Posts Tagged “HIT”
ShowHide 3rd Party PapersTSC/CMSA/ABQAURP: How Technology is Changing the Practice of Care Management
McKinsey Quarterly: A provider that creates a best-practice IT platform can generate significant operating efficiencies.
RAND Europe: Exploring business models for the implementation of value-creating and sustainable eHealth systems in Europe
Canadian Family Physician: New study looks at wheter computer use in patient-physician encounters influence patient satisfaction?
Milbank Quarterly: Electronic Patient Record Research: A Systematic Literature Review Using the Meta-narrative Method
ShowHide Commentary
The Economic Effects of EHRs
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, April 2, 2013
There is a heated debate about whether electronic medical records will save the health system money or improve quality and what their economic impact on health care providers will be. A survey reported in Health Affairs suggests that results may be mixed.
Tags: EHRs, Health Care Costs, HIT
Use of Online Clinic Visits
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, March 7, 2013
New methods for delivering care in a more convenient method continue to evolve, including use of online visits. A study in Health Affairs reports on results of one health plan’s use of an online model for treating some conditions.
Tags: Care Management, Health Care Costs, HIT
Economic Impact of HIT
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, February 27, 2013
There is substantial controversy about the benefits of health information technology and whether those benefits outweigh the costs. A meta-study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association takes a fresh look at this question.
Tags: Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, HIT, HITECH
Pew Survey on Use of Health Technology
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The latest Pew Research survey relating to health care asks about how people track health matters and finds that relatively few use technology, even though easily available, for this purpose.
EHRs Not Doing the Job Yet
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, January 23, 2013
An article by Rand Corp researchers published in Health Affairs indicates that electronic health records and other aspects of health information technology are not fulfilling their promise, whatever that was. The authors give reasons for the disappointing performance and suggest remedies.
Tags: EHRs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, HIT
Patient Navigation Report
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Center for Health Affairs releases a report regarding opportunities for patient navigation tools and services to improve health care quality and potentially impact spending.
2012 Potpourri XXXIX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 21, 2012
Our penultimate Potpourri for 2012 is a festive blend of health data, including avoidance of health care due to costs, rates of expected spending increases in 2013, costs for younger versus older physicians, internet versus print health interventions, medical home results and poor health behaviors and health spending.
Tags: Consumers, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance, HIT, Medical Homes, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention
Health Information Exchange Status
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, December 20, 2012
The other exchange in health care–health information exchanges–are designed to ensure that all the data whizzing around in all the fancy new electronic medical record systems and other provider and payer systems can be easily shared across the system for clinical and administrative purposes. A new report looks at the status of these exchanges.
Tags: health information exchange, HIT, HITECH
Deloitte on Health Informatics
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Deloitte Consulting and the American Medical Informatics Association released results from a survey on the state of informatics in health care. Much of the supposed improvements in health care quality and cost are dependent on greater use of information technology and resulting data and the survey assesses progress on the objective of more and better HIT use.
Tags: HIT
2012 Potpourri XXXII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, October 26, 2012
The light fades but not our evanescent Potpourri, this week featuring stories on computerized point of entry ordering, the presence of large treatment effects in research, characteristics of patients with readmissions, a survey on Medicare physician reimbursement and a study on family caregivers.
Tags: Care Management, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Health Care Research, HIT, Hospital Readmissions, Medicare, Physicians
The Effect of Patients Reading Their Doctor’s Notes
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine examines the effects of allowing patients to read the notes written by physicians about their health and care. Patients generally seem to regard the practice very positively and it appears to have little negative impact on physician work processes.
Tags: Consumers, Health Care Quality, HIT, Physicians
Accuracy of Data in Quality Measurements
by Kevin Roche on Monday, October 15, 2012
An article and accompanying editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine discuss the effect of non-payment for hospital-acquired catheter-linked urinary tract infections, finding that the underlying data is likely so inaccurate that the policy cannot work as intended.
Tags: Health Care Quality, HIT
2012 Potpourri XXX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, October 12, 2012
Another luminescent Potpourri, focusing on the ACA’s high-risk pool plan; controlling health spending in Massachusetts; what components of EHRs and HIEs may control costs; another survey of employers and dealing with hospital pricing power.
Tags: EHRs, Employers, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, Hospital
Providers Using EHRs to UpCode–Shocking, Just Shocking
by Kevin Roche on Monday, October 1, 2012
The Center for Public Integrity has pointed out what was an obvious unintended consequence of greater use of electronic health records–providers will use the additional clinical information to feed billing systems that use the data to maximize coding for reimbursement. Medicare is already feeling the effects and other payers are likely to do so also.
Tags: EHRs, Health Care Costs, HIT, Medicare
Wellness and Benefits Administration Survey
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
A study released by a private vendor evaluates wellness and benefit administration benchmarks in 2012.
Physicians and EHRs
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, September 4, 2012
With all the federal incentive money sloshing around, the health information technology market, especially for electronic medical records, has understandably been hot and there are many competitors all seeking revenue from that market. A recent Medscape survey identifies which EHR vendors seem to be making the most progress.
Tags: EHRs, HIT, Physicians
EHR Adoption
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
A report from the Centers for Disease Control updates information on rates of electronic health record adoption. Given the incentives from the federal government, adoption seems surprisingly slow and meaningful use lags even further behind. Most doctors report being satisfied with their system.
Tags: EHRs, HIT, Physicians
Designing Internet Health Applications
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research focuses on whether and why the use of online health applications improves patient empowerment and knowledge and if such improvement leads to better health outcomes.
Tags: Consumers, Health Care Quality, HIT
2012 Potpourri XXV
by Kevin Roche on Friday, August 10, 2012
Another wonderful Potpourri, as lovely as a summer day, with information on small physician practices, medication adherence in Medicaid, access to care in Massachusetts, plan loyalty and PHRs, a survey regarding onsite health centers and hospital productivity in Massachusetts after reform.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, Medicaid, Physicians
2012 Potpourri XXIV
by Kevin Roche on Friday, August 3, 2012
The length of the summer day begins to decline, but not the quality of our Potpourri, this week including patient decision-making, the effect of genetic tests on overall health care use, an employee survey on health benefits, the growing market power of hospital systems, making decision aids more user friendly and physician compensation.
