MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'e health'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:14:21 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107727&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2Ft45MiXIThyA%2F This is the transcript of my podcast interview with Jay Mason, CEO of MyHealthDIRECT. David E. Williams:            This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Jay Mason,  CEO of MyHealthDIRECT.  Jay thanks for your time today. Jay Mason:            Absolutely.  Looking forward to talking to you David. Williams:            How do you fit into the health care system?  What problem are you trying to solve? Mason:            We have a number of issues that we help our clients address, but it essentially comes down to getting patients and insurers connected for care at the right place and time.  Often times there are roadblocks and miscommunication. People either do... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107727 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:08:41 +0100 5107727 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096672&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FTzkpCA8QfLU%2F The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) created major incentive programs for clinicians and hospitals that adopt electronic health records and achieve certain Meaningful Use (MU) criteria. Medicare and Medicaid have similar but separate programs. All providers –except certain hospitals– have to choose one program or the other to participate in. CMS has a useful PDF, which highlights the key differences between the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Some are: Medicare providers receive payment reductions if they don’t achieve MU by 2011, while there is no such provision for Medicaid The maximum bonus for eligible professional is $44,000 for Medicare and $63,750 for Medicaid States can add elements to the MU definition for Medicaid, but Medicare’s defi... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096672 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:19:25 +0100 5096672 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096464&cid=t_194338_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fhitech-should-stay-focused-providers What exactly was the purpose of the HITECH Act? The question may seem a bit odd, at best, to most HIT stakeholders, but it still seems worth asking, on occasion, especially when a story emerges that reminds us that HITECH was in fact part of a giant economic stimulus bill. Take, for example, this new report from the IT trade association CompTIA. read more (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096464 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:12:32 +0100 5096464 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057816&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FDYuAl-lK9Hg%2F FDA is proposing regulation for mobile medical applications. Not a bad idea. But I have some concerns about what it will mean for clinical diagnostics software. Here’s the definitional passage: Mobile apps that allow the user to input patient-specific information and – using formulae or processing algorithms – output a patient-specific result, diagnosis, or treatment recommendation to be used in clinical practice or to assist in making clinical decisions. Examples include mobile apps that provide a questionnaire for collecting patient-specific lab results and compute the prognosis of a particular condition or disease, perform calculations that result in an index or score, calculate dosage for a specific medication or radiation treatment, or provide recommendations that ai... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057816 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:13:44 +0100 5057816 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050898&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fmedcpu.mp3 MedCPU is a real-time decision support platform that uses screen extraction and computerized analysis of structured and unstructured electronic medical record data to advise clinicians when they are deviating from clinical guidelines or compliance requirements. In this podcast interview, Americas CEO Dan Neuwirth discusses the company’s origins, technology and initial applications in decision support for obstetrics. He also describes the company’s compliance offering and plans to assist customers with the transition to ICD-10 coding and Accountable Care Organizations. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050898 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:43:52 +0100 5050898 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050902&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FEpagNiie0iU%2F “How Facebook Saved My Son’s Life” -it’s hard to think of a more dramatic headline than that one from Slate. Last week a mother posted an article about her experience. In brief, her son got sick, son’s doctor suspected strep, son got worse, mom posted a photo of her son on Facebook, three dozen people commented on it, and one –a film actress and former neighbor– called to say, “I hope you’ll excuse me for butting in,” she said, “But you have to get to the hospital. Now.” Her son Max had had the exact same symptoms, and was hospitalized for Kawasaki disease, a rare and sometimes fatal auto-immune disorder that attacks the coronary arteries surrounding the heart. “The longer you wait,” she said, “the wo... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050902 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:51:42 +0100 5050902 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028693&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FMason.mp3 I first heard about MyHealthDIRECT a year ago when the director of an emergency department in a major urban hospital told me how his staff used the system to guide patients to follow-up care at community health centers and clinics, or in some cases to redirect patients who were arriving with non-emergent conditions. So I was happy when I was offered the opportunity to speak with CEO Jay Mason to learn more. In this podcast interview, Jay describes MyHealthDIRECT as “OpenTable for health care” and touts the utility of the system to providers, patients and payers. He claims that patients in the system have a 65-75 percent show rate for appointments compared with a 3 to 5 percent rate when patients are simply directed to follow up at a clinic. The company’s offering is in sy... