A dazzling review of recent research and other health related nuggets is presented in this latest Potpourri, including potential problems with evidence-based medicine, physician dilemmas in controlling cost, workers’ compensation medical costs, reducing hospital infections, improving heart attack care and the growth of CDHPs.
Our current Potpourri contains nuggets on use of robotic surgery for prostate cancer, the effect of mandated rebates in Medicare Part D on patient costs, FDA guidance on device modifications, state Medicaid EHR incentive programs, patient understanding of trial data, and use of FQHC’s by Medicaid enrollees.
A mid-summer’s evening (or weekend) Potpourri, but no heated discussion here, just soothing nuggets of knowledge, including use and misuse of PCI, how to measure blood pressure, CMS and telemedicine, preventing falls, copying and pasting EHR notes, and physicians attitude to work and compensation.
Notwithstanding clear research demonstrating the percutaneous coronary intervention has no significant outcomes advantages over medical therapy, almost no change in practice patterns has been observed, suggesting that doctors are seeking to maintain their incomes.
New research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine finds that doctors prescribe different treatments for patients than they would choose for themselves when one choice involves potentially harmful adverse effects but a possibility of a better outcome.
End-of-life care accounts for a very substantial fraction of all health spending and appears to vary geographically, as does much other spending. Research looked at what may determine end-of-life spending and its variation around the country.
The year wears on, winter hopefully draws to a close, and our Potpourri provides nutritious sustenance, this week featuring comparative effectiveness research and personalized medicine, two surveys on hospital progress in implementing EHRs, a patient-centered vision of HIT, the validity of care guidelines, and the use of clinical decision support to control inappropriate imaging.
Our usual end-of-the-week collection of health care tidbits, featuring HIE vendor awards; the point-of-care testing market; what makes medical groups successful; family caregivers and technology; clinical decision software for imaging; health care employee compensation; and communication between primary care and specialist physicians.
On we go, wading through piles of research to arm you with the most relevant snatches of data, this week featuring geographic variation in the quality of drug prescribing; use of Facebook communities for health purposes; physicians’ hourly wages; medication adherence programs; surgical safety improvement; and using survey data to assess patient satisfaction.
An article in Health Affairs discusses the important topic of disseminating new medical and health care knowledge to physicians and other providers, in this case specifically in regard to comparative effectiveness. Many barriers exist to widespread use of new knowledge and additional techniques are needed to maximize such use.
CSC put out a report giving its vision of the future of health care, with a particular focus on how emerging technologies may reshape wellness, prevention, early disease detection, treatment and how care is delivered.
Research continues to accumulate suggesting that the patient-centered medical home can save money while improving care and patient satisfaction. A new report summarizes this evidence, but the applicability of the model across the entire system has yet to be demonstrated.
A new report sponsored by a unit of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation describes the state of workplace clinics and interviews a number of participants to identify trends, challenges and success factors.
The Dartmouth Atlas project has issued numerous reports on variation in health spending across the United States. The most recent report focuses on cancer care for terminal patients and once again finds substantial difference in resource use both across and within geographic regions.
New research covering aspects of end-of-life care in Canada and the US reveals that costs continue to be high, even though the use of palliative care in the United States has increased significantly.
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at [email protected].
© 2024 Healthy Skeptic.
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