Tags: Care Management, Health Care Costs, HIT, Hospital, Physicians
2012 Potpourri XXIII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, July 27, 2012
At the height of the summer, with dryness across the land, there is no drought of information in our Potpourri, this week including use of an interactive health record to increase preventive care, Medicare and Medicaid geographical variation, shared decision-making, readmissions for heart attacks and Japan’s all-payer rate setting system.
Tags: Consumers, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, HIT, Hospital, Hospital Readmissions, Medicaid, Medicare, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention
Patient-Centered Health IT
by Kevin Roche on Friday, July 6, 2012
Another excellent Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has been released, this one examining the state of health information technology that enables patient-centered care. The report summarizes evidence on the utility of HIT for improving care quality and barriers to its further spread.
Tags: Consumers, Health Care Quality, HIT
AHRQ on Improving Health Care Decision-Making
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has issued a report looking at use of clinical decision support and knowledge management systems, finding some evidence for positive health and cost outcomes, but also large gaps in our understanding of how to maximize the value of these technologies.
Tags: Care Management, Health Care Quality, HIT
2012 Potpourri XXI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, June 22, 2012
It is officially the start of summer and our Potpourri is hot, hot, hot, but not steamy! This week we cover why health care IT doesn’t seem to create productivity gains, the use of whole-genome sequencing, the consequences on failure to comply with prescribed drug regimens and the rates of drug misuse and the potential savings for patients in CDHP plans.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Genomics, Health Care Costs, HIT
AMA’s Report Card on Insurer Performance
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, June 21, 2012
The American Medical Association regularly assesses the administrative performance of the large health plans on issues relevant to physicians. This year’s report finds significant improvement in claims payment procedures and results.
Tags: Health Insurance, HIT, Physicians
2012 Potpourri XX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, June 15, 2012
Our Potpourri resumes, with information on consumer trust of insurers and providers, consumer use of online health information, price transparency in health care, imaging rates in integrated health care systems and effectiveness of telephonic depression therapy.
Tags: Care Management, Consumers, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, HIT, Physicians, Telemedicine
E-Prescribing Status Report
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
The latest annual report on e-prescribing from SureScripts reveals continued rapid growth. The report also details benefits which appear to flow from greater use of electronic prescribing and opportunities to use the network created by SureScripts to address information sharing in other health care sectors.
Tags: Drugs, HIT, Physicians
2012 Potpourri XVIII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, May 25, 2012
We are on the road, but our Potpourri remains, in this issue covering malpractice claims against doctors, wellness program outcomes, the effect of drinking coffee, do EHRs help improve care and a wellness survey of employers.
Tags: Consumers, EHRs, Health Care Costs, HIT, Malpractice, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention, Workplace
CDH Plans
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Consumer-directed or high-deductible insurance plans continue to grow in popularity and an article in Health Affairs suggests that they could save over $50 billion annually if most people were covered under them.
Tags: Consumers, Health Care Costs, HIT
2012 Potpourri XVI
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, May 5, 2012
This edition of our data-packed Potpourri focuses on hospital readmissions, use of computer physician order entry systems, what employers will do after 2014 when all of the health law kicks in, and hospital pay-for-performance programs.
Tags: Employers, Health Insurance, Health Insurance Exchange, HIT, Hospital, Hospital Readmissions, Pay For Performance
HIT and Hospital Productivity
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
A new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research examines whether greater use of health information technology has added to hospital productivity. The authors find that while the investment in technology is highly productivity enhancing, there were very modest overall benefits and very limited effect on overall productivity.
Clinical Decision Support Systems
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
The only way to know if something really works is to have credible experimental research. A review of clinical decision support research suggests that they can improve health care processes but that the effect on ultimate outcomes is unknown.
Tags: Health Care Quality, HIT
So Hows That EHR Incentive Program Working Out?
by Kevin Roche on Monday, April 16, 2012
A Medicare Payment Advisory Commission report summarizes the federal incentive program for adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records and reports on progress, which appears to be very slow.
Insurance Changes and ER Use
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, April 10, 2012
One of the surprises of the expansion of health coverage in Massachusetts is that it seems to have increased emergency room use. A new study shows that this phenomenon might occur in all insurance changes and if the reform law is fully implemented, ERs may be overwhelmed.
Tags: Emergency rooms, Health Care Costs, HIT
2012 Potpourri XII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, April 6, 2012
An early spring for much of the country and our latest Potpourri is in full bloom, with nuggets on health information exchanges, genetic testing guidelines, an employer survey on reform, EMRs and lab test ordering and the relationship between clinical quality and patient satisfaction.
Tags: Genomics, Health Care Quality, Health Insurance, HIT, HITECH, Patient Satisfaction, Workplace
So Maybe HIT Won’t Save Lots of Money?
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, March 15, 2012
A new study published in Health Affairs looks at one of the claimed benefits for broader use of health information technology, that it will reduce redundant test ordering, and finds that it appears to have the opposite effect. Once again, it pays to be very leery about the remedial claims of all these great new health care advances.
Tags: Health Care Costs, HIT
2012 Potpourri IX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, March 9, 2012
Another outstanding collection of summaries from the health research literature, including this week, physicians’ difficulty in understanding the benefits of screening tests, physicians’ feelings about health information technology, AARP’s latest report on prices paid by seniors for commonly used drugs, the real cost of health reform, variation in outcomes and costs of knee replacements and shared decision-making in two common clinical situations.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Elder Care, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, HIT, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention
2012 Potpourri VII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, February 24, 2012
Our latest Potpourri, a week late and we apologize, covers virtual coaching, the integration of drug and medical benefit management, how doctors chose to handle their own end-of-life care, Medicaid and ER visits, and malpractice and orthopedics.
Tags: Drugs, End-of-Life Care, Health Care Costs, HIT, Hospital, Malpractice, Medicaid, Physicians, Telemedicine, Wellness and Prevention
The Effects of E-Prescribing
by Kevin Roche on Monday, February 6, 2012
SureScripts, the network which facilitates e-prescribing, released results from a study which showed benefits from use of e-prescribing in terms of better fill rates on prescriptions and better ongoing adherence.
The Web of Health Care
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
A study on colorectal screening for women compared the effect of a web-based intervention and a print intervention. The most interesting finding, however, relates to how often people signed on to the website versus how often they said they did.
Tags: Consumers, HIT, Wellness and Prevention
Big Health Care Issues
by Kevin Roche on Monday, January 30, 2012
The Wall Street Journal published a special section devoted to big health care issues, with a pro and con format on questions ranging from should there be a health insurance mandate to the potential for accountable care organizations to increase quality and lower costs.
