Headlines – Page 360 – Healthy Skeptic

Mar 03 2013

hhp

By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

A Wall Street Journal article discusses the new network relationships being formed between health plans and hospitals with the advent of reform and the exchanges.

Mar 01 2013

bmj

By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

According to a study published in the British Medical Journal, use of telemedicine for patients with certain chronic illnesses did not result in better patient-reported quality of life or satisfaction compare to usual care, but patients were no worse off either.

Feb 28 2013

jam

By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

CMS’ policy of requiring use of centers of excellence for bariatric surgery made no difference in rates of complication or outcomes, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, calling into question the value of the policy.

Feb 28 2013

aea

By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

A new paper published in the American Economics Association journal suggests that employees select among health insurance choices based on part on a guess about their own use of that insurance.

Feb 27 2013

reform

By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

Uh-oh, more people now oppose the reform law than support it, according to a KFF survey, largely because Democratic support has dropped dramatically.

Feb 27 2013

read

By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

A Commonwealth Fund Brief reports on a multi-state initiative to reduce readmissions which hasn’t come close to its goal, finding that economic incentives alone may not be enough to reduce readmissions.

Feb 27 2013

Cerner

By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

Cerner is buying health and wellness software platform vendor Pure Wellness, for an undisclosed sum. The purchase likely positions Cerner to better assist providers groups and systems that are at risk for patients’ health costs.

Feb 26 2013

dx

By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

Physicians very frequently make diagnostic errors, largely because of hurrying during a clinical encounter according to a study the Archives of Internal Medicine. Serious problems can occur from missing or wrong diagnoses.

Feb 26 2013

gao

By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

The Government Accounting Office has estimated that the reform law will add up to $6.2 trillion in new spending, particularly if its supposed cost containment features don’t work.

Feb 25 2013

tests

By Kevin Roche Headlines No Comments

The Choosing Wisely initiative has issued a list of 90 additional tests or treatments that physicians and patients are encouraged to be cautious before using. The initiative is supported by many provider groups and aims to advance evidence based medicine.