Do wellness programs improve quality and cost outcomes? Despite their popularity, from a research perspective the answer remains unclear, but a new review published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine takes a fresh look, which concludes that the evidence remains inconclusive.
How much can you trust research? Not a lot sometimes, as an article in Health Affairs demonstrates, using the issue of salt reduction as an example. It turns out that salt is probably not nearly as bad for people’s health as has been postulated.
Many states and local governments have enacted prohibitions on smoking in certain public places, including restaurants and bars. These bans are founded on public health concerns due to inhalation of second-hand smoke. A new study in Health Affairs finds that the smoking bans are associated with fewer hospitalizations for certain conditions.
A study published in Health Affairs examined consumers’ awareness of preventive care benefits in their high-deductible insurance plans, finding that many were unaware that these services were available without charge.
Our penultimate Potpourri for 2012 is a festive blend of health data, including avoidance of health care due to costs, rates of expected spending increases in 2013, costs for younger versus older physicians, internet versus print health interventions, medical home results and poor health behaviors and health spending.
In this holiday season, it is a time for giving presents and our latest Potpourri presents you with many gifts of health information, including some positive news about an ACO program, some cautions for the success of ACOs, an apparently successful disease management program, lung cancer screening, earnings growth for physicians and other health professionals and lessons in bundled payments.
Another in our series of Potpourris, tasty, succulent morsels of health data food, including this week the effect of mammography screening, improving health and health costs, state costs to run health insurance exchanges, family caregiving and the costs of fixing Medicare’s physician reimbursement.
It is cooling down across most of the country, but our Potpourri remains red-hot, with nuggets on the moderation in health spending over the last few years, how to change automatic health behaviors, EHRs and diabetes care, a medical home pilot in Colorado and an ACO demonstration in Maine.
Yet another survey of the employer market, this one from Aon Hewitt, which also reflects views of employees covered under their companies’ health plans. Aon Hewitt finds that employers are stepping up their level of action in regard to designing and operating health plans and other programs to encourage better health.
Another brilliant edition of our Potpourri, focusing on individual health insurance rate reform, variation in traumatic care costs, genetic counseling and diabetes, small business and health care costs and savings from wellness programs.
A study released by a private vendor evaluates wellness and benefit administration benchmarks in 2012.
Another sunny Potpourri, brightening your day with rays of data on hospital at home; Medicare care coordination programs; an employer survey on impacts of the reform law; a survey on health habits and employee productivity; first quarter health plan results and ER use and end-of-life care.
A group of health care organizations has produced a guidance for employer-sponsored wellness programs with incentives, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The statement is supportive of these programs, although expressing some reservations about incentive use.
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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