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.
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.
Thanksgiving approaches and we are thankful for the continuing stream of news to fill our Potpourri, including the effect of malpractice liability on Illinois’ ability to retain physicians; the role of prices in health spending increases; comparative health and death rates in the US and England; employer health insurance costs; CBO review of a plan to reshape to Medicare; and end-of-life decision making.
Because of political considerations, medical malpractice and its health spending effects is a controversial topic. A recent issue of Health Affairs carried several articles on this topic.
Spurred by government funds and regulations, the medical world is rushing to implement electronic records and other functionality. The consequences may not always be great, as a recent study suggests.
On the menu for this week’s potpourri–savings from wellness efforts for a large employer; drug reimbursement for Medicaid programs; using remote monitoring in a health plan context; the FDA’s regulatory approach to mobile health uses; the effect of tort reform on imaging rates and hepatitis C pay-for-performance measures.