The Medicare Advantage Stars program is reviewed in a Kaiser Family Foundation brief which discusses coming changes in the calculations and the current ratings and characteristics of a number of plans
A positively presidential set of health care data points for your edification in today’s Potpourri, including examining correlations between hospital volume, quality and costs, improving quality program adherence, creating good insurance markets, the physician gender pay gap, the effects of the health reform law, and potential inconsistencies in HHS’ HIT incentive programs.
The leading reason advocates use for demanding universal coverage is that it will improve health and health outcomes for lower socioeconomic groups. New research from Canada indicates that this is not likely to be true.
A BIO study looks at the success rates for pharmaceutical and biotech candidates over a multi-year period, finding a fairly low rate, which doesn’t vary much by type of drug or disease addressed.
Yet another study has emerged on the factors responsible for apparent variation in costs of treating Medicare patients, this one focused on the high-cost quartile of beneficiaries and finding that health status accounts for much of the variation.
A Towers Watson survey describes employee attitudes toward wellness programs and health engagement, with a surprising finding of declines in health as a priority and involvement in programs.
The year wears on, winter hopefully draws to a close, and our Potpourri provides nutritious sustenance, this week featuring comparative effectiveness research and personalized medicine, two surveys on hospital progress in implementing EHRs, a patient-centered vision of HIT, the validity of care guidelines, and the use of clinical decision support to control inappropriate imaging.
Personal health records are electronic medical records collected or maintained by patients. Health Affairs reports on a survey of physicians regarding their views on these records, finding interest in having access to the information but almost no current use.
One interesting aspect of personalized medicine is the widespread ability of consumers to purchase somewhat inexpensive genome wide scanning for disease risk. New research evaluating the potential benefits or harms of these DTC tests finds not much impact either way.
Researchers writing in JAMA looked at whether the ownership type of a hospice appeared to be correlated with profit-maximizing behavior under Medicare’s per diem payment scheme. They found only weak evidence which could have other explanations.
One of the primary concerns regarding Medicare spending is the significant population bulge in the 45-64 bracket, a group that is beginning to become Medicare eligible. A CDC brief explores physician usage trends in this group and the over 65 set and looks at potential implications.
Another rendition of selections from the health literature, including advance directive issues; guideline problems; physician religious beliefs and end-of-life care; health information exchanges; the results of use of modified global payments with physicians and hospitals; and physician payment reform.
As would be expected, new research verifies that there are significant spending differences by age and by gender. The implications of this are unclear, particularly since the reform legislation limits how much insurance premiums can vary by these factors.
PWC issued a report assessing the status of innovation in medical devices, finding that the United States no longer has the lead in this area and that the types of devices currently being deemed “innovative” has changed.