May 10th, 2010 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, Research, True Stories
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I [recently] gave a speech at the Midwest Business Group on Health’s (MBGH) 30th Annual Conference. The MBGH is one of the country’s leading organizations on healthcare, and its members include the leading innovators and thought leaders on healthcare in America. It was a privilege to present to them.
I spoke about why healthcare just isn’t a consumer business in spite of all of the effort to turn people into healthcare “consumers.”
At Best Doctors, we have a closeup view of what happens to people when they try to find their way through the healthcare system. It’s not a pleasant picture. Healthcare consumers –- if you can call them that –- are often lost, confused, frustrated, alone. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
May 10th, 2010 by RyanDuBosar in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Research
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A newly-created index of consumer healthcare confidence has fallen steadily this year, reports The Thomson Reuters Consumer Healthcare Sentiment Index. Consumers report declining confidence in their ability to access, use, and pay for healthcare. The index, set at a baseline of 100 in December 2009, is now at 97.
More consumers reported difficulty paying for services and insurance, or reported a reduction or cancellation of their insurance. More delayed or failed to fill a prescription in the past three months or canceled a diagnostic test (such as blood work, X-ray or mammogram). Further, consumers expect the situation to worsen in the next three months, including putting off elective surgery.
Thomson will report figures monthly and has published their methodology online.
*This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist*
May 10th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
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Yesterday a much-anticipated package arrived in the mail containing a documentary film directed (and acted) by a young emergency room physician, Ryan Flesher, M.D., and produced by a former clinical social worker, Nancy Pando, L.I.C.S.W. The film is called “The Vanishing Oath.”
As background, the film is a 3-year project born in 2007 just before the great U.S. healthcare reform debate began. Over 200 hours of interviews were conducted to explore a simple question:
Why Dr. Flesher had grown to hate medicine. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
May 10th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion
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What’s amazing is that despite the vocal movement to empower patients, no one has put together a well-referenced, readable book to help patients understand how they should use personalized medicine to influence their health — until now.
Enter The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in the New Era of Personalized Medicine (Rodale 2010), something of a blueprint of patient liberation written by Thomas Goetz, executive editor of Wired magazine. It offers constructive narrative not only about the importance of the decisions we make but how to apply the concept of an old-fashioned decision tree in making those decisions. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
May 9th, 2010 by Medgadget in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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FineThanx is a new automated phone system that automatically calls your sick or elderly family members at home to check on how they’re doing.
The system can check in with loved ones once or twice a day, and if no one answers or the person is unwell, the system calls a member of his or her “care circle.”
If everything is fine, the FineThanx system will send you a report by email, so you can continue working or finish those 18 holes of golf, then check in for reassurance on your iPhone or personal computer afterwards.
Listen to a sample call here.
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
