A continuation of information from the EMD Serono Specialty Digest, with a focus on trends in spending and utilization management.
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EMD Serono puts out an annual report on specialty drug use that is outstanding. This year’s edition carries on the tradition with a plethora of useful data and charts based on surveys and collection of other data. The report demonstrates that this fast-growing category has attracted new benefit design and utilization management efforts to rein in spending.
This edition of our data-packed Potpourri focuses on hospital readmissions, use of computer physician order entry systems, what employers will do after 2014 when all of the health law kicks in, and hospital pay-for-performance programs.
Pay-for-performance programs have enough problems demonstrating that they actually work to improve outcomes and now the Government Accounting Office has identified another potential problem for these initiatives–the federal fraud and abuse regulations.
A new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research examines whether greater use of health information technology has added to hospital productivity. The authors find that while the investment in technology is highly productivity enhancing, there were very modest overall benefits and very limited effect on overall productivity.
The only way to know if something really works is to have credible experimental research. A review of clinical decision support research suggests that they can improve health care processes but that the effect on ultimate outcomes is unknown.
Articles posted online in the journal Health Affairs provide a glimpse into the status of electronic medical record penetration in physician practices and hospitals. Progress is generally slow, especially among smaller physician groups and smaller hospitals We are a very long way from uniform meaningful use of HIT.
Another tremendous edition of our Potpourri, featuring accountable care organization results, waste in our health system, self-referral costs, calculating hospital readmission rates and the benefits, if any, of telemonitoring frail seniors.
An article in Health Affairs examines imaging rates for prostate cancer patients, adding a new viewpoint to the geographic variation in care debate by finding that low imaging areas have low rates of both appropriate and inappropriate imaging and vice versa.
PMSI has released its 2012 Drug Trend Report for workers’ compensation business. Medical costs are an increasing portion of workers’ compensation payouts and drug spending, particularly for pain medications, has become an area of greater focus to prevent abuse.
A report from the Government Accounting Office trashes the Administration’s Medicare Advantage bonus “demonstration”, suggesting it was a thinly-veiled subterfuge, wasn’t likely saving money and wasn’t likely to improve quality.
PriceWaterhouseCooper has issued a report on health care and social media. While there appears to be a fair amount of activity by health care providers and companies on social media websites, it is unclear that are any impacts on meaningful outcomes like quality or costs.
More delightful health facts for your edification in our most recent Potpourri, including the cost of obesity, an employer survey on wellness programs, opportunities for hospitals to reduce costs, an employer survey on cost expectations in the coming year, Massachusetts’ and health spending control and incentives in health care.
Improving primary care is viewed as a method to lower health spending while maintaining or even improving quality. A Health Affairs article reports on a Virginia program that appears to have successfully used primary care reforms to meet these objectives.
The segment of the population which is elderly and poor, thus often eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid coverage, is often not in good health and has very high expenses. The travails of this population and how Medicare might be able to control spending for this group are explored in a new Kaiser Foundation Report.
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 [email protected].
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