Tags: ACO, Drugs, Health Insurance, HIT, Physicians
2012 Potpourri IV
by Kevin Roche on Friday, January 27, 2012
Another zinger of a Potpourri, with nuggets on a GAO audit of NQF work, use of web tools for diabetes management, the Healthways well-being index, the problem with federal health spending, hospital job losses from reimbursement cuts, and reducing unnecessary testing.
Tags: Care Management, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, HIT, Hospital, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention
2012 Potpourri II
by Kevin Roche on Friday, January 13, 2012
Our latest Potpourri reveals details about causes of workplace injuries, the effect of raising the Medicare eligibility age, benefit levels in existing health policies, false claims prosecutions and off-label drug use, ICU staff perceptions of the appropriateness of care, and malpractice liability from clinical decision support systems.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Health Insurance, HIT, Medicare, Workplace
Insurance Premium Trends
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, December 29, 2011
One reason given for the need for the reform law was the growth in health insurance costs, although it is yet unclear whether the law reduces or increases those costs in the long run. A Commonwealth Fund brief looks at state-by-state trends in premiums and consumer costs.
Tags: Health Care Costs, HIT
2011 Potpourri XXXXIX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 23, 2011
Our penultimate Potpourri delivers the quality you are accustomed to (for good or bad), including presents of health information on the Medicare physician payment method, telemonitoring results in the UK, the effect of eprescribing on fill rates, issues relating to use of health information technology in the home, the effect of social network on health behavior and whether imaging results actually influence decision-making or outcomes. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, HIT, HomeCare, Medicare, Physicians, Telemedicine, Wellness and Prevention
2011 Potpourri XXXXVII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 9, 2011
Another scintillating Potpourri, focused on the effect of copayments on prescription adherence, use of PHRs in the FEHBP plans, doctors use of cancer drugs after a Medicare reimbursement change, visiting physicians after a hospital discharge, consumers expectations regarding health insurance and early experience with bundled payments.
Tags: Consumers, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Health Insurance, HIT, Hospital, Physicians, Readmissions
Consumers and the Search for Health Information
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The most recent survey by the Center for Studying Health System Change shows not just plateauing, but an actual decline in consumers health information-seeking behavior, across all consumers. It is unclear what may be responsible for this decrease.
GAO on Price Transparency
by Kevin Roche on Monday, November 7, 2011
A significant trend affecting all of health care in the last decade is consumerism, specifically the effort to engage consumers in managing their health and health care and to make care more patient-centered. A new report from GAO shows how hard these efforts can be when data, in this case data on provider prices, is hard to obtain and give to consumers.
Tags: Consumers, Health Care Costs, HIT, Providers
2011 Potpourri XXXXIII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, November 4, 2011
Winter nears but our Potpourri will distract you from the cold breezes, providing compelling nuggets on prostate screening recommendations, consumer use of technology for health, insurer medical cost trends, what to do about Medicare’s physician payments, heart failure hospitalization and mortality rates and rates of non-filling of new prescriptions.
Tags: Chronic Disease, Disease Management, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance, HIT, Hospital, Medicare, Physicians, Telemedicine, Wellness and Prevention
2011 Potpourri XXXIX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, October 7, 2011
October already!! Our 39th Potpourri of the year has many autumnal pleasures including selections on CMS’ Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative, a proposed guidance for FDA to use for mHealth regulation, end-of-life care discussions, CMS’ multi-payer database award, expected 2012 medical trend, and delivery of unnecessary care by doctors.
Tags: Care Management, Comparative Effectiveness, End-of-Life Care, FDA, Health Insurance, HIT, medical home, Medicare, Physicians, Telemedicine
2011 Potpourri XXXVIII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, September 30, 2011
We enter the year’s home stretch with a great Potpourri, focusing on comparison friction in Part D plan shopping, a Harris poll on health-related internet use, the effect of aging populations on health costs, creation of a data repository by major insurers, Mercer’s survey of employers on 2012 expected health benefit costs and AHRQ’s site on unintended EHR consequences.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, EHRs, Health Care Costs, HIT
Consumerism and Employer-Provided Health Care
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, September 29, 2011
A new Rand report explores the use of health information technology to assist consumers in managing their health and making decisions about health care coverage. As health care coverage changes, these tools are more important, but their utility is unproven.
Tags: Consumers, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, HIT
2011 Potpourri XXXVII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, September 23, 2011
Another wonderful collection of health care research summaries, including a GAO report on likely effects of the MLR rule, physician work intensity, reducing hospital-acquired infections, discharge followup and hospital readmissions, the effect of pay-for-performance on cardiac care and use of EHRs and health history recording.
Tags: EHRs, HAI, Health Care Reform, HIT, Hospital, MLR, Pay For Performance, Physicians, Readmissions
EHRs and Diabetes Care
by Kevin Roche on Monday, September 19, 2011
New research provides stronger evidence that using electronic health records may improve quality of care according to some measures more than continuing to use paper medical records, at least for diabetes patients.
Tags: EHRs, Health Care Quality, HIT
Search Costs in the Health Insurance Market
by Kevin Roche on Monday, September 12, 2011
A new paper from the National Bureau of Economics focuses on whether there are aspects of the health insurance market that add to premiums by creating significant inefficiencies in finding the best policy and whether a public insurance option may reduce those inefficiencies.
Tags: Consumers, Health Care Costs, HIT
2011 Potpourri XXXV
by Kevin Roche on Friday, September 9, 2011
Fall looms and brings the football season. Our Potpourri scores with nutritious bites of health information, including getting more genetic data into medical records, giving doctors price lists, the value of HIEs, reducing hospital costs, medication continuation after hospitalization and use of episode-based payments.
Tags: Genomics, Health Care Costs, HIT, Hospital, Personalized Medicine, Physicians, Reimbursement
2011 Potpourri XXXIII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, August 26, 2011
Summer begins to wane but our Potpourri remains hot, with items on large employers benefit intentions for 2012, Australia’s project to create a unified patient medical record, hospital collections at the point-of-service, physician compensation, trends in per capita medical costs and how to avoid issues in accountable care organizations.
