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We are all health illiterates: navigating the health system in a sea of paper and financial haze

By on January 30, 2012 in Design and health, Health Consumers, Health disparities, Health Economics, Health engagement, Health literacy, Hospital finance

“Older patients, caregivers, and family members face growing challenges in understanding and navigating the nation’s increasingly complex healthcare system,” begins a well-articulated column called Why Consumers Struggle to Understand Health Care, in U.S. News & World Report dated January 27, 2012. Health literacy isn’t just about understanding clinical directions for self-care, such as how to take medications [...]

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help comes to health care: well-designed front-of-pharmacy DIY health products

By on January 19, 2012 in Design and health, Health Consumers, Health engagement, Health literacy, Health marketing, Pharmacy, Popular culture and health, Prevention and wellness

Less is more when it comes to health care utilization and outcomes. The U.S. allocates too many resources to a huge line item of waste in the health system – administrative (in terms of too many paper processes and staff to deal with them) and clinically (especially involving duplicated tests and ineffective treatments that aren’t based on [...]

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Stop SOPA

By on January 18, 2012 in Connected health, Health at home, Health Consumers, Health Economics, Health engagement, Health literacy, Health politics, Health social networks, Internet and Health, media and health, medical home, Medical innovation, Popular culture and health, Prevention and wellness, Primary care, Public health, Remote health monitoring, Safety net and health, Telehealth, Telemedicine

    Health Populi’s Hot Points: Please stop censorship in the United States of America. Click on this hyperlink to easily contact your Congressional representatives and express your opinion on SOPA and PIPA – two laws that would limit basic freedom in the marketplace of ideas and commerce.

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Health spending in America – self-rationing slows cost increases

By on January 12, 2012 in Health Consumers, Health disparities, Health Economics, Health engagement, Health literacy, Health politics, Health reform, Medication adherence, Seniors and health

The Big Headline under the banner of Health Economics this week is the statistic that growth in U.S. national health spending slowed to an anemic 3.9%  in 2010 — the slowest rate of growth in the 51-year history of keeping the National Health Expenditure Accounts.   Before American policymakers, providers, plans and suppliers pat themselves on [...]

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The social determinants of health – U.S. doctors feel unable to close the gap and deliver quality care

By on January 9, 2012 in Health Consumers, Health disparities, Health Economics, Health literacy, Health reform, Health social networks, Kids' health, Physicians, Prevention and wellness, Primary care, Public health, Retail health

Most U.S. primary care physicians realize the health of their patients is largely out of their hands — with their social needs ranking as important as addressing their medical conditions, according to the 2011 Physicians’ Daily Life Report, conducted on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation by Harris Interactive in September-October 2011, results published in [...]

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