Online health marketing

The dynamics of change in American society and the nation’s healthcare delivery structure have opened new hospital advertising and marketing opportunities. Consider how Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) and Pomona Valley Health Centers (PVHC) are using Internet strategies to attract new patients.[read more]

Progress in prostate cancer

I have written here many times of my excitement about progress in treating blood-related cancers, so called “liquid tumors.” And, like me, many of our visitors have one of them. But many men also worry about prostate cancer. I am happy to report that here, too, there’s a lot of progress in an unfolding story.[read more]

building a marketing team

Building a high-performing marketing team and the systems to support them are strategy-critical investments that will generate significant returns over the long term. More than ever, chief marketing executives are being held to a higher standard of accountability for return on marketing investments.[read more]

bundled payments / shutterstock

The New England Journal of Medicine recently ran an article calling for “Post-Acute Care Reform.” The authors are correct that this is a messed up system that is unlikely to provide the patient with the care she needs. But it is messed up because of previous attempts to “fix” the system.[read more]

Malcolm Gladwell (Flickr/Pop!Tech)

Being a storyteller, Malcolm Gladwell was able to eloquently illustrate some of the challenges with interoperability in healthcare, and how they should be addressed, during a keynote at West Health Institute’s recent Health Care Innovation Day.[read more]

healthcare procedures

A few weeks ago, I saw my primary care provider for a scheduled physical exam, or what the health insurance industry now likes to call a "wellness checkup." Imagine my shock and surprise when I saw the total amount that had been billed to my insurance plan--more than $880.[read more]

Evan Falchuk

In this podcast interview, Evan Falchuk, United Independent Party candidate for Governor of Massachusetts discusses his views on healthcare with healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of the Health Business Group. This is the third in a series of nine in-depth interviews with the candidates.[read more]

Funny ICD-10 codes (Stuart Miles/Freedigitalphotos.net)

The new ICD-10 medical billing codes that go into effect October 1, 2014, are totally replacing the current ICD-9 codes. Most of the new codes are straightforward and helpful. On the other hand, it appears that there are some new codes that will make anyone laugh. Here are some that may be particularly humorous to orthopedists and radiologists.[read more]

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro

Although I receive many press releases, I don't post on the vast majority. But the one I'm reprinting here, from Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro on her comments at the first Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing Of 2014, is different.[read more]

Maine health legislation / shutterstock

Expanding MaineCare (as Medicaid is called there) will not only burden state taxpayers; it will also increase inappropriate use of emergency rooms, decrease access to care for Maine’s most vulnerable residents, decrease private coverage, and even increase unemployment.[read more]

discussing patient engagement

As a healthcare professional I believe patient engagement is critical to successful outcomes. From my perspective, the more engaged and involved a person is in their own healthcare the better chance we have of helping them achieve their personal health goals.[read more]

The Neuron

The HIMSS conference is so big, with so many different kinds of attendees and exhibitors that it’s almost impossible to have one big theme for any given year. Yet the question of theme for any given HIMSS is something we all talk about. The themes one perceives are at least partially defined by our own interests and area of focus.[read more]