Another of my favorite annual reports is out, this one from AHRQ on the concentration of health spending in the US population.
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According to a Government Accounting Office Report, so far not much to show from CMS' hospital value-based purchasing program.
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Telemedicine vendor TelaDoc went public, and in September it released the lockup on insiders, allowing them to sell shares, then last week it reveals that it lost a major customer and the stock falls about 20%. Uhhh, not sure how I feel about that sequence of events. But also shows once again the danger of buying into hyped approaches. Telemedicine is great, but it is ultimately a commodity.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/03/3-tech-stocks-that-crashed-this-week.aspx?source=eogyholnk0000001&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=articleA survey from EHR vendor Kareo explores physician attitudes toward various practice formats.
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The US isn't the only country bedeviled by inadequate HIT, a well-respected hospital implementing an EPIC system was found by the United Kingdom's Clinical Quality Commission to have serious problems, some of which endangered patient safety.
http://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/new_reports/AAAD0111.pdfA new cost and revenue survey from the Medical Group Management Association finds that practices are spending on average 12% more in 2015 than in 2014 for technology costs, and these costs are up a third since 201o. Total operating costs per physician have risen an average of 12% since 2010. Practices also report significantly greater use of non-physician clinicians like physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
http://www.mgma.com/about/mgma-press-room/press-releases/2015/mgma-survey-report-medical-practices-report-more-spending-on-technology-and-increased-use-of-nonphThe National Governor's Association may seem like an odd place to get health information but it issues an interesting report on state efforts to manage complex patients.
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A survey from provider price comparison vendor Vitals finds that most consumers who have serious medical costs also have limited skills and resources to effectively manage those costs.
http://www.fiercemedicaldevices.com/press-releases/fda-approves-expanded-use-innovative-trial-system-incontinence-therapy-0?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internalOne of my favorite annual reports is out, from the International Federation of Health Plans, comparing prices for medical services and goods in various countries.
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In part III of our look at the Kaiser Health Benefits Survey we cover drug benefits, wellness and miscellaneous matters.
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