Archive | January, 2011

Doctors and the public support health IT in America, the Markle survey confirms

By on January 31, 2011 in Electronic health records, Health care information technology, Health Consumers, HITECH Act, Physicians

The majority of both doctors and people in the U.S. support sharing information to improve health care in the U.S. by reducing medical errors, cutting avoidable costs, better coordinating patient care, measuring progress on improving quality and safety, and improving public health priorities such as heart disease and obesity. What’s also clear is that both the public isn’t very familiar with [...]

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Who’s a medical doctor? The need for greater transparency and useful tools in health

By on January 27, 2011 in Health Consumers, Health engagement, Health literacy, Physicians

While 8 in 10 U.S. adults want a physician to have primary responsibility for the diagnosis and management of their health care, many people are not sure who’s a medical doctor. Surprisingly numbers of health consumers don’t think that orthopaedic surgeons, family practitioners, dermatologists, psychiatrists, and ophthalmologists are MDs. The American Medical Association‘s survey, Truth in [...]

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Innovation will turbocharge health globally and locally – the GE Global Innovation Barometer

By on January 26, 2011 in Global Health, Health Economics, Medical innovation, Medical technology

While innovation, writ large, is an engine for economic growth, it’s especially going to positively impact many aspects of health and health care, based on GE’s Global Innovation Barometer 2011. To prep for this week’s meeting of thought leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, GE surveyed 1,000 senior business executives in 12 countries [...]

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Consumers connecting for health: what does it mean for health plans?

By on January 25, 2011 in Health Consumers, Health engagement, Health literacy, Health Plans, Internet and Health

I’m talking today at the 2011 Annual PPO Forum held by the American Association of Preferred Provider Organizations (AAPPO) on the track called, “Technology Changing the Face of Health Care: What Does 21st Century Care Look Like?” It looks like consumers connecting for health, which is the topic of my discussion. People already DIY-many aspects of [...]

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Don’t underestimate the costs of adopting health IT

By on January 24, 2011 in Electronic health records, Health care information technology, HITECH Act, Hospital finance, Medical technology, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PPACA

Mature users of electronic health records bear many scars and learnings, having been through the first several rungs of the health information technology (HIT) adoption ladder. A few of these lessons for HIT adoption success… Implementing EMRs is a strategic and not just an IT-department initiative. HIT adoption requires top-down commitment and engagement. It takes longer and [...]

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