Research published at the National Bureau of Economic Research examines Oregon's use of a value-based insurance design to reduce utilization of low-value services.
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On the heels of a raise a month earlier, doctor on demand vendor Heal has raised another $14.8 million from Fidelity.
http://medcitynews.com/2016/12/heal-adds-investment-from-fidelity/?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=38842546&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9KBZ0eCvGona0jN2FccQz2WM-v9Q8mZn_8lMDMUMst63HtmGn-xo3DiYUx0bEC7WWL4r49tvHTBqIW3AFuhnKYPRsC98gWb812WtakMHTwbYQI5E0&_hsmi=38842546&rf=1A survey from the Employee Benefits Research Institute elicits employee perceptions of health care.
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A recent MedPAC meeting included a discussion of the effects of provider consolidation.
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CMS' official report on national health spending for 2015 is out and reported in Health Affairs. Spending growth accelerated in 2015 and is probably continuing to do so in 2016.
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Fruit Street (really, that is the name you seriously want for your business?), has gone bananas and its fundraising efforts have borne fruit, garnering $4 million to support its telehealth software for providers products. Hopefully the investors aren't a bunch of fruitcakes.
https://www.pehub.com/2016/12/telehealth-software-provider-fruit-street-expands-series-a-round-to-4-mln/Encounter Telehealth, a telepsychiatry firm, is raising $1 million.
http://medcitynews.com/2016/12/telepsychiatry-startup-geared-people-severe-mental-illness-raises-1m-round/?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=38594656&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_tRJsL8J38vaxJyJJUPNpclqF-oQDmLkKmA368Vxbqy7FgzR6tmoK7KQhA-ml6cVcvTRMGhhffK5y-fd5x0OY_c7_5HWlphG-P6KKmv0zbc9lr9ok&_hsmi=38594656A study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry finds that telemedicine appears as efficacious as in-person therapy.
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The 2015 Health Care Cost Institute report on cost trends for employer-sponsored health insurance has been released.
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A meta review of palliative care studies in JAMA finds less impact on outcomes than commonly thought to exist.
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According to an Annals of Emergency Medicine article, retail clinic locations do not appear to reduce nearby ER use for low-acuity problems, but that may be because of open-hours or other factors.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Association+Between+the+Opening+of+Retail+Clinics+and+Low-Acuity+Emergency+Department+VisitsAbout this Blog
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 khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.