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.

Oct 09 2014

A survey from the Medical Group Management Association finds that practice staffing costs rose 4.6% last year, largely due to government requirements.

http://www.mgma.com/about/mgma-press-room/press-releases/2007-2012/medical-practices-report-increased-spending-on-total-business-operations-staff
Oct 09 2014

California's workers' comp costs could drop by over $120 million annually if it used a closed formulary for drugs, according to a California Workers' Compensation Institute study.

http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20141007/NEWS08/141009879?tags=%7C329%7C79%7C87%7C304%7C92
Oct 08 2014

MedBox, which is developing an automated dispensing machine for marijuana, has raised $2.5 million, hitting a high in financing, with individuals jointly putting in the money for this stone-cool product.

http://medcitynews.com/2014/10/biometrics-developer-cannabis-industry-medbox-raises-2-5m/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=520acf41e3-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-520acf41e3-67648197
Oct 08 2014

Physicians near the end of their work days are more likely to write inappropriate prescriptions, according to research in JAMA Internal Medicine, an example of what is referred to as "decision fatigue."

http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1910546
Oct 08 2014

Informatics in Context raised $1.65 million in financing to develop a product to help providers and payers automate prior authorizations.

http://medcitynews.com/2014/10/infomatics-context-raises-1-65m-automate-prior-authorization/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=520acf41e3-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-520acf41e3-67648197
Oct 08 2014

Contract research organization INC Research is filing for an IPO.

https://www.pehub.com/2014/10/pe-backed-inc-research-files-for-ipo/
Oct 08 2014

Maestro Healthcare Technology has conducted an acquisition of Workable Solutions, which offers private insurance exchange billing services.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140923006420/en/Maestro-Healthcare-Technology-Acquires-Leading-Private-Exchange#.VDLzXktq4qc
Oct 08 2014

EpharmaSolutions, which offers software to help with clinical trial data gathering and analysis, is being acquired by WIRB-Copernicus Group, a provider of regulatory and ethical review services.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/epharmasolutions-joins-the-wirb-copernicus-group-276904081.html
Oct 07 2014

CMS will be penalizing over 2600 hospitals in 2015 for their hospital readmission rates, notwithstanding an overall reduction in readmissions, further pointing our how wrong-headed the initiative is.

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20141002/NEWS/310029947&utm_source=AltURL&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mpdaily&AllowView=VXQ0UnpwZTRDdlNjL1IzSkUvSHRlRUtwajA0ZEErSmE=
Oct 07 2014

A brief report in the American Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy finds that greater medication adherence is associated with medical cost reductions that more than offset the cost of the drugs.

http://www.amcp.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=18569
Oct 07 2014

Nextech Systems, a provider of EHR systems for specialty physicians, has acquired MDIntelleSys, the leading opthamology EHR.

http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/nextech-to-acquire-mdintellesys-the-leading-cloud-based-ehr-for-eye-care-1953069.htm
Oct 07 2014

Zywave, which provides employee benefits software,  has acquired Plan Doc Builder, which helps employers generate ERISA compliant health plan documents.

http://www.zywave.com/corporate-news/2014/09/17/zywave-acquires-plan-doc-builder-strategic-recovery-partnership/
Oct 07 2014

I am clearly too dated to understand today's investing world.  Glow, which provides a fertility tracking app, has raised $17 million.  (Insert pregnant pause)

http://venturebeat.com/2014/10/02/glow-brings-in-17m-in-new-funding-as-puts-big-data-to-task-with-fertility-challenges/