An article in the current Journal of the American Medical Association examines trends in US health care over the last three decades, including an analysis of recent spending growth finding…
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This month's Health Affairs discusses the adequacy of the health care workforce in light of presumed increased demand from implementation of the ACA and the aging of the population.
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Health Care Service Corporation, a large Blues plan, announced an agreement to acquire Lovelace Health Plan of New Mexico. HCSC already owns the Blues plan in New Mexico so this action will reduce competition in the state.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131111006050/en/Health-Care-Service-Corporation-Acquire-Lovelace-HealthThe Advisory Board has acquired Care Team Connect, which offers software helping to connect providers caring for the same patient. The acquisition furthers The Advisory Board's offerings for care management by providers.
http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/news-item/advisory-board-acquires-care-team-connectMark Farrah Associates has released its most recent assessment of major health plan company results, showing enrollment gains and reduced profit margins.
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A study at Vanderbilit University reveals that an easy way to improve patient satisfaction is to make a hospital patient knows their doctor's name and some information about him or her. Patient satisfaction is more important now as it factors into the value-based purchasing formula.
http://consumer.healthday.com/general-health-information-16/doctor-news-206/patients-doctors-jot-vanderbilt-release-batch-1003-681802.htmlResearch published at the National Bureau of Economic Research examines factors related to patients compliance with their medication therapies.
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A study in Health Psychology finds that how order sets are presented in an EHR may affect how many tests are ordered. Using a default opt-out or recommended by experts option led to more appropriate tests being used, but also increased health spending.
http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/news-item/altered-electronic-order-set-could-create-cost-savings-better-careA new paper from the National Bureau of Research offers a timely look at the dynamics of pricing rules and enrollment for health insurance exchanges, suggesting that substantial adverse selection…
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Now that it is clear the exchanges are not likely to function as intended and that many individuals won't get their mandated health insurance, it seems like a good time…
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As government auditors begin to look at the billions of dollars in EHR incentive payments, firms are having to return some of them that were inappropriately received.
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20131106/NEWS/311069943/some-ehr-payments-going-back-to-government-as-auditors-look-into?AllowView=VW8xUmo5Q21TcWJOb1gzb0tNN3RLZ0h0MWg5SVgra3NZRzROR3l0WWRMWGFWZjBIRWxiNUtpQzMyWmFxNTNvWUpiaWliUVF3eWtaVTUyZUZRZUl3bWlhUnFNV3JIOWk2WHFVZFI2b0MzNjJ1YTY2bTdOTkVidFNZOUU1akZ1czFtQzhEb3ZRcFMzL3B3MEpXNkJtblVaTHg4Ylk9A paper from the National Bureau of Economics explores the role of patient and physician preferences in geographic variation in health spending.
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ShapeUp, another of the plethora of companies operating in the health and wellness space, has raised an additional $7.5 million to expand its mobile capabilities in wellness program engagement and operation.
http://www.pehub.com/2013/11/06/cue-ball-capital-excel-venture-management-lead-7-5-mln-investment-round-shapeup/About 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.