Archive | November, 2010

Social media and health brands – find an advocate in Compliance

By on November 30, 2010 in Health engagement, Health social networks, Internet and Health

Federal Express and Ketchum, the communications firm, have benchmarked best practices in social media and brands and published their findings in Leading Brands and the Modern Social Media Landscape. Interviews with chief communications officers were conducted between August and October 2010. Four key insights were identified in the study for regulated industries, which include health care, financial [...]

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Medicaid, the new-new health plan – is it ready for prime-time?

By on November 29, 2010 in Administrative simplification, Health Economics, Health reform, Medicaid, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

“The impending Medicaid expansion will be the single biggest change in the program since its inception in 1965,” according to an analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine dated November 24, 2010. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, or ACA for short) will newly-insure 32 million Americans through dual strategies of (1) mandating uninsured [...]

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Be Thankful: Engage With Grace

By on November 26, 2010 in Aging, Aging and Technology, Health Consumers, Health engagement, Health literacy, Health social networks, Personalized medicine, Popular culture and health, Seniors and health

Now that the turkey, champagne, stuffing and other glorious carbs have been consumed. the real dessert is whipped cream on the pumpkin pie: the gift of a conversation about Life and Grace. We each have our stories about how a loved one’s life has ended. If we’re lucky, that beloved person had a good death: [...]

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Frugal America and what it means for health care

By on November 24, 2010 in Health Consumers, Health Economics, Health Plans

Trading down is the spending ethos among American consumers in 2010: will shoppers’ frugality persist? That’s the question explored by Booz & Co. in their survey, which begs, Forever Frugal? 2010 U.S. Consumer Survey Confirms Persistent Frugality. Booz points out that while the recession officially ‘ended’ in September 2009, most consumers don’t behave bullish in shopping [...]

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Luxury goods: a hospital stay in the U.S., a Big Mac in Switzerland

By on November 23, 2010 in Food and health, Global Health, Health Economics

‘Tis the season for luxury goods spending, if you’re lucky: under the tree, you might find a Swiss watch from Baume & Mercier or Piaget; , chocolates boxed from Lindt & Sprüngli; or a Bally-branded handbag. If you have to stay in a hospital in Switzerland, the average cost of one inpatient night would be $617. That same [...]

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