January 5th, 2012 by DavidHarlow in Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: ACP, Avastin, CMS, FDA, Guidelines, Health Reform, Mammography, Medical Ethics, NPR, Physicians, Policy, PSA, Reform, Shared Resources, Tragedy of the Common
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There are at least two conversations going on in the health care marketplace today, each focused on one of two key questions. One is: How can we achieve the Triple Aim? The other is: Why do they get to do that? (It’s not fair! I want more!)
Until we stop asking the second question, we can’t answer the first question. Why? Because all too often the answer to the second question is the equivalent of: It’s OK, Timmy, I’ll buy you TWO lollipops; pick whichever ones you want.
It’s the tragedy of the commons, transposed to the health care marketplace.
Recent cases in point:
- Avastin
- Tufts Medical Center – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts grudge match
- Mammography and PSA guidelines
1. Avastin. Late last year, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog*
January 2nd, 2012 by EvanFalchukJD in Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: ACO, Blogging, Diagnosis, Employee Benefits, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, Healthcare Benefits, Predictions
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How Did My 2011 Predictions Turn Out?
Pretty well, actually.
As predicted last December, there was no big change to health care reform, doctors still didn’t have enough time with their patients, Microsoft (disclosure: Microsoft is a Best Doctors client) made moves to create a “Windows” for electronic health records, and “ACO” became the hot buzzword in health care. Some state governments started major redesigns of their benefits programs, saving money in the same ways private sector employers do. Meanwhile, more than ever, private sector employers are penalizing employees who don’t take care of themselves.
Misdiagnosis finally started to be recognized as a public health problem. At Best Doctors we got a great deal of press coverage in 2011 on this (for a few examples, go here, here, here, here and here). I will sneak in a 2012 prediction and tell you that you will hear a lot more about this this year, and not just from us.
What did I get wrong? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at BestDoctors.com: See First Blog*
January 1st, 2012 by BarbaraFederOstrov in Health Policy, News
Tags: California, Congress, Doc Fix, Health News, Health Reform, Medical Marijuana, Medicare Fraud, Payments, Scam, Shell Games, Supreme Court
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Medical Marijuana: Advocates are pushing forward a California ballot initiative that would create a Board of Medical Marijuana Enforcement to oversee the state’s burgeoning industry, Lisa Leff reports for the Associated Press. We’re imagining the snacks at board meetings.
Health Reform: California Healthline’s Dan Diamond highlights five health reform issuesfor reporters and policymakers to watch closely in 2012. First among them: the Supreme Court review of health reform’s constitutionality.
Medicare: Scammers create intricate webs of Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Reporting on Health - The Reporting on Health Daily Briefing*
December 31st, 2011 by DrWes in Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Administration, Basketball, Business, Cost, Doctors, Expenses, health care, Health Care Reform, man to man, Metaphor, Money, Patients, Physicians, Players, Playing together, Sides, Team, zone defenese
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It is tough playing man-to-man when coaches on the sideline keep insisting your team plays zone.
Such is it with health care.
For doctors, the man-to-man defense never ends. Stay with them. Glue to them. Move with them. Run with them. Defend against the bounce pass, or the dribble to avoid the admission. Hands up! Watch their waist, ignore the head fake. You shift your coverage to accommodate their needs. One on one, mana-a-mano.
But for the business of medicine, it’s all about the zone. Defend the admission basket against as many people as possible with the least number of defenders. Stay in your position. Work it 2-1-2, 2-3, or if you’re really adventurous: 1-2-2. Stick to Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
December 29th, 2011 by BarbaraFederOstrov in Health Policy, News
Tags: Chronic Fatigue, CNN, Coal burning, Emergency Room, Environmental Health, EPA, ER, Medicare, Mercury, Miami Herald, News, Oil burning, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Power Plants, Reuters, Wait Time
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ER Waits: Hospitals’ marketing claims of short waits for emergency room care aren’t backed up by any evidence, John Dorschner reports for the Miami Herald.
Chronic Fatigue: The editors of prestigious journal Science have retracted a controversial paper linking chronic fatigue syndrome to the XMRV virus; critics of the study believe contamination of samples was to blame for the results, which have not been replicated by other scientists, Ivan Oransky reports for Reuters.
Environmental Health: Tough new EPA rules on mercury emissions from oil- and coal-burning power plants are being Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Reporting on Health - The Reporting on Health Daily Briefing*
