A study in JAMA looks at hospital readmissions after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation units, finding an overall rate of around 12% for leading conditions with substantial variation across facilities and regions. Many of these patients appear to be in a downward cycle which is hard to interrupt.
According to a GlobalData report the market for electronic medical records will hit $17 billion in 2017. McKesson is the current market leader at $3.3 billion in sales for 2012, followed by Cerner at $2.7 billion and Allscripts at $1.5 billion.
The Administration has once again delayed part of the employer mandate in the health reform law, this time for smaller employers, and changed the rules on how larger employers will have to comply.
Castlight's IPO filing shows a company with huge losses, low revenue, massive debt and a nice client base, but a high dependence on revenue from one client. Clearly a bailout attempt for the current vc owners.
A Viewpoint int he Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that excess ICU bed supply in the US causes overuse and excess spending with no improvement in outcomes.
Cigna also reported results for 2013, with lower earnings than expected and a lower forecast for 2014 than analysts expected. It also said its exchange enrollment is half what it anticipated and will result in a loss.
Aetna reported results for 2013 slightly under analysts expectations, but also revealed that it expects a small loss on its exchange enrollees, due to a worse risk pool than expected.
A study published in Social Science Quarterly links declines in medical service use to recessions, using data from a number of countries. Countries with national health insurance saw less of a usage decline and the US saw the largest decrease among countries studied.
Change Healthcare released information in its Health Care Transparency Index that identifies procedures with the most price variability and therefore the greatest opportunity for savings. These include imaging scans, colonoscopies, ultrasounds, and some office visits.
Apparently a bipartisan deal has been reached to repeal the SGR formula for Medicare payments to physicians, keep the current reimbursement level and add one-half percent each of the next five years and continue to move to value-based reimbursement with base payments flat for the five years after 2018. The cost is $126 billion over ten years.
Aetna has released results from a study of its high-deductible plans, showing that for companies that did a full replacement, over six years they saved $208 per employee per year. The employees in these plans also accessed preventive care more frequently, participated in wellness programs more often and paid more attention to benefit and health information.
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.
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.