Archive | March, 2010
Physicians Cite Cost and "Not Being Ready" As Key Barriers to EMR Adoption

Physicians Cite Cost and "Not Being Ready" As Key Barriers to EMR Adoption

By on March 31, 2010 in Electronic health records, Health care information technology

Two news stories this week highlight the fact that, even with a health reform bill signed and sealed by the President of the United States, and with $20 billion of ARRA stimulus funding on the books, electronic health records adoption will probably be slower than the go-go forecasts of one year ago. The head of Accenture’s [...]

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The health care cost blame-game

The health care cost blame-game

By on March 30, 2010 in Health Consumers, Health Plans

71% of Americans are worried about how to pay for rising health care and insurance costs. 6 in 10 Americans blame increases in the cost of health premiums on the profits of insurance companies and prescription drug manufacturers. 1 in 2 Americans point to hospital prices as the cause of higher health costs. Only 18% of [...]

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Health costs for smaller companies grew twice as fast as for larger firms in 2009

Health costs for smaller companies grew twice as fast as for larger firms in 2009

By on March 29, 2010 in Employers, Health Economics

Inflation in the U.S. fell by 0.4% in 2009, the first such annual decline in the Consumer Price Index since 1955. At the same time, health care costs for American employers grew 7.3% per capita in 2009. As the chart health spending increased nearly 5%, with employers’ costs increasing even more quickly over the year. [...]

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Diagnosis: sicker people have less Internet access

Diagnosis: sicker people have less Internet access

By on March 25, 2010 in Health Consumers, Health engagement, Health social networks, Internet and Health

While 2 in 3 American adults with no chronic health conditions go online to access health information, only 1 in 2 chronically ill people seek health information online. This irony here is that those who most need access to online information, support and tools don’t use them as much as people who are healthy. “The [...]

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Are Americans all Europeans now?

Are Americans all Europeans now?

By on March 23, 2010 in Uncategorized

Ted Kennedy spoke from the grave on Monday 22nd March, saying through the earthly voice of Nancy Pelosi that the passage of health reform was “the great unfinished business of our society.” Universal health coverage has been part of developed Europe for decades, and those countries spend a lot less overall and per capita on [...]

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