According to research in the journal Chest, use of tele-ICU services was associated with lower mortality and faster discharges from the ICU and the hospital.
An AHRQ Statistical Brief examines the top 5 therapeutic classes of drug use for adults in 2010, which were metabolic agents, CNS drugs, cardiovascular, psychiatric and gastrointestinal. These classes accounted for about $153 billion of spending or 60% of total drug spending.
UnitedHealth Group has told investors that fees under the reform law and cuts to Medicare Advantage will reduce earnings by around $1 billion. It is likely other large health plan companies will be similarly affected.
New Mountain Capital has purchased Medical Specialties Distributors from Water Street. MSD is a leading provider of products to the home infusion market.
An article in the Journal of Palliative Care finds that palliative care can reduce ER visits and overall spending and improve the quality of end-of-life care, but faces many obstacles, including a balkanized system and lack of trained palliative care professionals.
AHRQ releases a Statistical Brief showing that the most common sources of adverse drug events during a hospitalization in 2011 were steroids, anticoagulants, antibiotics and narcotics.
The Commonwealth Fund has a post asking if better care at lower cost is possible. The post rehashes the usual complaints about the health care system and offers the usual remedies. The worst thing is that it repeats the erroneous notion that a third of the care in the US is wasteful and unnecessary.
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.
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.