3 Implications in Death of MU
John Moore for Chilmark Research
“We don’t typically share our own content, but ending MU was probably the biggest health IT related announcement this week, and if you haven’t yet seen our implications post, it’s worth the <10 minutes it will take to read it. – John 3
Physician Response to Patient Request for Unnecessary Care
Sapna Kaul, et al. in AJMC
“More than half of physicians cave in to patient demands for unnecessary patient care, according to a survey published in the American Journal of Managed Care. Nearly 40 percent also prescribe name-brand drugs when a generic would do. Left unanswered, unfortunately, is the question of how to get such practices to stop. Less interference from drug makers? Protection from malpractice? Better decision support or patient education?” – Brian E.
CIOs target population health, patient engagement in 2016
Mike Miliard for Healthcare IT News
“Nice look here into the Provider CIO’s mind with regards to investing in health IT in 2016. A lot of commentary on the state of deployed EHRs as well as yet to be installed tools for care coordination and PHM. Vendors will be expected to demo and price their solutions quickly – as well as work more in-sync with existing vendors on site. Providers have gotten past the stage of not knowing what they want and need. Whether or not this translates to a shorter sales cycle remains to be seen.” – Naveen
Setting hospital prices by ballot question
John E. McDonough in CommonWealth Magazine
“Disparities in payment to hospitals for the same service raise a host of issues and are driving a number of different responses by stakeholders. Here in Massachusetts, a union is sponsoring legislation and a ballot initiative widely seen as an effort to pare back the premium commanded by the state’s largest hospital, Partners Healthcare. This proposal has been received in eerie silence by a number of Partners critics — silence seen as tacit endorsement.” – Brian M.
In Nursing Homes, Deaths are Shrouded in Secrecy and Silence
Bob Tedeschi for STAT
“The VA does this so well that it really is a model for the rest of the healthcare system. When residents of a nursing home die, the civilian world tries to shield it from survivors. The VA honors the decedent and survivors.” – Brian M.
‘Competitors by day, colleagues by night’: How population health is sparking change in hospitals’ strategy
Shannon Barnet for Becker’s Hospital Review
“One of the oft-neglected areas for IT executives is the Medicaid market. This article shows how some opportunities are washing ashore, state-by-state, on the tide of value-based care. Specific waivers and funding streams are usually tied to mandated investments in population health management, or requirements to share data and coordinate care with other community hospitals. A nice series of examples in here of how some health systems are responding – and how IT vendors might get involved.” – Naveen
Obamacare Insurers Sweeten Plans With Free Doctor Visits
Phil Galewitz for Kaiser Health News
“Consumers conscious of only short-term health costs often forego basic care, only to subsequently develop a serious condition. To combat this troubling trend, a number of insurers operating in low-income markets now offer free primary care visits. The aim, as with so much preventive care, is to identify illnesses before they become difficult and expensive to treat. Here’s to hoping more insurers catch on to the idea.” – Brian E.
2016 is the Breakout Year for mHealth: Savings vs. Value
Dr. Jaan Sidorov for The Population Health Blog
“Before you pooh pooh mHealth as a fad or a failure, take a look at this piece by Dr. Jaan Sidorov. He argues that this will be a breakout year for mobile health. While we think that may prove to be a bit of an exaggeration, his points are valid and original. Some nuggets that we jotted down: consumers will be exposed to costs under employer cost-sharing plans and health plan premiums, and realize that free (or cheap) apps really are worth while. HCO’s, particularly payers, will realize that apps amount to scalable engagement platforms (if they’re consumer-driven, in the spirit of uber or yelp). The big question is, which apps will (and can) emerge as the peoples’ choice in the array of fragmented, localized markets that comprise the US healthcare system?” – Naveen
The Triumph of Email
Mike Reddy for The Atlantic
“This article describes the rise and fall and resurgence of email. Slack and the host of other popular services have partially unseated email in offices everywhere. But notification hell is helping people see the value of the more streamlined version of email to be had on their phones. The article asks what comes after email and the answer is nothing.” – Brian M.
Telemedicine kiosk-maker HealthSpot shuts down
Neil Versel for Medcity News
“We were disappointed to see this news. HealthSpot, a telehealth company who had partnerships with the Cleveland Clinic and Rite Aid, has shut down. Their approach was unique in terms of their technology (interoperable back end to create a unified record), their deployments in Rite Aid kiosks to help Medicaid populations, and their “train the provider” approach with end users. We are hoping this was just a business failing and that it doesn’t speak to the viability of their approach.” – Naveen
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