Tags: ACO, EHRs, Health Care Costs, HIT, Physicians, Workplace
2011 Potpourri XXIX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, July 29, 2011
Our current Potpourri contains nuggets on use of robotic surgery for prostate cancer, the effect of mandated rebates in Medicare Part D on patient costs, FDA guidance on device modifications, state Medicaid EHR incentive programs, patient understanding of trial data, and use of FQHC’s by Medicaid enrollees.
Tags: Devices, Drugs, EHRs, FDA, HIT, HITECH, Medicaid, Medical Care, Medicare
2011 Potpourri XXVIII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, July 22, 2011
The dog days of summer bring yet another scorching hot Potpourri with a smorgasbord of data, including metabias in randomized clinical trials, the practice of defensive medicine, the status of HIEs, retail pharmacy drug costs and pricing and spending on medical devices.
Tags: Comparative Effectiveness, Devices, Drugs, HIT, Malpractice, Meaningful Use, Medicaid, Medicare, Physicians
Drug Week–Part I of Drug Reports
by Kevin Roche on Monday, July 11, 2011
The first analysis of a weeklong series on recent reports related to aspects of the pharmaceutical industry covers IMS’ report giving projections on aspects of global drug use and spending through 2015 and SureScripts release of the most recent statistics on eprescribing use.
2011 Potpourri XXVI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, July 8, 2011
Our current Potpourri features Google’s dropping of its PHR, the AMA’s report on insurer claims paying, the role of health advocacy groups, employer’s intentions in regard to offering health coverage, drug approval in the US versus Europe and the use of a checklist to improve quality in the ICU.
Tags: Drugs, FDA, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Health Insurance, HIT, Physicians
2011 Potpourri XXVI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, July 1, 2011
Fireworks galore for the Fourth of July Potpourri, including dynamite excerpts on the effects of parent caregiving on caregivers’ financial status; health insurance exchanges; physician compensation; provider performance data gathering and use; hospital market concentration; use of HIT in nursing homes and teen use of health websites.
Tags: Consumers, Elder Care, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, Hospital, Meaningful Use, Pay For Performance, Physicians, Telemedicine
Medication Management and Technology
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, June 28, 2011
AHRQ issued yet another detailed, informative evidence review, this one on use of health information technology for medication management purposes. While many studies exist, the strength of the evidence for overall benefit is not as high as would be desirable.
Health Care Industries and the Future
by Kevin Roche on Monday, June 27, 2011
PriceWaterhouseCooper discusses opportunities for health care business over the next decade, identifying new segments with growth, as well as challenges that must be overcome.
Tags: Health Care Reform, HIT, Telehealth, Wellness and Prevention
2011 Potpourri XXIV
by Kevin Roche on Friday, June 17, 2011
The week’s Potpourri continues the tradition of presenting excellent nuggets of health information, including EHR use in the VA system, the effect of making surrogate care decisions, screening for ovarian cancer, gaps in health among socioeconomic groups, cancer care guideline compliance, and ER visits in Massachusetts.
Tags: Care Management, EHRs, Elder Care, End-of-Life Care, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, HIT, Wellness and Prevention
Health Information Exchanges
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Two articles report on research into aspects of health information exchange, a cornerstone reason for expanding provider use of information technology, particularly electronic medical records. Infrastructure for HIE is severely lagging, but consumer support for the idea is fairly strong.
2011 Potpourri XXII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, June 3, 2011
Another round of health tidbits, including the association between primary care workforce and Medicare outcomes, comparisons of Type 2 diabetes drugs, effects of limiting DTC drug advertising, health information exchange sustainability, the effect of the Irish workplace smoking ban and barriers to diffusion of cost-effective care.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Elder Care, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, HIT, Medicare, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention, Workplace
Latest Pew Report on Health Information and the Internet
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Pew Research Center’s latest survey regarding people’s use of the internet and social media for health purposes reveals continued growth. A large number of Americans view the internet as both a source of information and a place to track their own health and share their own experiences.
Tags: Consumers, HIT, Telehealth
The British EHR Experience
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Great Britain’s electronic health records project is severely off schedule and off budget. The problems of that project, however, are not necessarily likely to be replicated in America’s push to get more IT in health care.
2011 Potpourri XXI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, May 20, 2011
Once more into the world of health care to find nuggets of useful information, this week including the legality of wellness programs, the switch to ICD-10, pragmatic trials, the status of the workers’ comp industry, consumer health care sentiment, and hospital ER strategies.
Tags: Comparative Effectiveness, Consumers, Health Care Costs, HIT, Hospital, Wellness and Prevention, Workplace
2011 Potpourri XX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, May 13, 2011
Another Potpourri, this week delivering factoids on drug companies’ use of technology to reach physicians, waiting times in Massachusetts, use of atypical antipsychotics in nursing homes, unnecessary colonoscopies, EMRs and productivity, and a stupid FDA ruling.
Tags: Drugs, EHRs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, HIT, Medicare, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention
ePrescribing Status Report
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
A new report surveyed physician practices on their experience with eprescribing systems, finding that while use was increasing some features were not often accessed because of system design and information adequacy and accuracy concerns.
Tags: Drugs, HIT, Physicians
2011 Potpourri XVII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, April 22, 2011
Happy Easter and welcome to our latest Potpourri, which will raise you up with information on workplace wellness, hospital pricing, clinical decision support systems, using HIT to save on drug development costs, CMS’ quality improvement programs and health care M&A activity.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Health Care Quality, HIT, Hospital, M&A, Pay For Performance, Workplace
2011 Potpourri XVI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, April 15, 2011
Happy Easter and welcome to our spring kickoff potpourri, complete with a survey on technology use by consumers; brand drug pricing; how to get individuals to purchase health coverage; views of the Massachusetts reforms; hospital pay-for-performance and use of PHRs.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, Hospital, Pay For Performance
2011 Potpourri XV
by Kevin Roche on Friday, April 8, 2011
Our Masters week Potpourri masterfully covers such items as EHR satisfaction, ICU telemedicine, effects of concierge care on Medicare, failure to fill prescriptions, percent of household spending on health care by seniors, and drug rep visits to physicians.
Tags: Drugs, EHRs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, HIT, Medicare, Physicians, Telemedicine
Costs for a Physician Practice to Implement EHR
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Research published in Health Affairs examines the real-life costs of implementing an EHR system in a primary care practice setting, finding that while costs are significant, they may be largely covered by potential incentive payments.
