According to JAMA research, patients think a doctor who delivers an optimistic message is more compassionate and would prefer him or her to one delivering a pessimistic message, suggesting that the content of a message unduly affects a patient's perspective of the physician delivering it. Another item to add to patient education.
Medicare requires a three-day hospital stay to get coverage for subsequent skilled nursing care, which seems silly, and research published in Health Affairs shows no difference in number of admissions or length of stay at hospitals and skilled nursing facilities between Medicare Advantage plans that enforce the rule and those that waive it.
A SullivanCotter survey finds that primary care physician compensation increased 3.4% in 2015 and specialty physician compensation by 2.3%, with urgent care and psychiatry seeing the largest increases and anesthesiology, radiology and neurology the lowest. Orthopedic surgeons had the highest compensation.
Everything is coming up roses for Clover Health, lucky as can be with a $100 million fundraising for its "data-driven health plan" model for Medicare members. We will see how lucky the investors are feeling in a couple of years.
Investors have poured $25 million into Kyruus, which offers hospitals patient access and referral management software.
https://www.pehub.com/2015/09/kyruus-nabs-25-mln/
Sep182015
VillageMD, which supplies technology and knowledge to help primary care providers effectively manage Medicare and dual-eligible populations, has raised $36 million in fresh capital.
Clockwise MD decided its time to raise some funds, without a second to lose, getting a minute $1 million to support its software to help patients and providers identify wait times.
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.