Archive | October, 2010

Long-term care costs are rising faster than general health costs in the U.S.

By on October 31, 2010 in Aging and Technology, Baby Boomers and Health, Health Economics, medical home, Medical technology

If you thought the percentage of annual medical inflation in the U.S.  was high at 3.7% in September 2010, hang on to your wallets: the cost of long-term health care in America is increasing even faster than medical costs every year. Assisted living costs increased 5.2% between 2009 and 2010, and the cost of a private [...]

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Using collaborative online tools for collaborative health care reduce costs

By on October 28, 2010 in Employers, Health Economics, Health engagement, Health reform, Health social networks

“Freeing health data from silos” and fostering collaboration between patients and providers can save costs and improve health quality for employers who sponsor health benefits. The bottom line: employers can benefit from using social media tools for employee health management, according to a report from Healthcare Performance Management in the Era of “Twitter” from the [...]

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It’s not the media…it’s the social – reflections on health activists online

By on October 27, 2010 in Health care marketing, Health Consumers, Health engagement, Health social networks, Public health

When four self-described health activists share their personal stories in the same physical (not virtual) room at the same time, in real time, it’s an exponentially moving and learning moment. WEGO Health convened a Socialpalooza event (#socialpalooza on Twitter) this week where an influential handful of health activists met face to face with some people who work in health industries. The [...]

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Is health care a blue or a red brand?

By on October 25, 2010 in Health care marketing, Health Consumers, Health engagement, Health politics, Health reform

Google is heavily favored by Democrats; Fox News Channel, no surprise, by Republicans. Citizens affiliated with a particular political party favor certain consumer brands, according to YouGov’s BrandIndex survey.  For Democrats (the blue folks), favored brands include Sony and Amazon. For Republicans (the red voters), top brands include the History Channel, Fox, and Lowe’s. The Google vs. Fox [...]

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The hot trigger of Rx price at the point-of-prescribing

By on October 22, 2010 in Health care information technology, Health Consumers, Health Economics, Mobile health, Pharmacy, Retail health, Supply chain

Medical drug benefits meet doctors and their patients via mobile platforms: that’s the prescription for a retail health care experience with the consumer’s checkbook in mind, brought to you by Walgreens pharmacy and Epocrates, the #1 most widely-used mobile drug information source among U.S. physicians. In this offering, Walgreens will channel its discount formulary information through Epocrates’s mobile [...]

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