Tags: EHRs, HIT, HITECH, Physicians
2011 Potpourri IX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, February 25, 2011
A positively presidential set of health care data points for your edification in today’s Potpourri, including examining correlations between hospital volume, quality and costs, improving quality program adherence, creating good insurance markets, the physician gender pay gap, the effects of the health reform law, and potential inconsistencies in HHS’ HIT incentive programs.
Tags: EHRs, Government, Health Care Quality, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, HITECH, Hospital, Physicians
2011 Potpourri VIII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, February 18, 2011
The year wears on, winter hopefully draws to a close, and our Potpourri provides nutritious sustenance, this week featuring comparative effectiveness research and personalized medicine, two surveys on hospital progress in implementing EHRs, a patient-centered vision of HIT, the validity of care guidelines, and the use of clinical decision support to control inappropriate imaging.
Tags: Comparative Effectiveness, Consumers, Health Care Quality, HIT, Hospital, Medical Care, Personalized Medicine
Physician Views of PHRs
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, February 17, 2011
Personal health records are electronic medical records collected or maintained by patients. Health Affairs reports on a survey of physicians regarding their views on these records, finding interest in having access to the information but almost no current use.
Tags: Consumers, HIT, Physicians
2011 Potpourri VII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, February 11, 2011
Another rendition of selections from the health literature, including advance directive issues; guideline problems; physician religious beliefs and end-of-life care; health information exchanges; the results of use of modified global payments with physicians and hospitals; and physician payment reform.
Tags: Care Management, Elder Care, HIT, Medicare, Physicians
Evaluating the Benefits of EHRs
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, February 8, 2011
An extensive review published in the Public Library of Science evaluates the evidence for health care safety and quality benefits from electronic health records, finding that there is a significant gap between what is claimed and what has been demonstrated.
Tags: EHRs, Health Care Quality, HIT
2011 Potpourri VI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, February 4, 2011
Our usual end-of-the-week collection of health care tidbits, featuring HIE vendor awards; the point-of-care testing market; what makes medical groups successful; family caregivers and technology; clinical decision software for imaging; health care employee compensation; and communication between primary care and specialist physicians.
Tags: Care Management, Elder Care, HIT, Medical Care, Physicians
Boomers and Health Technology
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The newly aging boomer generation is posited to be more receptive to use of a multiplicity of technologies in health care, with the end goal of being more responsible for their health and health care. A new report explores opportunities which arise as boomers age.
Tags: Consumers, Elder Care, HIT, Telemedicine
AHRQ Review of Clinical Decision Support
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, February 1, 2011
An AHRQ report focuses on the evidence for the value of clinical decision support systems, finding strong evidence that they improve care processes but limited evidence for health or cost outcome improvement. The report also identifies features correlated with CDS success.
Tags: Care Management, HIT, Physicians
EHRs and Malpractice Liability
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, January 20, 2011
Whether the fear is justified or not, physicians and other providers are often motivated by avoiding malpractice claims. An essay in the NEJM discusses how EHRs and other health IT advances my affect malpractice liability.
Tags: HIT, Malpractice
One Perspective on Health Care’s Future
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
CSC put out a report giving its vision of the future of health care, with a particular focus on how emerging technologies may reshape wellness, prevention, early disease detection, treatment and how care is delivered.
Tags: Care Management, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, HIT, Medical Care, Wellness and Prevention
2011 Potpourri III
by Kevin Roche on Friday, January 14, 2011
Once more into the Potpourri breach, this week covering CBO’s scoring of a repeal of PPACA; a global wellness survey; Medicare’s failure to use its data to identify abusive providers; Canadians’ view of their health system; Walmart’s preventive care package; and use of electronic messages to improve cancer screening rates.
Tags: Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, Medicare, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention
2011 Potpourri II
by Kevin Roche on Friday, January 7, 2011
Off we go into 2011, with more snippets of health developments including the OIG’s 2011 work plan; an international survey of internet usage for health purposes, physicians’ understanding of patients’ belief systems, medical tourism and care management for persons with multiple chronic conditions.
Tags: Chronic Disease, Consumers, Government, HIT, Medical Tourism, Physicians
EMRs to the Rescue–or Not?
by Kevin Roche on Monday, January 3, 2011
The expansion in government encouraged HIT, particularly EMRs, has researchers busy trying to identify cost and quality effects. Another recent study suggests that the effect of EMRs on quality is complex and not necessarily always beneficial.
Tags: Health Care Quality, HIT, Hospital
New Year Potpourri or 20ll Potpourri I
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year and a prosperous 2011 to all of you, a prosperity which undoubtedly will be aided by the insights from our Potpourris, which this week include physicians’ use of patient satisfaction data, drugs for children, Medicaid quality measures, health reform provisions taking effect in 2011 and the FDA’s rate of drug approval in 2010.
Tags: Drugs, FDA, Health Care Quality, Health Care Reform, HIT, Medicaid, Medicare, Physicians
CMS’ IT Systems
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, December 29, 2010
CMS released the initial report on its plan to modernize its computer systems, which understandably could cause trepidation among the millions of beneficiaries and providers who will be affected. The vision is solid, but will the execution be there?
Christmas Potpourri
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 24, 2010
A very happy and relaxing Christmas Eve and Day to all our readers. To aid in the pursuit of that happiness and relaxation we offer up our scraps of enlightenment, this week covering EHR impact on productivity, e-prescribing systems, health insurance rate reviews, not-for-profit hospital executive compensation, Oregon’s state health plan and use of placebos to improve health.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance, HIT, Hospital, Meaningful Use, Medicaid, Physicians
2010 Potpourri XLIV
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, December 18, 2010
Another week, another Potpourri, this one detailing items including high deductible insurance and delay of care; another study looking at HDHP and well-child care; a quality comparison of Medicare Advantage and fee-for-service; video games to improve health and CMS’ report on several quality demonstrations.
Tags: Care Management, Consumers, Health Care Quality, HIT, Medicare
The Costs of EHRs
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 17, 2010
EHRs are coming and great benefits are promised in the quality of patient care. A new brief looks at the possible costs and cost benefits of EHRs, particularly for smaller group practices. Some interesting findings are included in a survey of practices without EHRs.
Tags: HIT, Physicians
AHRQ’s HIT Success Stories
by Kevin Roche on Monday, December 13, 2010
Government spending to support and encourage greater use of information technology in health care has accelerated dramatically in the last two years. An AHRQ report describes several success stories relating to health improvement and cost savings from HIT.
