All Posts By

Kevin Roche

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 through Roche Consulting, LLC. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements and may be reached at khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.

Dec 05 2014

Maxwell Health will use its recent cash infusion of $26.4 million to broaden its wellness product line and offer additional functionality to health plans.

http://medcitynews.com/2014/12/employee-benefits-business-maxwell-health-will-use-series-b-towards-product-portfolio-adding-staff/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=849946a314-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-849946a314-67677117
Dec 04 2014

Jointly Health, which was a bad name, is now calling itself Sentrian, and has raised $8 million jointly from several investors who are now financially less healthy, for its data analytics business to help prevent readmissions and other avoidable hospitalizations.

http://www.sentrian.com/jointly-health-becomes-sentrian/
Dec 04 2014

PDR Network, the publisher of Physicians Desk Reference and other drug information, has acquired LDM Group, which provides information on patient behavior.

http://www.pdrnetwork.com/about-pdr-network/press-releases/2014/11/03/newpdr
Dec 04 2014

Elm Creek Partners has acquired The Care Group, which provides home care in the Houston market.

http://pepdigest.com/2014/12/elm-creek-partners-acquires-the-care-group-of-texas/
Dec 04 2014

The Government Accounting Office finds that a few large health plans account for almost all membership in the country and their share is growing.

http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/667245.pdf
Dec 04 2014

RedBrick, a patient engagement and wellness company, said that a study of members who completed their programs showed significant weight, blood pressure and cholesterol level improvement compared to similar patients who did not participate in a program.

https://home.redbrickhealth.com/pressrelease/large-scale-research-study-finds-redbrick-journeys-reduce-biometric-health-risks-improve-health-habits/
Dec 03 2014

CMS' Revised Shared Savings Program Rules

https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2014-28388.pdf
Dec 03 2014

An article in the Annals of Internal Medicine does a metareview of research on the effects of health information exchanges, finding very limited evidence for a possible reduction in ER use, and no clear evidence of other benefits.

http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1983413
Dec 03 2014

Health care and workers' comp claims manager Sedgwick has acquired Absentys, which offers software to help employers track and comply with leaves of absence.

http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20141202/NEWS08/141209948?tags=%7C63%7C70%7C285%7C304%7C92
Dec 02 2014

According to a recent Gallop Poll, a third of Americans say they have put off seeking medical care in the last 12 months due to costs, often for what they consider serious conditions.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/179774/cost-barrier-americans-medical-care.aspx
Dec 02 2014

CareLinx, an online service to connect patients and caregivers, has received an undisclosed investment from the Ziegler Link-age fund.

http://medcitynews.com/2014/12/ziegler-linkage-fund-invests-in-home-care-startup-carelinx/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=f4aaa3ea73-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-f4aaa3ea73-67648197
Dec 02 2014

A study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine reviews wellness program evaluations and finds that they can have a positive ROI.

http://journals.lww.com/joem/Citation/2014/09000/Do_Workplace_Health_Promotion__Wellness__Programs.6.aspx