May 25th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
Tags: Angina, Cardiac Risk Factors, Cardiology, Coronary Artery Disease, Coronary Health, Diabetes, Elevated Lipids, Employee Health, European Heart Journal, Family Medicine, Fatal Myocardial Infarction, General Medicine, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, Heart Health, Internal Medicine, Lifestyle Changes, Lifestyle Choices, Overtime Work, Primary Care, smoking, Workaholic, Working Overtime, Working Too Much
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The European Heart Journal studied 6,000 British civil servants and followed them for 11 years. They found that working an extra 3 to 4 hours a day is associated with increased coronary heart disease.
The researchers controlled and adjusted for lifestyle, cardiac risk factors, and other factors that would skew the results, and still found that people who worked 3 to 4 extra hours a day had a 60 percent increase in risk for heart disease. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
May 25th, 2010 by Berci in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
Tags: Evidence-Based Social Media, Family Medicine, General Medicine, Healthcare Social Media, Healthcare Social Media Camp, Internal Medicine, Primary Care, Science-Based Evidence, Social Health Media, Social Media In Medicine, Social Media Platform
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Here are a few papers and publications focusing on how social media can be used in medicine, healthcare and science. These represent the evidence-based approach in social media:
Google docs: a better method than a paper clinical schedule. Kippenbrock T, Holloway E, Moore DD. Comput Inform Nurs. 2010 May-Jun;28(3):138-40.
How to get the most from the medical literature: keeping up to date in nephrology. Cullis J, Webster AC. Nephrology (Carlton). 2010 Apr;15(3):269-76.
Twitter: consider the possibilities for continuing nursing education. Billings DM, Kowalski K, Bristol TJ. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2010 May;41(5):199-200.
Literature search on risk factors for sarcoma: PubMed and Google Scholar may be complementary sources. Mastrangelo G, Fadda E, Rossi CR, Zamprogno E, Buja A, Cegolon L. BMC Res Notes. 2010 May 10;3(1):131.
Effect of visual media use on school performance: a prospective study. Sharif I, Wills TA, Sargent JD. J Adolesc Health. 2010 Jan;46(1):52-61.
Patients’ Evaluations of Health Care Providers in the Era of Social Networking: An Analysis of Physician-Rating Websites. Lagu T, Hannon NS, Rothberg MB, Lindenauer PK. J Gen Intern Med. 2010 May 13.
Tweeting science and ethics: social media as a tool for constructive public engagement. Regenberg AC. Am J Bioeth. 2010 May;10(5):30-1.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
May 24th, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: ACA, ACEP News, Affordable Care Act, Ambiguity, Consumer Protection, ED, Emergency Care, Emergency Coverage, Emergency Department, Emergency Medicine, Emergency Room, Emergency Services, Emergency Treatment, ER, Health Insurance, Health Insurance Rates, Health Plans, Healthcare Consumers, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Economics, Healthcare Law, Healthcare Policy, Healthcare reform, In-network, Insurance Companies, Insurance Regulations, Kaiser Health News, Loophole, Non-Emergent Use, Out of network, Prior Authorization, Prudent Layperson
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There’s just so much hidden and buried in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that it’s like trying the find all the goodies in an Easter egg hunt. ACEP News pointed out one hidden goodie, nicely illustrated in this article from Kaiser Health News:
Under the new health law, insurance companies must extend several new protections to patients who receive emergency care. One of the biggest guarantees: Patients who need emergency treatment will have their costs covered at the same rate, regardless of whether they are treated at “in-network” or “out-of-network” hospitals.
The law also bars health plans from requiring prior authorization for emergency services. And it mandates that plans follow the “prudent layperson” rule. For example, if a person goes to the ER with chest pain, but ends up being diagnosed with indigestion, the claim has to be covered because going to the hospital under those circumstances made sense.
The provisions go into effect for every health plan issued after Sept. 23 – six months after the law was enacted — that offers emergency coverage.
This is potentially quite significant. As with so many things, the devil is in the details, and the implementation is not yet actualized. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
May 24th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News
Tags: ACP Internist, Boston Globe, Clinical Importance, Costs Of Patient Tests, Distracts Doctors, Doctor-Patient Communication, EHRs, Electronic Health Records, Electronic Medical Records, EMRs, Family Medicine, General Medicine, Harvard, Healthcare reform, Increased Training, Internal Medicine, J. Fred Ralston FACP, Kaiser Health News, Lost Productivity, Medical School, Medical Students, Molly Cooke FACP, NEJM, New England Journal of Medicine, New York Times, Patient-Centered Medical Home, Patient's Medical Bill, Pauline Chen, Primary Care, Robert LeBow FACP, The Price Is Right, Value Of Medical Tests, Washington Post
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Healthcare reform is forcing medical students to learn about the financial costs of the tests they order, as well as their clinical importance. Once a taboo topic, it’s being openly taught to students to prepare them for practice.
At Harvard, one physician in training duplicated television’s “The Price is Right” to keep his peers guessing at the costs of tests on a patient’s bill. Molly Cooke, FACP, a Regent of the College, encourages doctors to consider the value of the tests they order as they deliver care. (Kaiser Health News, New England Journal of Medicine)
The price isn’t right for electronic medical records. Even $44,000 in stimulus money isn’t enough to make doctors jump into using computers. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
May 23rd, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
Tags: Attract And Retain Talent, Compensation Package, Competitive Edge, Congress, Cost Center, Drop Coverage, Dump Healthcare Coverage, Employee Benefits, Employee Health, Employees, Fortune Magazine, Health Plans, Healthcare Misconceptions, Healthcare Politics, Healthcare reform, Healthcare Reform Law, Large Companies, Large Employers, Penalties, Penalty Fees, Productive Workforce, Regulatory Changes
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Fortune magazine has made some news recently about the impact of healthcare reform on large employers:
Internal documents recently reviewed by Fortune, originally requested by Congress, show what the bill’s critics predicted, and what its champions dreaded: many large companies are examining a course that was heretofore unthinkable, dumping the healthcare coverage they provide to their workers in exchange for paying penalty fees to the government.
The only trouble? There’s no way these employers are seriously thinking about doing this.
I can understand why the employers would do the math. According to healthcare reform law, penalties for failing to provide health coverage are a small fraction of the cost of that coverage. But as with most everything else in healthcare, there’s much more to it than just a simple math equation. Here’s what I mean. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
