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
Investors and analysts using The Healthcare Exchange will be able to ask questions of physicians, such as their opinions about a new treatment or device. Sermo has been a community website restricted to physicians to compare and collaborate within their peers and now with the new service investors...
Posted to
The Medical Quack .... by Barbara Duck
on 10-23-2008
Filed under: Medically Related, Technology, Other Items of Interest, drugs, healthcare, Investors, Physicians, Prescriptions, clinical trials, Sermo, Bloomberg, MCconnect, opinions
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
The conference is being held later this year, and April certainly can bear a little bit better weather for Chicago than February. “ Keep your schedule on track for HIMSS09 in Chicago from April 4-8, 2009. The 2009 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition comes just 5 weeks later than last year's...
Posted to
The Medical Quack .... by Barbara Duck
on 10-22-2008
Filed under: Medically Related, Technology, Other Items of Interest, My Commentaries, healthcare, Health IT, Physicians, PHR, Hospitals, Personal Health Records, Medical Errors, HIMMS, Informed Patient, Quaid Foundation, Patient Rights, Dennis Quaid
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