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Cats and Dogs Living in Harmony? The CFO and CMO have Common Interests in Disease Management
A quiet, yet dramatic disconnect has existed in many health care organizations for the past decade. The disconnect relates to how the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) view disease management (DM).
This subtle dynamic has impacted the course of disease management development and implementation in many provider and health plan organizations. In many organizations CFOs took a predictable point of view — “Show me the money.” In other words, they would only endorse DM programs if […]
Client Spotlight – Cardiobeat Poised to Revolutionize Hemodynamic Monitoring
Cardiobeat is an early stage company with a revolutionary impedance cardiography system for non-invasive measurement of hemodynamic (blood flow) parameters. Impedance cardiography holds great promise for disease management of patients with congestive heart failure, hypertension (high blood pressure), and other conditions.
The Clinical Opportunity
There is a need for better tools to diagnose and manage heart disease. In the US alone, there are 5 million patients with CHF and over 50 million patients with hypertension.
Modern medications are complex and highly effective for […]
GE Buys E-Health Capabilities at Yard Sale Prices
Hardly anyone seems to have noticed, but General Electric has just completed its purchase of MedicaLogic (formerly Medscape), an eHealth medical record company.
“It’s a strategically important acquisition for us, said Greg Lucier, President and CEO of GE Medical Systems Information Technologies. “Our expansion into the ambulatory setting is a `first’ for GE, and because more patients experience care in this setting than any other in healthcare, it’s really an opportunity for us to make a major transformation in the healthcare […]
Adoption of E-Health Technologies – The Pace of a Turtle, The Intensity of a Steam Roller
“Taking the Pulse: Physicians and Emerging Information Technologies”
Deloitte Consulting, Deloitte & Touche; January 2002
Major Themes:
Time is Money. …the rate of adoption of information technology by practicing physicians is dependent on the relative impact on productivity and, by extension, on the economics of their practice.
Point of Care Information Technologies Remain Elusive (For Now).
Infrastructure Matters. …Value creation occurs when front-end applications and tools are integrated with robust backbone infrastructure–transaction systems and core databases.
Still Room to Master the Basics. …there is an abundance […]
Rewarding Physicians to Improve Quality of Chronic Care? What a Concept!!
Did you see the headline last week — “Six California Health Plans Formally Announce Quality Initiative”?
Eight million people are served by these six plans–Aetna, Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California, CIGNA Healthcare of California, Health Net, and PacifiCare. They have agreed to develop a common scorecard of quality measures and to pay physicians for achieving better scores.
Is the California initiative of Pay for Performance-Quality (PFP-Quality) a trend? Our commentary discusses four main points:
The PFP-Quality trend is here to […]
Mountains Beginning to Move? The Medicare Chronic Care Improvement ACt of 2001
One of the greatest barriers to delivering coordinated chronic care — perhaps THE greatest barrier — has been the lack of appropriate reimbursement.
With support from the National Chronic Care Consortium (NCCC) and the Chronic Care Coalition, Congressman Pete Stark and Senator Jay Rockefeller have introduced The Medicare Chronic Care Improvement Act of 2001. This legislation is designed to update and improve the Medicare health delivery system to meet better the needs of people with chronic health conditions.
The Institute of Medicine’s […]
Online Health Jeopardy
Are you familiar with the TV quiz show “Jeopardy” — the one where contestants are shown an answer and then have to come up with the right question?
Here’s today’s answer:
This recent government sponsored report makes recommendations in the following areas of online health:
Better management of clinical information to support care
Increased availability of online health services to provide direct clinical care
Increased use of online applications to support clinical practice
Facilitating the greater adoption of electronic commerce to produce a more efficient health […]
“Hospitals and Chronic Care Strategy: Stuck in the Middle”
Hospitals are an enigma when it comes to chronic disease management. While to-date most hospitals have watched from the sidelines, they have the POTENTIAL to become star players.
Key Questions for Hospitals to Consider
Are you in the chronic care business? Is it part of your mission to care for your patients’ ongoing chronic care needs? Are these questions even on your radar screen? If they’re not, they will be shortly.
How do Hospitals Fit into the Bigger Picture of Chronic Disease Management? […]
Patients Would Use E-mail to Communicate with Physicians
“E-mail Communications in Family Practice — What Do Patients Expect?”
The Journal of Family Practice, May 2001
Areas of Reported Interest Among Patients with E-mail Access
Communication with MD…… 89.9%
Request prescription refills… 86.7
Consult a nurse. …………….. 83.6
Obtain lab/test reports……… 81.2
Make/cancel appointments.. 77.6
Regardless of sex or race, patients have high expectations that these tasks can be completed within a relatively short time.
Pharmaceutical Trend Studies From Express Scripts
“2000 Drug Trend Report”
Express Scripts, June 2000
A 150-page report examining pharmaceutical utilization and spending trends.
The bottom line: Per […]
Five Critical Observations About Disease Management Assembling
“Build or buy?” is one of the most fundamental questions faced by any organization. A few years ago, it was unclear how this question should be answered in relation to chronic disease programs. The question is raised by a wide range of organizations involved in chronic disease management (DM) — including delivery systems, physicians, health plans, and DM support or outsourcing companies.
A third option — assembling — is making sense to an increasing number of organizations. Assembling is somewhere between […]