The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality released a Statistical Brief looking at physician visits, finding variance in cost and out-of-pocket expense, depending on the setting.
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The latest Dartmouth Atlas report focuses on trends and variation in end-of-life care, finding fewer people are dying in the hospital, more hospice use is occurring, but intensity of care…
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Two pieces of research discuss an example of extensive off-label use of a drug, finding that costs are being raised with little likelihood of an increase in quality of care.
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Happy Easter and welcome to our latest Potpourri, which will raise you up with information on workplace wellness, hospital pricing, clinical decision support systems, using HIT to save on drug…
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A study of the VHA's care for chronic disease patients finds generally good compliance with treatment recommendations, but not necessarily the best patient outcomes, reflecting the complexity of improving quality.
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The IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics issued a report on drug spending and use in 2010 in the United States. Highlights include a very slow overall rate of growth and…
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Researchers examine what can be done to improve the science of performance measurement in a new Health Affairs article, making valuable suggestions to increase the credibility of an increasingly important…
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New research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine finds that doctors prescribe different treatments for patients than they would choose for themselves when one choice involves potentially harmful adverse…
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Happy Easter and welcome to our spring kickoff potpourri, complete with a survey on technology use by consumers; brand drug pricing; how to get individuals to purchase health coverage; views…
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Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Programs provide coverage for a very substantial portion of the nation's children. The GAO issues a report on the adequacy of some aspects of…
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Health Affairs publishes a study suggesting that the systems which have been used to identify patient safety issues in hospitals miss most problems. A new tool does a better job…
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Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine examines the relationship between nursing home quality metrics and the number of malpractice claims they have, finding a weak relationship at…
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An article in JAMA discusses the use of gaming technology to aid in health goals, reviewing the research and discussing potential benefits and risks.
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Our Masters week Potpourri masterfully covers such items as EHR satisfaction, ICU telemedicine, effects of concierge care on Medicare, failure to fill prescriptions, percent of household spending on health care…
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A NEJM article notes the increasing employment of doctors by hospitals, even though the hospitals usually lose money on the practice in the short-term. The effects of this trend on…
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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.