Quality in healthcare can be a slippery concept. But in general, our medical system treats mortality as the ultimate adverse event. Higher mortality is thought to indicate poorer quality care. But what if death were the appropriate and preferred outcome for an individual? Consider the hypothetical case of an 87-year-old man named Philip. Philip has a living… Read More »
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are groups of health care providers, including doctors, hospitals, and other service providers, who provide coordinated care, reducing the need for patients to manage coordination of their own care. These organizations receive incentives from Medicare when they deliver care to patients efficiently. Providers make more money if they keep their patients healthy. Medicare… Read More »
The presidential primaries are in full swing and health care is an issue for both parties. The candidates have left themselves plenty of wiggle room, but there is enough information in the public domain to make some predictions about what the different approaches (and they are different) would mean for the health care system. This… Read More »
The major goal of the Affordable Care Act was to expand health insurance coverage. The Department of Health and Human Services will tell you that the Affordable Care Act is working: more Americans are insured. About 16.4 million people gained insurance in the past five years. What do these numbers mean for racial and ethnic minorities who… Read More »
Personally, I find patient portals to be convenient. It’s an easy way to send healthcare-related questions to my provider such as, “does this medication have any side effects?” or, “can you please refill my prescription?” I perceive the primary benefit as not having to schedule an appointment or wait on hold for 15 minutes to… Read More »
According to data out this month from the Kaiser Family Foundation, there are 2 male doctors for every 1 female in practice in the US. This translates to about 300,000 fewer women than men in practice today. This gender difference is a disparity that many in health care may think has resolved, but in fact… Read More »
Earlier this month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a proposed federal rule to implement smoke-free public housing. The proposed rule would affect all living units, common areas, outdoor areas up to 25 feet away from the housing areas, and administrative offices. The change would affect over 700,000 units no later than… Read More »
“Breaking The Fee-For-Service Addiction: Let’s Move To A Comprehensive Primary Care Payment Model,” a recent Health Affairs blog post by Rushika Fernandopulle of Iora Health, argues for replacing FFS payment with risk-adjusted comprehensive payments for primary care. We agree. However, the post portrays sponsors’ continuing to require submission of “dummy claims” as an unproductive addiction… Read More »