Tags: HIT
2010 Potpourri XLIII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, December 11, 2010
The snow is raging here in Minneapolis, but nothing stops the delivery of our Potpourri, which includes discussion of paybacks on EHRs, the fate of dialysis patients, use of telecommunciations to aid drug adherence, cost savings from select pharmacy networks and hospital readmissions.
Tags: Chronic Disease, HIT, Hospital, Medicare, Pharmaceutical, Telemedicine
Turkey of a Potpourri
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, November 25, 2010
There you are, relaxing on a holiday and holiday weekend and for some reason you feel compelled to browse the internet and come across our Thanksgiving potpourri, hopefully not a turkey, but stuffed with edible data, including HHS’ final rule on MLRs; the AMAs survey on prior authorization; principles for ACOs, how to use research studies, Humana’s acquisition of Concentra and an explanation of why health care costs keep going up. Happy Thanksgiving!
Tags: Accountable Care Organization, Care Management, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance, HIT, M&A, MLR, Physicians, Workplace
2010 Potpourri XLI
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, November 13, 2010
The holidays approach, the Potpourri rolls on, this week unveiling information on potential savings for Medicare and Medicaid dual eligibles; EHR use’s effect on physician revenue; likely physician reaction to the SGR cuts, if implemented; characteristics of California health plan enrollees; CBO’s view of the impact of the reform law on drug prices and a health plan allowing nurse practitioners to be primary care providers.
Tags: Consumer Directed Health, Drugs, HIT, Medicaid, Medicare, Physicians, Providers
Paper on Accountable Care Organizations
by Kevin Roche on Friday, October 29, 2010
CSC put out a White Paper on Health Information Requirements for Accountable Care which examines the necessary functions an effective ACO will have and what health information technology will be needed to support those functions.
Tags: Care Management, HIT, Providers
GAO Report on DOD EHR
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, October 27, 2010
The Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration spend a lot of money on health care and health information technology, sometimes earning kudos. But there are a lot of problems. The GAO puts out a report on DOD’s Electronic Health Record Initiative, which should make the agency blush with shame.
Tags: Government, HIT
ICD-10 Is Coming
by Kevin Roche on Monday, October 25, 2010
Two papers discuss some of the costs and issues surrounding the impending implementation of the ICD-10 classification and coding system. When there are so many other health information system projects and requirements at the same time, this one will add a significant burden for payors and providers.
Tags: HIT
2010 Potpourri XXXIX
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, October 23, 2010
The leaves disappear from the trees but our Potpourri is eternal, this week entertaining you on projected drug spending next year, prescription abandonment rates, avoiding hospitalizations for home care patients, anticipating the effects of the health law on employer-provided health insurance, the NAIC’s final action on the MLR and hospitals views on their ability to achieve the meaningful use incentives.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT
2010 Potpourri XXXVIII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, October 16, 2010
More health care tidbits in this week’s potpourri, including medication adherence; the benefits of workplace wellness programs; the costs to employers of obesity; hospital prices in Oregon; reimbursement methods for drugs and potential savings from health IT.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, HIT, Hospital, Providers, Wellness and Prevention
Watch Out for those HIT Systems
by Kevin Roche on Friday, October 8, 2010
Spurred by government funds and regulations, the medical world is rushing to implement electronic records and other functionality. The consequences may not always be great, as a recent study suggests.
Tags: HIT, Hospital, Malpractice
2010 Potpourri XXXVI
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, October 2, 2010
The days shorten but the potpourri stays strong, this week including information on the safety of FDA-cleared devices; medication adherence; genetic tests; the FDA and CMS working together to review products; state all-payer databases and the increasing control of physician practices by hospital systems.
Tags: Care Management, Devices, Drugs, Health Care Costs, HIT, Hospital, Medicare, Personalized Medicine, Physicians, Regulation
2010 Potpourri XXXV
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, September 25, 2010
The days are shortening and the light fades, but there is still enough to read our Potpourri, which this week includes two benefit consultants’ views on health care coverage costs for next year, hospice care at end-of-life, insurance premium hikes in Connecticut, Massachusetts health reform outcomes, and how patients’ characteristics affects doctors’ quality ratings.
Tags: Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, HIT, Medical Care, Pay For Performance, Physicians, Workplace
Trustworthiness of Online Health Information
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Consumers increasingly look for medical information and advice on the internet. Research, including a recent study relating to childhood health issues, suggests that many times the data given can be erroneous.
Tags: Consumers, HIT, Medical Care
CSC Papers on Meaningful Use
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, September 16, 2010
The meaningful use provisions of the stimulus bill provide incentive payments to providers who implement EMRs, and ultimately penalties for those who don’t or who don’t use those systems in certain ways. A pair of new briefs outline challenges for providers to meet the meaningful use requirements.
Tags: Government, HIT, Providers
2010 Potpourri XXXIII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, September 11, 2010
Fall is a lovely time of year and what could be better than relaxing with a Potpourri, featuring health insurance increases, the true costs of EHRs, hospital pay-for-performance programs and quality, the impact of social networks on health behavior, and unenrolled Medicaid-eligible children.
Tags: Consumers, Government, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, HIT, Hospital, Medicaid, Pay For Performance, Workplace
2010 Potpourri XXXII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, September 4, 2010
We have certainly labored over the Labor Day weekend version of the Potpourri, featuring relative performance of US and foreign medical school graduates, California health insurance hikes, non-for-profit hospital CEO pay, performance measures and outcome variation at hospitals related to cost, new reimbursement methods and physician cost profiling.
Tags: Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, HIT, Hospital, Physicians
More on EHR Benefits
by Kevin Roche on Monday, August 23, 2010
New research adds more caution to the promotion of great benefits from electronic medical records. The researchers found that in hospitals, costs actually increased and quality worsened by some measures, although improving by others.
NASCIO Report on Health Exchanges
by Kevin Roche on Friday, August 20, 2010
Another recent report looks at HIEs, which are part of the critical infrastructure for reform. The status of each state’s efforts and progress are detailed, as well as some general observations on lessons learned to date.
