It has become an article of faith in some health policy circles over the past 20 years that the "solution" for our health care system's woes is to make us better health care consumers -- the so-called consumer-driven movement. After all, we've known for at least forty years that increased cost-sharing does influence how much health care we consume, so, in theory, higher deductibles and coinsurance, plus better cost/quality information, should give us the right incentives to shop. Most health care professionals are equally convinced patients aren't, and are never going to be, "consumers" in any meaningful sense. Health care is too scary, relies on too much specialized information, and is too often "consumed" at times when we are least able to make thoughtful decisions...
healthcare costs
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ONC's Goals For MU Stage 3 In 6 Charts
The Office of the National Coordinator is already starting to design the third phase of meaningful use — with a dual focus on functionality and healthcare outcomes. Read More »
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Oncologists Call For Single Payer In Leading Cancer Journal
A feature article published today in the Journal of Oncology Practice contains an evidence-based appeal by two oncologists, including a past president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), for their colleagues to endorse a single-payer health system. Read More »
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One Year After SCOTUS, Health Law Is Even More Complex
It's been a year since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld most of Affordable Care Act, and by now the law’s critics and opponents can probably rest assured that the individual mandate set no precedent for the federal government to require American citizens to eat broccoli. Read More »
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Open Access And Scientific Breakthroughs
A few days ago, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article by Peter Suber and Darius Cuplinskas, daringly entitled “Open Access to Scientific Research Can Save Lives”. It relates the case of 15 year-old Jack Andraka, who recently announced he had invented a diagnostic test for pancreatic cancer. Read More »
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Open Letter From A Small EMR Vendor To Our Customers And Our Friends In Washington
ComChart EMR will continued to be certified as a Complete EMR for Stage I Meaningful Use. Unfortunately, we will not be able to meet the Stage 2 (or greater) Meaningful Use certification requirements as these requirements are technically extremely difficult to implement. [...] Read More »
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OSEHRA: The Coming Health Care Singularity
Healthcare singularity is now on the horizon and will happen rapidly as patients and physicians begin to interact outside the institutional EHR context.
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Patients Are Not Consumers...But Who Is?
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PCMH Program Yields $155 Million In Avoided Costs
A patient-centered medical home (PCMH) program operated by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has saved an estimated $155 million in prevented claims over its first three years through June 2011. Read More »
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Pentagon Spent Over $4 Billion On Mental Health Treatment Between 2007 And 2012
The Congressional Research Service just put a price tag on the mental health costs of the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq: about $4.5 billion between 2007 and 2012. The Defense Department spent $958 million on mental health treatment in 2012, roughly double the $468 million it spent in 2007. Read More »
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Physician Outcry On EHR Functionality, Cost Will Shake The Health Information Technology Sector
Despite the government’s bribe of nearly $27 billion to digitize patient records, nearly 70% of physicians say electronic health record (EHR) systems have not been worth it. It’s a sobering statistic backed by newly released data from marketing and research firm MPI Group and Medical Economics that suggest nearly two-thirds of doctors would not purchase their current EHR system again because of poor functionality and high costs. Read More »
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Physicians Cut Costs By Rejecting Insurance
Rising healthcare costs have been the focus of healthcare reform for quite some time. However, recently several physicians have began rejecting insurance, opting instead for cash based practices in what is heralded as a successful means of decreasing the cost of care. Read More »
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Policy Conflicts Hurt Defense-VA Collaboration On Healthcare: GAO
"Incompatible policies" in several areas are preventing the U.S. Defense and Veterans Affairs departments from collaborating effectively at sites where the two healthcare systems deliver care, a federal audit has concluded. Read More »
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Porter Struggles With Electronic Records System, Sees Big Cost Overrun
Porter Hospital has fallen behind in its multi-year effort to implement an electronic medical records system designed to improve patient care by replacing outdated paper recordkeeping. Read More »
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Practice HIT Expenses Skyrocket
While coping with rising operating costs already tops most practices' lists of challenges, technology expenses are a leading driver of that strain, according to new research from the Medical Group Management Association. Read More »
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Practice Survival Hinges On New Models, Technology
Yet another report--this one released by the Physicians Foundation--paints a bleak picture for the future of physician practices as we know them. Read More »
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