This very extensive article examines various hospitals in Massachusetts and the cost of the same procedures at different hospitals, and then continues further to discuss how this happens; contracts with the insurers and the ability to use “branding” to command a higher rate, all the big centers do it...
Posted to
The Medical Quack .... by Barbara Duck
on 11-16-2008
Filed under: Medically Related, Insurance, Other Items of Interest, My Commentaries, Physicians, Hospitals, bankruptcy, Balance Billing, Transparancy, Debt consolidation, Vendors, Hosptials
This is a good post from the Happy Hospitalists and touches on some of the same areas discussed here with reference to never-never events as well as areas of responsibility and the finances. There are some real gray areas with the never-never events and the comments made herein substantiate this...
Posted to
The Medical Quack .... by Barbara Duck
on 11-10-2008
Filed under: Medically Related, Insurance, Other Items of Interest, Hospital, healthcare, medicare, Physicians, Medical Errors, Hospitalists, Never-Never, deperate hospitals
Every blogger, myself included has written about the upcoming shortage of physicians, well this is predicated on better healthcare, but as we are seeing from the downturn in the economy, people are not going to the doctor to take care of their health, it is still a “risk management world” out there,...
Posted to
The Medical Quack .... by Barbara Duck
on 10-30-2008
Filed under: Medically Related, Insurance, Other Items of Interest, My Commentaries, healthcare, Physicians, Primary Care, Patients, Risk Management, information overlaod
Well Point and United Healthcare have created their own banks, it was either this or connect with a 3rd party. I first posted about this last year and you can read the articles under related posts below. It is still a risk management business by all means though, so this is just another expansion...
Posted to
The Medical Quack .... by Barbara Duck
on 10-22-2008
Filed under: Medically Related, Insurance, Other Items of Interest, healthcare, Physicians, Blue Cross, Doctors, Insurance plans, Wellpoint, Insurance premiums, United HealthCare, Banks, Consumer Healthcare
Other hospital systems are working to catch up. Just in the news recently was the pilot exchange of information between the VA and Kaiser. Also the PHR, personal health records, from HealthVault will be due to come on line soon, so patients will be able to transfer the information to their...
Posted to
The Medical Quack .... by Barbara Duck
on 10-21-2008
Filed under: Medically Related, Technology, Insurance, Other Items of Interest, microsoft, Medical Records, EHR, Physicians, PHR, HL7, VA, Hospitals, Kaiser Permanente, Patients, KP Health Connect, pilot program
This is somewhat of a return from times in the past, but many companies are seeing it as a way to reduce costs and provide medical care to employees at work, not just emergency care, but regular physician care. Yes there would be privacy concerns here too, as how much of this information could find it's...
Posted to
The Medical Quack .... by Barbara Duck
on 09-04-2008
Filed under: Medically Related, Insurance, Other Items of Interest, My Commentaries, healthcare, Physicians, Johns Hopkins, Doctors, Wall Street, Walgreen, Clinics
As the old saying goes, things roll downhill and Siemens was the straw that broke the camel's back here. Recently Siemens has been in the news with their own issues with restructuring and lay offs. There are other creditors including Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii, Ewa Beach, $3.9 million;...
Posted to
The Medical Quack .... by Barbara Duck
on 08-30-2008
Filed under: Medically Related, Insurance, Other Items of Interest, My Commentaries, healthcare, Physicians, FDA, Hospitals, Nursing, bankruptcy, Economics, Desperate Hosptials, Venture Capitalists, Transparancy, Layoffs, Debt consolidation, Overseas Investments, Vendors