Tags: health information exchange, HIT
2010 Potpourri XXIX
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, August 14, 2010
Another Saturday, another Potpourri, featuring the acquisition of a hospital medical necessity company, Americans’ online health usage, analysis of prescriptions, California workers’ compensation, home monitoring of elderly parents, remote psychiatric evaluations and telemedicine to treat depression.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Elder Care, HIT, HomeCare, Medicare, Monitoring, Telemedicine, Workers Compensation
2010 Potpourri XXVII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, July 31, 2010
A lot of great items in this week’s potpourri, covering the acquisition of HealthGrades, what encourages men to get screenings, potential cheating on pay-for-performance schemes, the problems of a multi-payer system, improving heart failure care, Canada’s experience with EHRs and autonomous robot surgery.
Tags: HIT, M&A, Medicaid, Medical Care, Pay For Performance, Payor, Wellness and Prevention
More Misleading Tripe on Health Insurance Profits
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, July 29, 2010
Trashing insurance companies is popular and one of the most frequent complaints is about their premium increases and profits. A NEJM perspective uses misleading information to continue dumping on health plans.
Tags: Health Care Reform, HIT
Health Literacy
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, July 20, 2010
A key premise of the consumer-directed health movement and a number of other health reform concepts is that patients can understand health information and choices and make good decisions. An AHRQ report gives reason to question that notion.
2010 Potpourri XXIV
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, July 10, 2010
Sitting indoors seeking relief from the summer heat? Here’s a montage of cool and refreshing health care items, including CPOE systems, accountable care organizations, Massachusetts’ reform experience, reducing imaging, and medical management trends.
Tags: Care Management, Government, Health Care Reform, HIT, Hospital, Medical Care
2010 Potpourri XXIII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, June 26, 2010
Once more into the breach with the Saturday health care roundup, including medication adherence, monitoring patients’ health status in their homes, Massachusetts’ reform update and insurance costs, hospitals’ economic contribution, hospital cost shifting and consumers’ views on use of health IT.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, HomeCare, Hospital, Monitoring, Telemedicine
Medical Innovation and the American Economy
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Council for American Medical Innovation has released a report about the value of medical innovation to the United States’ economy. Concern is expressed about maintaining a vigorous medical product industry in the face of funding, reimbursement and regulatory challenges.
Tags: Devices, Health Care Costs, HIT
2010 Potpourri XXI
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, June 12, 2010
Another potpourri of health care items, including telemedicine, mergers and acquisitions, unnecessary medical care, Massachusetts struggle with health insurance rates and health costs, e-visits, and a different suggestion for reforming the system.
Tags: Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, M&A, Telemedicine
2010 Potpourri XX
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, June 5, 2010
More health care nuggets for the weekend, including personalized medicine, health reform, health insurance premiums, telemedicine, and community health centers.
Tags: Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, Medicaid, Medical Care, Personalized Medicine, Telemedicine
Virtual Physician Visits
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, June 3, 2010
One emerging trend in health care is a patient’s ability to interact electronically with physicians, including by video-conference, from a variety of locations. A study suggests that both physicians and patients find these video visits to be acceptable.
Tags: HIT, Physicians, Telemedicine
New Research on Telemedicine
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Telemedicine has been cited for its potential to improve access and lower costs for patients and providers. Several new articles discuss telemedicine use for various health needs.
Tags: HIT, Telemedicine
2010 Potpourri XIX
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, May 29, 2010
Summer is starting and you are just laying around at the beach or the lake, eager to get a few missed health care tidbits. Here they are! Telemedicine, health reform, employer provided health insurance, computers providing health care and a nice merger.
Tags: aquisitions, Health Care Quality, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, Telemedicine
Chronic Disease Patients’ Use of the Internet
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, May 27, 2010
There is a lot of buzz about how the internet will affect health care and ultimately health. Research, including surveys, help keep us grounded with facts. As part of the research base, the Pew Research Center released a survey on chronic disease patients’ use of the internet.
Tags: Chronic Disease, HIT
2010 Potpourri XVIII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, May 22, 2010
Yet another in our long series of weekend catchup on miscellaneous health care items that we missed in earlier commentaries, including telemedicine, smoking bans, engagement in wellness efforts, the cost of high-risk pools, telemedicine and getting results in health improvement programs.
Tags: Consumers, Health Care Reform, HIT, Telemedicine, Wellness and Prevention
Survey of Consumers and HIT
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The California HealthCare Foundation surveys consumers to ascertain attitudes toward health information technology. The results suggest that there is a high level of interest in using HIT but that few people either have access to core applications or have taken advantage of what is available.
Telehealth, EHRs & HIEs
by Kevin Roche on Monday, May 17, 2010
One of the regional telehealth resource centers has published a white paper on the inter-relationship between the growth of telehealth, electronic medical records and health information exchanges, particularly as they affect rural areas.
Tags: HIT, Telemedicine
Using Technology to Limit Medication Mistakes
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Errors in medication are far more common than might be imagined and cause serious adverse events. A NEJM article reports on efforts to use technology to limit such errors in hospitals.
2010 Potpourri XVI
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, May 8, 2010
No mother’s day would be complete without some health care news to ruminate on. This week’s include psychiatric drugs, the cost of the SGR fix, home health care costs, telemedicine and using computers to aid in diagnosis.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, HIT, Medicare, Telemedicine
Misleading VA Health Information System Numbers
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, April 22, 2010
EMRs are posited to provide enormous benefits to the health system. The Veteran’s Administration has one of the most comprehensive large EMR installations. An article in Health Affairs provides a very misleading picture of the supposed cost benefits of the system.
Tags: Health Care Costs, HIT
EMRs and Physician/Patient Communication
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Electronic medical records are touted as the solution to many health system problems, including improving information sharing. A Center for Studying Health System Change Issue Brief discusses potential benefits and challenges of EMRs in regard to patient/physician communication.
Tags: HIT, Physicians
EHRs and Diagnostic Errors
by Kevin Roche on Friday, April 2, 2010
A variety of benefits from expanded use of electronic medical or health records have been advanced by advocates. An article in the New England Journal of Medicine explores whether such electronic records can help limit the number of diagnostic mistakes by physicians and other health professionals.
Tags: HIT, Malpractice, Physicians
Physician Profiling Reliability
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Because physicians ultimately control so much of health care spending, understanding variations in their patterns of practice is important. A NEJM article examines the reliability and accuracy of physician profiling methods.
Tags: HIT, Physicians
EHRs, EHRs, EHRs
by Kevin Roche on Friday, March 19, 2010
With the stimulus money and Medicare incentives, electronic health record vendors are riding high. But many, many questions remain regarding the implementation, use and value of these systems in reducing cost and improving quality.
