Why Medical Management Will Re-Emerge By BRIAN KLEPPER, PhD Several years ago I had dinner with a woman who had served in the late 1990s as the national Chief Medical Officer of a major health plan. At the time, she said, she had developed a strategic initiative that called for abandoning the plan’s utilization review and medical management efforts, which had produced heartburn and a backlash among both physicians and patients. Instead, the idea was to retrospectively analyze utilization to identify unnecessary care. Read more.
Us and Them-Ism
By ROB LAMBERTS, MD
The wanna-be congressman appeared with his neat hair and pressed suit, a competent yet compassionate expression on his face. ”The first thing I am going to do when I get to congress is to work to repeal Obamacare,” he said, expression growing subtly angry. ”I will do everything I can to give you back the care you need from those who think big government is the solution to every problem.” My wife grabbed my arm, restraining me from throwing the nearest object at the television. I cursed under my breath. Read more. The Colonoscopy Experience By JOHN HALAMKA, MD The preparation is the hardest part. Three days before the procedure, it’s recommended that you reduce the quantity of high fiber foods you eat – fruits, vegetables, nuts etc.For me that was particularly challenging since my entire diet as a vegan (who tends to avoid white flour, white rice, and white sugar) is high fiber. I moved to soups and brown rice. A day before the procedure (really 36 hours), you move to a clear liquid diet – apple juice, broth, and tea. In my case I drank a cup of vegetable broth and apple juice every 3 hours. At 7pm the night before the procedure, the real challenge begins. Read more.
Obesity: Global Public Health Challenge or Investment Opportunity?
By MARION NESTLE Worried about the potential personal and economic costs of obesity? Never mind. It’s time to view obesity as a business opportunity. As the press release for a new research report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Globesity—The Global Fight Against Obesity, points out: “Increasing efforts to tackle obesity over the coming decades will form an important new investment theme for fund managers…Global obesity is a mega-investment theme for the next 25 years and beyond…The report…identifies that efforts to reduce obesity is a “megatrend” with a shelf-life of 25 to 50 years…BofA Merrill Lynch analysts across several sectors have collaborated to identify the sectors and companies developing long-term solutions.” Read more.
App-Happy Health Care Full of Optimism, Money
By MICHAEL MILLENSON Welcome to the realm of Internet-enabled health apps. Politicians and profit-seeking entrepreneurs alike enthuse about the benefits of “liberating data” – the catch-phrase of U.S. Chief Technology Officer Todd Park – to enable it to move from government databases to consumer-friendly uses. The potential for better information to promote better care is clear. The question that remains unanswered, however, is what role these consumer applications can play in prompting fundamental health system change. Read more. THCB Marketplace The Health Care Handbook The American health care system is vast, complex and confusing. Books about it shouldn’t be. The Health Care Handbook is your one-stop guide to the people, organizations and industries that make up the U.S. health care system, and the major issues the system faces today. How to Live Forever *Results May Vary. Nominee Palm Springs International Film Festival. Nominee Hamptons International Film Festival. How to Live Forever Director Mark Wexler embarks on a worldwide trek to investigate just what it means to grow old and what it could mean to really live forever. But whose advice should he take? Does 94-year-old exercise guru Jack LaLanne have all the answers, or does Buster, a 101-year-old chain-smoking, beer-drinking marathoner? Why Nobody Believes the Numbers Ever wonder if those wellness, disease management, medical home and other programs imposed on your medical practices really work? Answer that question for yourself by reading Why Nobody Believes the Numbers, the first population health outcomes measurement book not infused with THC. | |
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