July 12th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
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How effective is direct-to-consumer drug advertising? Some think that drug ads should be banned altogether, saying that it encourages patients to ask their doctors for expensive, brand name prescription drugs. It turns out their fears may be overblown.
NPR’s Shots blogs about a recent study looking at the effectiveness of these ads. The numbers, for the pharmaceutical companies anyways, are not encouraging. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
July 9th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Humor, News
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Normally, the patient calls the pharmacy for a prescription. Now, the prescription is doing that by itself. GlowCaps, a prescription bottle cap made by Vitality, has assumed control for medication compliance.
The bottle cap fits prescription bottles, but has uses cellphone technology to tap into wireless networks. Once connected, the pill bottle does everything imaginable to remind patients to take their pills.
There’s lights — plenty of them. The bottle cap really does glow and make noise to remind patients. Plug-in units wirelessly connected to the bottle cap can be placed anywhere there’s a wall socket. Oh, and it will call you, too, if you forget. The company calls this “Reminders Ramp from Subtle to Insistent.” (Add “relentless” to that.)
Ultimately, GlowCaps tallies compliance and sends reports to caregivers and physicians. Not surprisingly, studies show that constant nagging to take one’s medications works.
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
July 9th, 2010 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Humor, Opinion, True Stories
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So I’m calling a referring physician’s office the other day when their telephone answering message puts me on hold. And wouldn’t you know it — Kelly Clarkson was blasting in my ears. When the doc came on the phone, I asked him if he was a Kelly Clarkson fan. He had no idea what I was talking about.
But it got me thinking. So I asked him how their office chose their telephone answering message. He said he didn’t know. He figured the music was being fed from a local radio station.
You may not realize it, but having a well-thought-out telephone answering message can be a vitally important part of a doctor’s business. It’s the first contact patients and colleagues have with an office. It sets the first impression.
I’m sure there are consultants out there who get paid a lot of money to teach this stuff. Should you have hip hop music? Big band music? Perhaps a little disco? Maybe some talk radio? How do you decide what type of telephone answering message to set up in your office?
*This blog post was originally published at The Happy Hospitalist*
July 7th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, True Stories
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Call it sweet, delicious vindication. It was clinic day yesterday. No longer had I completed my rant in this blog about UnitedHealthcare’s program to require all cardiac elecrophysiologists to obtain a “notification number” before performing any pacemaker or defibrillator procedure, I discovered my letter from them dated June 3, 2010, on my desk stating that this requirement will begin September 1, 2010, for all Illinois electrophysiologists for “all electrophysiology procedures.”
Not longer than an hour later I was seeing a 67-year-old patient in the clinic who asked me: “I just got my Medicare (Part A) card and must decide about which insurer I should use for Part B, C, D, E, and F,” he said jokingly. “Since I have the medical problem and might need some care in the future, is there a company you would recommend?” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
July 7th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
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Should doctors face consequences if they run late? From The New York Times’ health blog, Well, comes a story where a medical group promises “same-day appointments and longer, more personalized visits that start on time.”
Sounds good, right? But it comes with a caveat, namely, a $199 annual membership fee. A tremendous amount of primary care can be bought with that amount of money, and if patients were willing to pay that, service will most definitely improve. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
