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Health Policy/Reform
John Halamka’s Stunning 180: “Dogs and Cats Should Live in Harmony”
The King of the Cats has just acknowledged that indeed cats and dogs should co-exist peacefully.
Dr. John Halamka — Vice Chair of the HIT Standards Committee of the ONC and one of the most vocal and influential figures in health IT — writes a blog post this morning entitled “The Genius of AND”. Halamka reasonably summarizes the essence of the debate about standards and interoperability as being between “the healthcare informatics crowd” (cats) and the “Internet crowd” (dogs):
He notes that the debate […]
Medicare’s Biggest Change in 40 Years on the Horizon?
Earlier this week CMS issued a typically cryptic Announcement indicating that they were shelving the Medicare Medical Home Demonstration (MMHD) and instead would focus on the recently announced Multi-Payer Advanced Primary Care Initiative (MAPCI). My blog post from Tuesday provides details and asks the question “What does all this mean?”
Today’s blog post will tackle:
Medicare’s biggest change in 40 years?
The rise of MAPCI
The fall of MMHD
Implications/discussion
Medicare’s Biggest Change in 40 Years?
Senator Grassley: You’re on Track About EMR Problems, But Here Are Some More Questions to Ask
An article in today’s Washington Post links to a letter written by Senator Charles E. Grassley.
The letter is directed at 10 EMR (electronic medical record) vendors, and asks very pointed questions about whether the vendors have been negligent in not addressing patient safety issues in their technologies.
Senator Grassley, you have the scent and you’re on the trail. There are several other questions you should be asking these vendors:
The Big Idea in Understanding “Accountable Care Organizations”
Here’s the big idea: accountable care organizations (ACOs) are about creating accountability.
ACOs of various types are being proposed in national health reform legislation. For all you ever wanted to know about ACOs, read How to Create Accountable Care Organizations from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.   I spent an hour and a half poring over the details of this excellent report written by Harold Miller.
My mistaken impression has been to focus on the organizational form of ACOs, rather than their objectives. Organizational form is relevant […]
Latest Health Wonk Review at Healthcare Technology News
Rich Elmore plays tribute to Senator Kennedy in the latest edition of the Health Wonk Review. Read wonker perspectives on health care reform.
The Third Rail in HITECH Implementation: “Please Don’t Make Us All Speak Latin”
By Vince Kuraitis and Steven Waldren MD, MS. Dr Waldren is Director of the Center for Health Information Technology at the American Academy of Family Practice (AAFP).
Two issues have rightfully surfaced front and center in the public’s understanding of HITECH Act implementation:
” definition of “Meaningful Use” of EHRs, and
” definition of “certification” process for EHRs
…and we applaud the progress of the workgroups and the HIT Policy Committee in addressing these issues constructively.
However…a THIRD issue lurks – “Data harmonization at the […]
CCHIT’s Latest Gambit
by Glen Laffel MD, PhD
Many of us have enjoyed a few good minutes of fun having our fortunes told by soothsayers who claim they can predict our future based on patterns of tea leaves in a cup or the playing cards we’ve pulled from a deck.
We pay a few dollars for the entertainment and if the fortune teller is skilled, we are temporarily impressed by his “insight.” But once we leave the carnival, we come back […]
PR Blunder of the Year: Federation of American Hospitals Says Meaningful Use Should Not Tie to Quality Improvement
These guys really don’t get it, and they need to be called on the carpet, taken to the woodshed, or pick your own favorite cliche.
The Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) sent a letter to Dr. David Blumenthal (National Coordinator for Health IT) arguing that “Meaningful Use” funding should not be tied to achievement of quality measures. The FAH is the trade association for for-profit hospitals; the letter is dated August 26 and a copy is available on […]
What’s a Network Industry? Is Healthcare One?
This post is a foundational overview of characteristics of network industries. Much of the terminology will deserve deeper discussion, but we have to start somewhere.
In his book The Economics of Network Industries, Professor Oz Shy lists four characteristics of network industries.
The main characteristics of these markets which distinguish them from the market for grain, dairy products, apples, and treasury bonds are:
Complementarity, compatibility and standards
Consumption externalities [network effects]
Switching costs and lock-in
Significant economies of scale in production
In this essay, I’ll quote from Dr. Shy in explaining each […]
Intro to a New Series
  “We need to make care linkages a core competency of American health care.”Â
George Halvorson, Chairman and CEO, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Kaiser Foundation Hospital
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There’s a double meaning to the title of this new series: Healthcare Crosses the Chasm to the Network Economy
At the level of technology, it’s a reference to Geoffrey Moore’s bestselling business/technology book — “Crossing the Chasm”. The Chasm here is the huge gap between early adopters of technology and mainstream users. The book describes the process of bringing […]