Tags: HIT
2010 Potpourri IX
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, March 13, 2010
One more sampling of health care news, covering provider reaction to the EHR meaningful use rule, telemedicine, people’s perceptions of their health status and insurance coverage and hospital costs and prices.
Tags: Health Care Costs, Health Insurance, HIT, Hospital
2010 Potpourri VI
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, February 20, 2010
Select from this menu of topics on health improvement incentives, genetic testing for cancer treatment, health plan collaboration on use of IT for administration, value-based insurance design and comparative effectiveness research.
Tags: Comparative Effectiveness, Health Insurance, HIT, Personalized Medicine
2010 Potpourri V
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, February 13, 2010
One more Saturday….morning. And another potpourri of health care news. This one includes health information technology, consumer directed health plans, guidelines, support group functioning, end-of-life care and telemedicine.
Tags: Consumer Directed Health, Consumers, End-of-Life Care, HIT, Pay For Performance, Telemedicine
Telemedicine and HIT In Developing Nations
by Kevin Roche on Monday, February 8, 2010
The current issue of Health Affairs has several articles focusing on the use of telemedicine and HIT to solve health problems in the developing world. The articles describe some success stories, challenges and opportunities for use of wireless and health information technologies to provide desperately needed improvement for persons in these areas.
Tags: HIT, Telemedicine
Quality Reporting Programs Impose Costs on Physician Practices
by Kevin Roche on Monday, January 25, 2010
Quality measurement and pay-for-performance programs continue to spread, in the belief that they will improve health care quality. A new study looks at the costs these programs impose on physician practices, finding that any financial incentives are usually lower than the costs.
Tags: Health Care Reform, HIT, Pay For Performance, Physicians
2010 Potpourri III
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, January 23, 2010
Healthy health care snacks–concierge medicine, personalized medicine, health care hiring, electronic medical records, Medicaid, disease management–all for your reading pleasure on the weekend.
Tags: Care Management, Chronic Disease, Disease Management, HIT, Medical Care, Personalized Medicine, Physician Practice Models, Physicians
Health Information Technology Acquisition Binge
by Kevin Roche on Monday, January 11, 2010
Lawson Software announced yet another health information technology acquisition. Much of this activity is driven by stimulus money and the related CMS incentives and penalties for use of EHRs and other health care software. Not all these acquisitions will end well.
Tags: HIT
Surveys Question EHR Value
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, January 7, 2010
In the midst of the “meaningful use” proposed rule release comes more research questioning some of the value attributed to implementation of EHRs. The first survey of physicians found that while they view EHRs as useful for billing documentation, the doctors don’t find them particularly helpful in care coordination. The second shows a range of rankings of value from specific vendors.
Tags: HIT
Meaningful Use Rules Draft Issued
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, January 5, 2010
HHS released its draft version of the rules relating to meaningful use of electronic health information systems and the criteria for which providers will receive incentive payments. Provider organizations did not react in an entirely favorable manner.
Tags: HIT
More EHR Reality
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, December 22, 2009
An article published in the Milbank Quarterly looked at the results of numerous studies of electronic health or medical record implementations, finding a mismatch between assumptions or beliefs about their value and what really occurred, particularly in regard to clinical improvement.
Tags: HIT
Study Says Hospital EMRs Don’t Save Money
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Researchers from Harvard University find that hospitals with more extensive use of electronic records have neither lower costs or better quality, but caution should be used as these researchers have a specific reform viewpoint.
International Survey of Primary Care Doctors
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Commonwealth Fund supported a survey of primary care physicians in several countries to compare their use of health IT, the availability of incentives, patient payment issues and other matters. The United States lags other developed nations in many areas.
Tags: HIT, International, Physicians
AMGA EHR Survey
by Kevin Roche on Monday, November 9, 2009
The American Medical Group Association conducts a survey on EHR usage by physician groups, revealing the difficulty in implementation, and high expectations in value, which tended to be met only after several years.
Tags: HIT
Net Neutrality and Health Care
by Kevin Roche on Friday, October 30, 2009
Net neutrality sounds good to some but a Brookings commentary indicates it may cause problems for health care users.
Tags: Government, HIT, Telemedicine
Harris Poll on Mobile Health Care
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, October 27, 2009
A Harris poll looks at Americans’ attitudes toward mobile healthcare and finds that those who use health care the most are also the most disengaged from these new technologies.
Tags: Consumers, HIT, Medical Care, Telemedicine
EHRs and Quality
by Kevin Roche on Friday, October 23, 2009
A study finds a modest link between fully functional EHRs and performance on HEDIS quality measures by Massachusetts physicians.
Tags: Health Care Quality, HIT, Medical Care
Consumers’ View of Electronic Health Records
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, October 14, 2009
AHRQ has released a survey of consumer attitudes about electronic health records and health IT. The people in these focus groups were less enthusiastic about the subject than many experts are.
Humedica Raises $30 Million
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Health information is hot, particularly since the stimulus bill devoted $20 billion to its expansion.
Tags: Financings, HIT
Another IT Cautionary Tale
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, August 26, 2009
A Financial Times article details the British National Health Service’s struggles to implement a new health information system.
Tags: HIT
Patients Asked to Pay More
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, August 6, 2009
Patients are responsible for an increasing share of their medical expenses, which has increased provider bad debt and collection expense. In response, providers are asking to be paid at the time of service.
Wireless Explosion
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, August 5, 2009
A number of companies are working on use of wireless technologies to improve health care.
Tags: Care Management, Devices, HIT
Kaiser EMR Saga Is Instructive
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Kaiser has a well-regarded health information system but it wasn’t easy getting there.
Tags: HIT
UHG, Cisco Plan TeleHealth Venture
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, July 21, 2009
UnitedHealth Group and Cisco plan to create a large telemedicine venture.
Tags: Health Insurance, HIT, Telemedicine
VA has IT Woes
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Often lauded for its health information systems, the VA apparently has significant problems getting projects done on time and on budget.
Tags: HIT, Medical Care
HIT and Privacy Laws
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, July 16, 2009
Health information technology is being pushed as one of the key methods to improve health care and reduce costs, but government itself has created barriers to its adoption and utility.
Tags: HIT, Medical Care, Regulation
ShowHide Headlines
Some say the real savings are to be found through technology and the use of business intelligence.
Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Inc. agreed to buy Eclipsys Corp. for $1.3 billion in stock