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Latest articles
Health policy
Historically, the “do more, bill more” fee-for-service model of healthcare measured success by increased billings. In the fee-for-value era, we need a new framework for assessing healthcare results. Quality indicators are logical but they are mostly geared towards measuring actions…
Historically, the “do more, bill more” fee-for-service model of healthcare measured success by increased billings. In the fee-for-value era, we need a new framework for assessing healthcare results. Quality indicators are logical but they are mostly geared towards measuring actions taken. We can borrow a concept from the energy sector for an additional metric. We need a concept for removing waste and unnecessary care that could be inspired by a concept …
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Patient engagement is the blockbuster drug of the century
Health technology
”Email is the killer app of patient portals.” I heard a variation of that quote when interviewing people for the patient-provider communication chapter of the book I’ve been co-editing and writing for HIMSS with Jan Oldenburg, Brad Tritle and Kate…
”Email is the killer app of patient portals.”
I heard a variation of that quote when interviewing people for the patient-provider communication chapter of the book I’ve been co-editing and writing for HIMSS with Jan Oldenburg, Brad Tritle and Kate Christensen. For the organizations who’ve pushed patient portals the furthest into their patient base, email is always the place where things started. In other words, email is the gateway drug for …
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How secure messaging and email benefit patients and improve outcomes
Physician voices
As both the private and public sector aggressively shift healthcare incentives from a “do more, bill more” to a value and outcome based model, healthcare providers ignore patients role in driving outcomes at their own peril. It is generally understood…
As both the private and public sector aggressively shift healthcare incentives from a “do more, bill more” to a value and outcome based model, healthcare providers ignore patients role in driving outcomes at their own peril. It is generally understood that patients forget 80-90% of what they are told at the doctor’s office. As incentives no longer reward outcome over activity, this is a disaster financially for health professionals. This …
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Make creative use of existing technologies to thrive in the future
Health policy
There's a great deal of planning and testing of new models of care and delivery to respond to healthcare's ever increasing costs. We've all heard about Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) and medical homes. The common concern is that they become…
There’s a great deal of planning and testing of new models of care and delivery to respond to healthcare’s ever increasing costs. We’ve all heard about Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) and medical homes. The common concern is that they become a repeat of HMOs with the accompanying misaligned incentives undermining their effectiveness. An exciting new medical home model is rapidly expanding that avoids the dreaded “gatekeeper” that was the undoing of …
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How to avoid HMO gatekeeper problems in medical homes
Health technology
More and more providers see the value of providing patient portals. In an attempt to be responsive, EMR vendors are providing patient portals that have some limited capabilities (get lab results, email your doctor and possibly fill out a form…
More and more providers see the value of providing patient portals. In an attempt to be responsive, EMR vendors are providing patient portals that have some limited capabilities (get lab results, email your doctor and possibly fill out a form requesting an appointment). However, just as the ability to design an airplane cockpit is radically different from a car dashboard, so to is designing an EMR geared towards medical professionals …
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Designing a friendly patient portal for consumers
Patient voices
Over 1.5 million Americans travel abroad each year for medical procedures. Services typically sought by travelers include elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as cardiac surgery, dental surgery, joint replacement, and cosmetic surgeries. However, virtually every type…
Over 1.5 million Americans travel abroad each year for medical procedures.
Services typically sought by travelers include elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as cardiac surgery, dental surgery, joint replacement, and cosmetic surgeries. However, virtually every type of health care, including alternative treatments, psychiatry, convalescent care and even burial services are available.
U.S. based healthcare providers have taken notice as have self-funded employers and health plans. The …
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Domestic medical tourism saving employers money and improving outcomes
Physician voices
In an age of family physicians literally not being able to give away their practices, Brian Forrest has built a successful model that is similar to the age of Marcus Welby where there was a direct relationship between a patient…
In an age of family physicians literally not being able to give away their practices, Brian Forrest has built a successful model that is similar to the age of Marcus Welby where there was a direct relationship between a patient and their doctor. Practices such as Forrest’s Access Healthcare in North Carolina run unencumbered by insurance hassles.
As word of Dr. Forrest’s …
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How direct primary care reduces primary care costs
Health policy
The insurance middleman has taken a toll on the family doctor. New practice models plan to change that. Physicians in Seattle, Silicon Valley and Boston are proving what the rest of the world already knows. When you have a high…
The insurance middleman has taken a toll on the family doctor. New practice models plan to change that. Physicians in Seattle, Silicon Valley and Boston are proving what the rest of the world already knows. When you have a high function primary care system, there’s less money spent and better health outcomes.
Before House, M.D., …
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Direct primary care and the Marcus Welby vision of primary care
Health policy
Now that I'm well out of my reckless youth phase of my life, I try to preserve the efficacy of my brain. With my lifestyle, there's three actions I take to ensure the integrity of my brain. Always wear a…
Now that I’m well out of my reckless youth phase of my life, I try to preserve the efficacy of my brain. With my lifestyle, there’s three actions I take to ensure the integrity of my brain.
- Always wear a bike helmet when I bike
- Avoid over-consumption of alcohol
- Avoid looking at doctor bills and insurance “statement of benefits”
The first two …
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Direct primary care and a do it yourself health plan
Health policy
With my extensive health care background, many people have asked for my opinion during the health reform debate. My response has been that the only way to really "reform" the system is to blow it up and start over, which…
With my extensive health care background, many people have asked for my opinion during the health reform debate. My response has been that the only way to really “reform” the system is to blow it up and start over, which isn’t politically feasible.
After delving deeper into the current legislation, I believe that we are going to see something …
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Direct primary care and medical loss ratio will impact health insurers
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