About Social Media Today
May 19, 2013
Hospital Chargemasters and Open Data from CMS -- The Conversation Continues
I can accept the proposition that data will be valued differently by different parties. However, I want to throw something else into the mix: We are collectively trying to move away from fee-for-service medicine. As the saying goes: the future is already here; it just isn't evenly distributed. Some are further down the path than others. I think that our time and effort is better spent on ensuring that value-based purchasing systems are up and running, rather than on improving the pricing transparency of FFS medicine.[read more]
May 19, 2013
Government Drops Big Data Bombshell on U.S. Hospital Industry
Perhaps the most important single takeaway from this newly released data isn’t even the data itself but where it came from. It couldn’t come from an industry that’s kept pricing deeply cloaked behind legally binding contracts between providers and payers for decades. It came without much fanfare directly from our Federal Government.[read more]
May 19, 2013
Wanted: Entrepreneurial Business Models for Doctors
My perception is that doctors in previous generations were more likely to devote their entire lives (professional and “personal” time) to the practice of medicine. Today’s doctors are more likely to consider lifestyle and not automatically put everything into doctoring.[read more]
Recent Infographics
America Spends More on Emergency Medicine Than Previously Thought. Good or Bad?
With 130 million visits, 28% of all acute-care visits, and accounting for nearly half of all admissions, emergency medicine should be expected to represent a large share of health care spending….More attention should be devoted to quantifying the value of specific aspects of emergency care.[read more]
There’s No Such Thing as Schizophrenia? Really?
On Monday, the Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP) is going public with their statement about mental illness (which is a wee bit confusing, as I already know what they’re going to say, and if I know it, it’s fair to say at least a few other people do, making it no longer private, but there you have it. . .). The DCP is a professional group of over 9500 clinical psychologists in England.[read more]
Obamacare Won't Cause Fast Food Shortage
fast food / shutterstock
Mid-sized, low wage companies will feel the effect of Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation. Opponents of the law have been making a big deal out of how it will harm businesses and stop their growth plans. But if you learn more, you’ll see there’s little to fear.[read more]
Workers' Compensation and ICD-10
workers' comp / freedigitalphotos.net
ICD-9 coding to ICD-10 as mandated by the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA). Workers’ compensation commercial insurers are non-covered entities under HIPPA and therefore exempt from the mandate to convert their billing practices to ICD-10.[read more]
Handling New Patient Leads: When to Call a Lead
Patient leads (Photo: Alan Cleaver)
People are increasingly relying on the Internet to find the answers they need when it comes to services, especially with healthcare and medical services. This is why it is so important for medical offices to have a strong process set up that gets people landing on their website.[read more]
Medical Devices or Medtech? (Yes, There's a Difference)
Medical technology / shutterstock
Conventional wisdom has it that investment in medical technology is down. I don’t buy it. I have seen the emergence of so many new medtech companies, even since the Great Recession of 2008. I have witnessed hundreds of millions of dollars flow into medtech.[read more]
Angelina Jolie, BRCA1, Public Health and Patent Law
The questions that came to mind immediately for me when I first heard about the Angelina Jolie story included: Isn't BRCA1 the gene that was patented? Isn't that test incredibly expensive and probably not accessible to most women? How is this story relevant to most women?[read more]
Medicare's "Blue Button" Can Help You Track Care
Medicare's blue button
Medicare's Blue Button provides you an easy way to download your personal health information to a file. You can download the file of your personal data and save the file on your own personal computer. The Blue Button is safe, secure, reliable, and easy to use.[read more]
5 Top iPhone Apps To Track Your Health
mobile health apps / photo credit
How to find the fitness app that best suits your needs? We compared features, user ratings, and affordability to bring you the top five iPhone apps for tracking your health—because we think seeing your progress makes it easier to stick to your goals.[read more]
New CMS Chief Confirmed by Senate
Marilyn Tavenner / Reuters
One would think that that news of the first Senate-confirmed CMS head in 7 years would get some media play. This week, the U.S. Senate confirmed Marilyn Tavenner to the post. Prior to this installment, Tavenner worked as a healthcare exec for HCA for a quarter century.[read more]
Vermont Poised to Pass End of Life Legislation
End of life legislation in VT / shutterstock
Vermont becomes the fourth state to legalize a physician’s ability to prescribe lethal medication to the terminally ill patient. The act is significant in this state because it is the result of legislative action. Three other states have had similar measures approved by either referendum or judicial action.[read more]
Why Ignoring ICD-10 Won't Make It Go Away
ICD-10 is coming / freedigitalphotos.net
The US Dept. of Health and Human Services has directed the supplanting of the ICD-9-CM code sets, those currently utilized by physicians, medical billers and coders to report healthcare procedures and diagnoses, with ICD-10 codes. Implementation is to be effected on October 1, 2014.[read more]
GMO: Proteins and Frankenfoods
GMO: Frankenfood and chimeras?
The knowledge that humans have manipulated genes in plants for at least 11,000 years gives some perspective. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) are neither the Frankenstein chimera that some suggest, nor are they the magic bullet for feeding the world and saving the environment.[read more]
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Barbara Ficarra Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA is an award-winning journalist, media broadcaster, health educator, speaker and consultant More »
David Harlow David Harlow is Prinicipal of the Harlow Group LLC, a healthcare law and consulting firm based in Boston, MA. More »
Stephen Schimpff Stephen C. Schimpff, MD is the retired CEO of the Univ. of MD Med. Center and the COO of the Univ of MD Medical System. More »
Andrew Schorr Andrew, a leukemia survivor and respected medical journalist is the founder of PatientPower, an excellent web resource. More »
John Sharp John Sharp has interests in social media in healthcare and clinical research informatics including secondary use of EMR More »
Christina Thielst Christina Thielst is a hospital administrator, consultant, educator and author with 30 years of healthcare experience. More »
“Fantastic article Marti, thank you.There are so many nuggets here it's hard to pick just one, but I particularly like the bit in point 3 about finding ways to deliver your offering in smaller increments, so you can start to get paid sooner. Which of course fits perfectly with the Lean/Agile approach recommended in your first point. Serious food for thought for all start-ups, not just in ...”
“Hey Joan, great list!Here's an awesome start-up -- Picmonic -- that helps students study for standardized medical exams through audio/visual mnemonics. Very interesting stuff! ”