Personalized medicine relies on genetic testing for much of its information. Direct-to-consumer genetic testing firms are widespread and a GAO report reveals that much of their work appears shoddy and…
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A Health Affairs/Robert Wood Johnson Issue Brief examines the accountable care organization concept, particularly as embodied in the recent federal health legislation. While there may be potential, as ACOs are…
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An EBRI report summarizes what seems to be known to date about the effects of consumer-directed health plans and provides statistics on their use. One clear conclusion is the need…
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The American Medical Association has issued a report on the malpractice experience of physicians. Most will be sued at some point during their careers, and the fear of malpractice exposure…
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Summer begins to wane, but not our Potpourris. Another one full of useful data, including health insurance costs for 2011, a new telehealth joint venture, use of kiosks in physician…
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Wireless or mobile communication technologies are enjoying a rapid spread in health care. Two of the primary federal agencies which might impact the development and spread of these technologies are…
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Every year Medicare puts out very lengthy and detailed proposed, and ultimately final, rules updating the reimbursement for all of the classes of providers--physicians, hospitals, etc. While reading these is…
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The New Yorker carries an exceptional article by Atul Gawande on end-of-life care, highlighting irrational reimbursement policies and the difficult decisions that both patients and providers must make.
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Although its reform effort appears to have gone amok, largely for cost reasons, the state of Massachusetts is producing a lot of useful data and research on medical service delivery,…
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A study of diagnostic practices for Medicare beneficiaries reveals geographic variations. These variations not only may suggest either under or overuse of diagnostic tests but they can bias other research…
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A lot of great items in this week's potpourri, covering the acquisition of HealthGrades, what encourages men to get screenings, potential cheating on pay-for-performance schemes, the problems of a multi-payer…
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There has been no more gnarly health care problem for Congress than how to deal with physician reimbursement. At some point, as a Health Affairs article points out, it will…
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Trashing insurance companies is popular and one of the most frequent complaints is about their premium increases and profits. A NEJM perspective uses misleading information to continue dumping on health…
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A study in JAMA suggests that process-of-care quality measures, which are frequently used for bonus or penalty reimbursement programs, may have little real relationship to ultimate health outcomes.
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Workers' compensation health cost trends may provide some insight into underlying medical cost issues across the system and vice versa. An NCCI report looks at factors driving trends in medical…
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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.