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February 16, 2015 By Casey Quinlan Leave a Comment

Daily Digest: Data passports, narrow networks, and more

Data passports: In the absence of health IT interoperability, some systems have started using “patient passports” for complex cases. It’s a start. Maybe next, patient passports for all? Here’s a Wall Street Journal piece that tells the story: “Patient ‘Passports’ Make Sure People With Complex Cases Are Heard”

Narrow networks, narrower choices: Affordable insurance plans are no guarantee that you’ll find a provider that takes your plan, and is near your home. As the health insurance industry adds millions of new customers via ACA Marketplace plans, it’s turning out to be a contentious relationship for some folks. The NY Times’ Elisabeth Rosenthal breaks down the issue: “Insured, but Not Covered”

Wisdom of children’s books: The always-worth-reading Susannah Fox thinks that healthcare can learn a lot from one of her favorite children’s books. After reading her post, we’re in agreement with her perspective. “What healthcare can learn from Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel”

Deep dive into Twitter on measles outbreak: Our SPM friend Mark Harmel has a terrific post up on the Symplur blog looking at the Twitter data surrounding the #measlestruth conversation kicked off by Dr. Bryan Vartabedian and Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson to support the idea of vaccinating kids against measles. “Did #MeaslesTruth Create a New Form of Twitter Communication?”

Why Anthem hack is potential horror: A very cautionary piece on NPR about the black market for personal data shows that health IDs, particularly Medicare information, is worth a bundle to the bad guys. The real horror here is the lack of cyber-security sophistication on othe part of healthcare industry IT overlords. “The Black Market for Stolen Health Care Data”

John Oliver on “Last Week Tonight” takes on pharma [WARNING: use headphones if you’re at work!]: The weekly HBO news-comedy host takes on pharma marketing in a very funny, but very NSFW (Not Safe For Work), examination of the marketing juggernaut that is the pharmaceutical industry.  “Marketing to Doctors”

 

Filed Under: Digests Tagged With: bryan vartabedian, elisabeth rosenthal, health insurance, john oliver, mike mulligan, npr, NY Times, patient passport, patient safety, pharma marketing, susannah fox, Symplur, twitter, wall street journal, wendy sue swanson Leave a Comment

February 4, 2015 By Casey Quinlan Leave a Comment

Daily Digest: Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Happy Wednesday! Or, as we used to call it in the cube farm, Hump Day. Here’s today’s edition of must-reads –

  1. If you listen to the rising tide of discussion about the cost of care, one of the things that’s -supposed- to help curb that hockey stick upward trajectory is technology. So we found it interesting when we tripped over this piece asking if patients have to pay for portal access. I (Casey) say “no” – you? “Should providers charge patients for portal access?“
  2. Man the battle stations – the White House wants Medicare to be able to negotiate pricing with pharma. Since the introduction of Medicare Part D, CMS has been specifically prohibited to negotiate drug pricing with pharmaceutical companies. This could get loud. “Obama administration seeks to negotiate Medicare drug prices“
  3. The Disneyland measles outbreak, suspected to be accelerated by parents who have refused the MMR vaccine for their children, has raised a lot of heated discussion all over everywhere. I (Casey) almost died from measles when I was 9 years old, the same year (1962) that Roald Dahl, the author of “Charlie & the Chocolate Factory” and other classics, lost his 7 year old daughter, Olivia, to measles. In 1988, he begged parents to avoid the heartache he himself had suffered by vaccinating their kids against measles. “Read Roald Dahl’s Powerful Pro-Vaccination Letter (From 1988)“
  4. Speaking of science, both Dave and I are big fans of evidence based medicine. We both believe, and work toward daily, the idea that health and science literacy is a core piece of helping improve patient experience, and patient participation, in the healthcare system. So we’re big fans of the Cochrane Collaboration, which analyzes and publishes scientific evidence aplenty. Here’s their 2014 “greatest hits” page: “Best of the Cochrane Library: 2014 in review“
  5. I (Casey) produce a podcast series for the Society of Hospital Medicine, which gives me the chance to talk to smart hospital clinicians every month. SHM has a great blog, The Hospital Leader, which I recommend to anyone interested in healthcare. Here’s a recent post, pointing up the idea that we all have to think differently, sometimes at the drop of a stethoscope. “The Shield“
  6. From the “how surprising … well, not really” desk, here’s a recent piece by Elisabeth Rosenthal in the New York Times about the snowbirds of Florida, and the growing savviness that retirees are starting to display when it comes to “doctor’s orders.”  “Medical Costs Rise as Retirees Winter in Florida“
  7. And here’s today’s humor break, what we’re calling “Doc Rob vs Dr. Oz, film at 11” – it’s from our good friend Dr. Rob Lamberts’ “Musings of a Distractible Mind” blog, and it tells the story, in tweets, of how Rob responded to the “Dr. Oz’s Inbox” tweetchat (that turned into something of a PR disaster for Oz) last November. “Dr. Rob’s Inbox“

Filed Under: Digests Tagged With: Cochrane Collaboration, costs of care, elisabeth rosenthal, evidence based medicine, medicare, MMR vaccine, NY Times, participatory medicine, patient portals, pharma, roald dahl, Rob Lamberts, Society for Participatory Medicine, Society of Hospital Medicine, vaccination Leave a Comment

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