An outstanding Rand report describes the potential for home care technologies, barriers to their use and changes needed to overcome those barriers. The report paints a compelling picture of how greater care at home can benefit patients and the health system.
On we go, wading through piles of research to arm you with the most relevant snatches of data, this week featuring geographic variation in the quality of drug prescribing; use of Facebook communities for health purposes; physicians’ hourly wages; medication adherence programs; surgical safety improvement; and using survey data to assess patient satisfaction.
An article in Health Affairs discusses the important topic of disseminating new medical and health care knowledge to physicians and other providers, in this case specifically in regard to comparative effectiveness. Many barriers exist to widespread use of new knowledge and additional techniques are needed to maximize such use.
Another group weighs in on the health care costs of obesity. The Society of Actuaries releases a report which suggests even higher mortality and morbidity costs related to the condition than did other research.
An unfortunate contributor to medical costs, as well as an obvious source of quality problems, are patient care errors. AHRQ releases the first results from a survey of medical offices on patient safety culture, with the goal of helping those offices reduce those patient care errors.
A survey of 3000 American physicians reveals frustration and a widespread and strong disbelief in the supposed positive effects of the reform law on either health care for patients or physicians.
On we go into the New Year, already on our fourth Potpourri, this one rich with information on state Medicaid program issues; what makes for a successful wellness program; what makes for a well-run hospital; pushing back on too much medical care; the value of colonoscopy and walking faster to live longer.
Whether the fear is justified or not, physicians and other providers are often motivated by avoiding malpractice claims. An essay in the NEJM discusses how EHRs and other health IT advances my affect malpractice liability.
CSC put out a report giving its vision of the future of health care, with a particular focus on how emerging technologies may reshape wellness, prevention, early disease detection, treatment and how care is delivered.
We have reported several times on geographic variation in health spending, primarily in regard to Medicare beneficiaries, MEdPAC released a new brief that focuses on variation in use as opposed to raw spending, showing variation but to a smaller degree.
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].
© 2024 Healthy Skeptic.
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