The FDA has ordered 23andMe to stop selling its personalized genetic testing kits direct to consumers, highlighting the tension between consumer access to their genetic information and the regulatory need to ensure accuracy of tests and govern how the data is interpreted and used.
A new survey from IDC Health Insights finds that 58% of outpatient providers are unhappy with their EHRs, many very dissatisfied, primarily because of a negative effect on productivity.
From the Department of failed government IT projects, the Department of Defense has announced that its new EHR won't be ready until 2017, at the earliest. This following the abandonment of a joint DOD/VA EHR that was projected to cost $28 billion (yes, you read that right). This one will "only" cost $4 or $5 billion; just 10 or 100 times more than buying an off-the-shelf system would, even for this large a customer. An absurd waste of taxpayer money.
A scale that measures the relationships that patients and physicians have appears to show that poor relationships lead to perceptions of poorer quality according to a study in the Annals of Family Medicine.
http://www.annfammed.org/content/11/6/543.full
Nov212013
eClincial Works is investing $50 million and hiring 100 software developers to strengthen its patient engagement and population health management capabilities.
A study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research reports that use of an app on a smartphone can help improve glycemic control in patients with Type 1 diabetes.
http://www.jmir.org/2013/11/e235/
Nov192013
MapMyFitness, a maker of apps to enter and track various kinds of exercise and fitness apps, hit the jackpot, being bought out by Under Armour, a maker of sports clothing for a cool $150 million. Map that!!
More hospitals are being penalized, and penalized more on average, under Medicare's value-based purchasing program. Some hospitals are also getting bonuses. It is unclear what the consequences of the program are or will be on hospital behavior and patient care.
A survey from Humana indicates that on average Medicare beneficiaries spend 22 hours making a decision on Medicare choices, including selection of a Medicare Advantage plan. About 64% said that quality and keeping their current physician were the most important factors in their decisions.
A report from Evaluate finds that around 30 new drugs will be approved by the FDA this year, down from 43 last year. Many of these drugs, as with the ones approved last year, will be very expensive specialty drugs.
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.