Why Are Drugs So Expensive?
Currently, the fastest growing cost in healthcare is coming from double-digit growth in the cost of drugs. The cost of drugs is a significant burden for millions of Americans. Some believe the root cause is greed, but I believe the root cause comes from Congress. When the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan was passed […]
Patients Prefer Digitally Savvy Docs and Want a Connected Healthcare Experience
Most people have not heard of Surescripts, but they touch each of our lives. The company has a nationwide health information network connecting doctor’s offices, hospitals, pharmacists, and health plans. When your doctor e-prescribes a medication, Surescripts routes the prescription to your pharmacy. A Surescripts’ Connected Care and the Patient Experience survey found, “Millions of people […]
What Do Medical Students Think About Electronic Health Records?
The median age of a first year medical student is 22. He or she was born in 1993, and by the time they got to 1st grade, the web was well established. In other words, they never knew a time when the Internet was not an integral part of their lives. We should not be […]
We All Need Health Insurance
I watched a panel discussion on CNBC this morning. It was introduced as the Future of Healthcare. The participants were CEOs of health insurance companies. There was no mention of patient safety and quality, clinical procedures, patient care, mobile health, telehealth, robotic surgery, accountable care, or affordable care. Another missing topic concerns the 30-40 million […]
Can Paramedics Reduce Hospital Readmissions?
Most of us may think of a paramedic as a healthcare professional who works primarily in a pre-hospital environment, usually as part of an emergency medical services (EMS) team. That is changing. Hospital executives are laser focused on readmissions, especially for congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. CHF is the number one reason for hospital admissions. Typically, CHF […]
