August 2nd, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
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According to the Annals of Internal Medicine, doctors make the wrong medical decisions surprisingly often.
Using a “mystery patient” technique –- in which actors pretended to be patients –- researchers found that doctors made errors in complicated cases in 60 percent to 90 percent of cases. Sixty to ninety percent. In uncomplicated cases, they made errors in nearly 30 percent of cases.
As one study participant put it, “I was shocked.”
The study took place over three years, and included more than 100 doctors in six Chicago-area hospitals. The doctors had agreed to participate in a study on medical decision making, but had no idea that they might see a patient who was actually an actor. The actors recorded their conversations with the doctors. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
July 13th, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research, True Stories
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If a website touted misleading healthcare information, you’d hope the government would do something about it. But what do you do when the government is the one feeding the public bad information?
Last week the Obama administration launched the new Healthcare.gov. It’s mostly an online insurance shopping website. It’s very much a federal government version of sites like eHealthInsurance.com or Massachsetts’ HealthConnector site, which have been around for years.
So when HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in announcing the new site, claims it gives consumers “unprecedented transparency” into the healthcare marketplace, you should wonder what she means. But that’s not the big problem with this site. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
July 2nd, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion, Research
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When healthcare reform became law, HR and benefits professionals I spoke with had two reactions: surprise and annoyance. Surprise, because they thought reform was dead; annoyed, because the law was full of provisions that didn’t make sense to them. But it was partly their own fault.
Blogs and other social media were buzzing with healthcare reform talk for more than a year, and were more influential than ever. But HR and benefits professionals –- experts in the topic –- were mostly on the sidelines. They didn’t shape the debate, didn’t point out when people didn’t know what they were talking about, didn’t talk about how what was proposed would affect what they did for a living.
Don’t take my word for it. A study last year on social media use by HR professionals revealed some striking results:
- Only 13 percent use RSS feeds, tags and bookmarks
- Only 5 percent post original content to blogs and website
- Only 4 percent post ratings and reviews or comments on blogs and online forums
Reform shows there are real consequences to this failure to participate in social media. If you’re not part of the conversation, you’re marginalizing yourself, losing influence within your organization and the world.
So let this be a wake-up call: Get involved in social media. Easy to say, but how do you get started? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
June 21st, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
1 Comment »
The Senate has rejected the so-called “doc fix.” This means that doctors taking Medicare patients will now get 21 percent less pay for their work.
How’s that getting involved in politics working out for you guys? Not so good.
But there’s a larger issue here. Why do we keep trying to control healthcare costs by just mandating that less money be spent?
It’s failed for decades. But like a losing gambler convinced that if he just keeps doubling down he’ll finally come out ahead, people keep trying. For example, the New York Times reported on a study of the impact of pay cuts to doctors for Medicare patients with lung cancer. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
June 14th, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, Quackery Exposed
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Some things are just part of the problem in healthcare. The company Medical Justice is one such thing. I’ve written about them before. Medical Justice sees the medical malpractice crisis and devised a solution: Muzzle the patients. It’s as misguided as it is ridiculous.
Medical Justice says doctors need to stop their patients from saying bad things about them. They charge doctors hundreds — even thousands — of dollars a year to help do this.
Under one of their programs, they give doctors contracts to use with their patients. The doctor tells the patient that they must agree to the terms of the contract before the doctor agrees to see them. Okay, so there are lots of forms that patients need to sign when they go to the doctor. What makes these so different? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
