“Shopping for elective procedures is a key tenet of value-based healthcare. Give consumers the ability to see what a service costs at Hospital A vs. Facility B, the thinking goes, and they will choose the procedure that costs less money. Unfortunately, shopping on price alone doesn’t take into account quality or consumer experience — both of which are nearly impossible to measure and both of which play a major role in the buying process.” – Brian E.
A Tax-Cutting Move That Pfizer Can Hardly Resist
Jeff Sommer in The New York Times
“For the second time in one year, Pfizer is mulling a corporate inversion, a move which could greatly reduce its already modest tax outlays. This perfectly legal mechanism for reducing taxes has been used for decades but the patriotic implications are receiving more scrutiny than in the past. What is notable about this article — which deal almost exclusively with the accounting and moral implications or taxes — is the absence of any discussion of how reduced taxes are or are not being used to invest in development or to help improve U.S. healthcare.” – Brian M.
Insurer Blue Shield sues ex-executive who became nonprofit’s critic
Chad Terhune in The LA Times
“If you’re in the market for a good soap opera, turn your attention to Blue Shield of California. Over the last year, the state has moved to strip the insurer of its nonprofit status, one executive was terminated for improperly using his expense account to impress his Hollywood girlfriend (and making the tabloids in the process), and another executive left and immediately blew the whistle on the insurer, whose revenue and reserves rival that of a for-profit company. Now Blue Shield has struck back and filed a breach of complaint suit against the whistleblower, former public policy director Michael Johnson. Tune in next week for the latest installment of As the Insurer Turns…” – Brian E.
Google Medical Center Opens
Dr. V. Vek Morthee in GomerBlog
“At long last, we have a truly patient-centered medical center where patient directed care is paramount. Is this the shape of things to come?” – John
Wanted: and EHR ‘Evolution’
Jeff Rowe in HIMSS Future Care
“The best rap ever on EHRs. Had us in stitches here. Scroll down for the video.” – Jody
Difficile Est Primum Esse: How A Triple Whammy Undermined The Triple Aim
William Weeks, et al in Health Affairs Blog
“The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System is the latest to leave the Pioneer ACO program. In the grand scheme of things, Northern New England’s largest healthcare system was a victim of its own success — and of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ flawed approach to ACO incentives, which unfairly penalize accountable care organizations such as Dartmouth-Hitchcock that already had low costs and low utilization rates. If CMS doesn’t fix these flaws, Health Affairs argues, health systems won’t be encouraged to change their reimbursement models.” – Brian E.
IBM’s Design-Centered Strategy to Set Free the Squares
Steve Lohr in The New York Times
“Plenty of talk about patient-centered care, the inexplicable lack of good UX for EHRs and the list goes on. This article delves into IBM’s model to transform itself into a “design-driven organization”. What would happen to healthcare delivery if a similar model were applied?” – John
What’s Really Killing Digital Health Startups
John Sung Kim in TechCrunch
“On top of the hurdles that startup companies face, those trying to break into digital health face legacy vendors who have no interest in helping them. John Sung Kim, founder of DoctorBase (acquired by Kareo in March), writes of EHR vendors using strong-arm tactics such as labeling DoctorBase a “security threat” or telling provider clients that integrating the product with their EHR would cost several million dollars. If incumbent vendors continue to behave this way, he says, startups won’t be able to scale before their seed rounds dry out.” – Brian E.
EHRs Could Improve Quality of Care in ICUs
Heather Landi in Healthcare Informatics
“While the drumbeat of criticism of EHRs takes no pause, there is, every once in a while, a study that says that EHRs can help. This article talks about possible effects of critical care EHRs on both mortality and central line infections. At the same time, other quality indicators seems unchanged by the presence of EHRs. EHRs are not new to this venue and this data might really suggest how far the industry has to go before it is widely understood how best to use them.” – Brian M.
It’s East vs. West in healthcare tech
Mike Feibus in USA Today
“There are two flavors of innovation in healthcare technology, and where they originate is no coincidence. Tech-first firms congregate in Silicon Valley, while healthcare-first firms come from the East Coast, which is equally well-versed in the worlds of hospital and government regulation. Straddling the two worlds may feel like sitting on a barbed wire fence, as one (West Coast) health tech executive put it, but vendors have to grin and bear it if they want to drive change.” – Brian E.
State Medicaid Operations Survey: Fourth Annual Survey of Medicaid Directors (PDF)
Survey Results / Report
“The fourth annual survey of directors shows that the Medicaid program continues to “evolve, improve and innovate at a rapid pace.” For the first time though, implementing the ACA is the not their primary focus in 2016 and payment and delivery system reform is instead as Medicaid agencies move towards performance-based reimbursement models. High priorities for states include patient-centered medical homes, health homes, alignment of physical and behavioral health, super-utilizer programs and population health.” – Matt
Court to hear birth-control challenges (UPDATED)
Lyle Dennison in SCOTUS Blog
“For the fourth time in three years, the Supreme Court will rule on an aspect of PPACA. This time, the will consolidate 7 separate cases all having to do with religious objections to the Act’s birth control provisions. This blog overviews the issues and provides a little of the backstory surrounding this provision, arguably the most controversial specific issues in the Act. The hearing will take place late in March with a decision to follow later in 2016.” – Brian E.
US retail health clinics to double as focus shifts to clinical, including EHRs
Accenture ‘Insight Driven Health’
“Retail health clinics will continue to expand throughout the country and will increase by nearly 50 percent in the next two years, according to a new report from Accenture. It won’t be without friction though as retail clinics begin shifting to a clinical focus with more sophisticated services. Physicians surveyed were generally comfortable with patients seeking preventive care at the clinics but fewer than 40% endorsed using them for either primary care of long-term chronic condition management.” – Matt
Court to hear birth-control challenges (UPDATED)
Lyle Dennison in SCOTUS Blog
“For the fourth time in three years, the Supreme Court will rule on an aspect of PPACA. This time, the will consolidate 7 separate cases all having to do with religious objections to the Act’s birth control provisions. This blog overviews the issues and provides a little of the backstory surrounding this provision, arguably the most controversial specific issues in the Act. The hearing will take place late in March with a decision to follow later in 2016.” – Brian E.
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