Policy & Law

What's the definition of insanity?

This edition of the Health Wonk Review is a bit tongue-in-cheek, as I offer some interesting definitions of well-known words and make light of some of the more despair-inducing aspects of the world of health policy. Buckle up, because it’s going to be a bumpy ride![read more]

EHR implementation race

According to a recent study by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, only 31 percent of solo practitioners have an EHR system that meets the requirements for Meaningful Use Stage 1, compared to 62 percent of mid-sized practices and 82 percent of larger healthcare facilities.[read more]

Improving patient experience

“Consumer” engagement impacts patient engagement and patient satisfaction. And that strategy should include mobile technology such as smartphones and tablets to help you reach consumers through the convenient tools they use most often.[read more]

Healthcare obstacles

It’s almost cliché to say that the American healthcare system is changing. But the reality is that the pace of care delivery transformation will speed up in 2013 with technology, consumerism and the Affordable Care Act. All these factors will merge on a sector that today represents one-fifth of the economy.[read more]

First, do no harm / Wikipedia

MedStar Health is partnering with HPI (Healthcare Performance Improvement) to take this innovative health system to zero preventable harm utilizing principles of high reliability organizations. Since the number one goal of all healthcare providers is to do no harm it would seem everyone is aligned.[read more]

Andy Rooney, lovable curmudgeon

I am getting close to the age where I should be a bit confused, but my younger colleagues also seem confused about the Affordable Care Act. From what I read the Affordable Care Act is not affordable, nor is it patient oriented. Patients really had little to do with its formation.[read more]

primary care / shutterstock

A report from one of the largest physician recruiting firms in the country could give some heft to the specialty of primary care (whose disciplines include general internal medicine, family medicine, general pediatrics, and primary OB/GYN). Americans are spending more money on primary care physicians than on specialist care.[read more]

homeless/shutterstock

How do I explain our inability to prescribe medicines to a patient who acutely needs them? Or explain our limitations to a doctor who rarely thinks about them? How do I justify not treating a patient to my own conscience?[read more]

Kelly Tappenden, PhD, RD

Today, Kelly Tappenden, PhD, RD talks about the Alliance to Advance Patient Nutrition. The Alliance is the result of the partnership of five prestigious healthcare organizations: Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN), the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.), the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) and Abbott Nutrition. It has for goal to raise awareness about hospital malnutrition and improve patient outcomes while reducing costs through early nutrition screening, assessment and intervention.[read more]

health news

One of the main tenets of the ACA is the assimilation by Medicaid of the eligible uninsured. In order to attract more physicians who will accept Medicaid CMS, the states have promised to increase reimbursements for physicians who accept Medicaid. But physicians are balking.[read more]

George Washington: truthteller

The fallacy is to expect certain professions and professionals to be more irreproachable than the rest of us. We are all vulnerable to experiencing a fall from grace. Staying straight and true is a struggle, at least for me. Yes, physicians lie. For more than one reason.[read more]

Telemedicine: the doctor is always in?

Have you noticed the recent wave of TV commercials for one-to-one video calling or multiple participation video collaboration, or one-to-many webcasting? The mainstream adoption in business will be driving more medical provider and hospital applications…eventually.[read more]