Disease registries are used to track a number of patients with a common condition to determine factors which affect their outcomes and to help guide their treatment. An article in…
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Another scintillating Potpourri, focused on the effect of copayments on prescription adherence, use of PHRs in the FEHBP plans, doctors use of cancer drugs after a Medicare reimbursement change, visiting…
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Both providers and consumers are increasingly subjected to positive and negative inducements to behave in certain ways. An article in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine explores some possible behavioral…
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The holiday shopping season is in full swing but our Potpourri is free, filled with useful data on high-deductible health plans and utilization, Medicare Advantage plan Stars bonuses, drug complications…
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A Press Ganey report describes trends in patient satisfaction for hospitals, outpatient departments, emergency rooms, physicians and home care and lists top priorities for patients in improving their experience of…
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A new report by Rand Corp. researchers published in the American Journal of Managed Care finds rapid growth in the use of retail clinics and identifies some of the factors…
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The Annals of Internal Medicine carries a study on the effectiveness of interventions to reduce the 30-day readmissions rate. This meta-review found little consistent evidence to support the value of…
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No Potpourri next week due to the holiday, so enjoy this festive collection of health care nuggets, including pay-for-performance in large physician groups, employer views on the effect of the…
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A final summary of Medicare's disease management pilots gives a bleak picture of the value of the efforts. While there are design and methodological critiques of the Medicare program that…
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Research reported in Health Affairs examines the Mayo Clinic's experience after increasing cost-sharing for its employees. Reductions in the use of many discretionary services seem to have been sustained over…
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The world's aflame with reporting on provider quality and cost performance. Making sure the information is complete, accurate and credible is no simple task, as a recent Agency for Healthcare…
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From the Commonwealth Fund comes another in a series of reports bemoaning the woeful inadequacy of the American health system, especially compared to those in other developed countries. Whatever our…
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Specialty drugs have gotten the attention of all payers, with multiple efforts underway to manage the exploding costs associated with this category. A new paper from URAC summarizes the issues…
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The American Hospital Association weighs in on the hospital readmission reduction incentive program with a well-thought out program that identifies the complexities involved in identifying inappropriate readmissions and designing initiatives…
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About this Blog
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.
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