July 30th, 2011 by DavidHarlow in Health Policy, Opinion
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The UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform and Modernization released a white paper today on Modernizing Rural Health Care. To quote from the UHG presser,
- [The paper] projects an increase of around 5 million newly insured rural residents by 2019 – even as the number of physicians in rural America lags
- Quality of care is rated lower in rural areas in 7 out of every 10 health care markets; both physicians and consumers in rural areas more likely to rate quality of care lower than those in urban and suburban markets
- Innovations in care delivery – particularly telemedicine and telehealth – can absorb future strain on rural health care systems
The paper inventories the current state of health care for the 50 million Americans living in a rural setting — and it’s not pretty. The question, of course, is why does rural health compare unfavorably to urban health metrics, and what can be done to improve matters? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog*
July 30th, 2011 by GarySchwitzer in Opinion
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For several years, I’ve been gently nudging various groups that communicate with the public about health care to adopt/endorse/promote the 10 criteria we use on HealthNewsReview.org in the same spirit in which we promote them: 10 things we think consumers need addressed in messages about health care interventions.
• What’s the total cost?
• How often do benefits occur?
• How often do harms occur?
• How strong is the evidence?
• Is this condition exaggerated?
• Are there alternative options?
• Is this really a new approach?
• Is it available to me?
• Who’s promoting this?
• Do they have a conflict of interest?
It may not be a perfect or complete list, but it’s not a bad starting point, and we now have data on more than 1,500 stories showing how these are – or are not – addressed in some of the public discussion.
I’ve urged the American Association of Medical Colleges, America’s Health Insurance Plans, news organizations, and news-release-writers, among others, to publish our criteria attached to their news releases or on their websites.
Many have been called. Many have nodded in agreement. None have responded.
Until now. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
July 26th, 2011 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Opinion
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I can’t help but think that as time passes we’ll forget about how much medicine has changed with the introduction of the Internet. We’re witnessing a transition that hasn’t been seen in generations. We live with the end result but the memory of how we got here is fading quickly. Like any kind of cultural shift, once we’ve arrived it’s hard to remember what it was like along the way.
How did patients think before the information revolution? And how did it go down when patients began to search? How specifically did information clash with the old model of doctor and patient and how did we deal with it? There are stories here that need to be told. I think the real stories are in the small details of what went down between doctors and patients. But as early adopters, most of us spend our time looking forward, not back. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
July 25th, 2011 by Edwin Leap, M.D. in Opinion
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For years now, we’ve all heard the drum-beat. Bill-boards in cities have proclaimed it. Various medical associations have touted it’s importance. Stroke symptoms have to be treated immediately! Give clot-busting drugs, also known as ‘thrombolytics!’
Until, of course, those in favor of giving the drugs (namely neurologists) realized that a) Not everyone with a stroke, aka ‘brain attack’ has insurance and b) people have a very inconsiderate habit of having said strokes at the most inconvenient of hours. For instance, after 5PM, on the weekend, on holidays. The nerve!
So across the country, physicians in emergency departments like mine are finding themselves expected by the court of public opinion to give a potentially dangerous drug (albeit a sometimes useful drug) without any neurologist being available to evaluate the patient. Our emergency department thought we had a tele-medicine link; even that has failed, as nearby physicians in our regional referral center don’t feel keen to take responsibility for our patients. Our own neurologists, of course, have Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at edwinleap.com*
July 18th, 2011 by Berci in News
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I’ve recently come across this digital cane designed by a Lithuanian designer Egle Ugintaite for the Fujitsu 2011 design award in which he won the grand prize. Great idea!
The cane, which is known as the Aid, has a built-in navigator that provides the user directions to a certain location. So if you get lost, this cane will point the way home.
Additional features include monitors for the user’s pulse, blood pressure, as well as body temperature. These important numbers are displayed on the LCD screen on the cane’s clasp. It even has a button for sending out an SOS in case of emergency.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