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028693 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:04:31 +0100 5028693 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028537&cid=t_194338_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FEz9y6jiX7Dc%2F I’m getting ready to head west for, among other things, the annual AMDIS Physician-Computer Connection in Ojai, Calif., a high-level gathering of chief medical information officers. After years of fighting for a seat at the table, CMIOs now are being held up as a model, at least overseas. Specifically, my friends at E-Health Insider in the UK have embarked on a mission to have every NHS hospital hire a chief clinical information officer, the British equivalent of the CMIO. Read more about the British perspective on the American CMIO here. Related posts:Google’s health plans, and more on CMIOs Podcast: Dr. Bill Bria on CMIOs and medical informatics England learns from America (Source: Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog) Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028537 Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:55:11 +0100 5028537 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036345&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FDefQcCJoXGc%2F Google Health was announced in 2007 yet never caught on. Now the company is dumping the offering. I can understand why the current product is being discontinued but am surprised to see Google abandon the consumer health focus so explicitly. It’s not as though someone else has run away with the market; and there are massive financial opportunities in the long run for someone who can get it right. A physician/entrepreneur friend sent the following observation, which I agree with. I’m not surprised about the announcement since Google Health failed the “what’s the point” test. The one most exciting thing I’ve seen in consumer health since Google Health began is doctors being available on patient support group listservs.  If Google had set up a service for s... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036345 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:49:33 +0100 5036345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036346&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FhgPKwz4er1M%2F This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Michael Ross, Chief Medical Officer of NaviNet. David Williams: This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Dr. Michael Ross, Chief Medical Officer of NaviNet.  Dr. Ross, thanks for being with me today. Michael Ross:            You bet David. Williams:            Tell me about NaviNet. In particular, what is the core challenge that your company addresses? Ross:            NaviNet is an 11 year old company focused on real-time health care communications. We provide core customers, which are largely health plans –but also governmental entities and — with a linkage that enables administrative simplification. I... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036346 Sat, 25 Jun 2011 03:10:26 +0100 5036346 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036347&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FxZCjLTxEHO0%2F This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with PatientKeeper CEO Paul Brient. David Williams:            This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Paul Brient, CEO of PatientKeeper. Paul, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are getting a lot of attention these days after the issuance of the draft regulations. Paul Brient:            Certainly ACOs are a topic of almost every conversation I have with health care organizations. The concept is not a new one necessarily.  It looks fairly similar to delegated capitation arrangements that many payers attempted or, in some cases, successfully put in ten or fifteen years ago. The best general characterization of ACOs is they are ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036347 Fri, 24 Jun 2011 03:19:17 +0100 5036347 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4953122&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fnaviross.mp3 NaviNet supplies health plan-funded provider/patient communications tools to physician offices and has developed a large cadre of installed users over the past decade. In this podcast interview, Dr. Michael Ross, NaviNet’s Chief Medical Officer describes how the market is evolving and how NaviNet is serving its customer base with new solutions, especially its NaviNet Mobile Connect offering. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4953122 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:46:20 +0100 4953122 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934534&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fbrientaco.mp3 Hospitals and other providers that are planning to form Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) must make sure to put a robust information infrastructure in place to enable them to manage patient care and expenses effectively. In this podcast interview, PatientKeeper CEO Paul Brient comments on the ACO draft regulations and discusses the interaction between ACO activities and Meaningful Use requirements for health information technology. ACOs have many of the characteristics of the capitated provider organizations that emerged in the 1990s. And while many of them have fallen by the wayside, capitation has endured in some places, especially California, where groups such as HealthCare Partners use PatientKeeper tools in a capitated environment. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934534 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:16:09 +0100 4934534 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036380&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2F6WIc_jeLDIg%2F Looks like Google is preparing to pay up to $500 million to settle charges it accepted ads from “rogue” online pharmacies. From what I know of Google, they try very hard to keep this kind of junk off of AdWords. It’s not uncommon for Google to go too far, and keep legitimate sites from participating in AdWords for fear that they are rogue. I experienced this firsthand when I experimented with displaying Google AdWords on the RSS feed for the Health Business Blog, which is distributed through Google’s Feedburner. After a couple days I was booted out of the program for supposed suspicious activity and my appeal was rejected with no explanation. I’m just guessing that it had something to do with the fact that I talk about pharmaceuticals on the blog, but I don&#8... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036380 Fri, 13 May 2011 19:19:43 +0100 5036380 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036413&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FT7mpTJfA0sY%2F This is the transcript of my recent podcast with OrganizedWisdom co-founder Unity Stoakes. David Williams:            This is David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Unity Stoakes, is co-founder and President of OrganizedWisdom.  Thanks for being with me today. Unity Stoakes:            Thank you so much David. Williams:            First of all, what do you mean by “Organized Wisdom”? Stoakes:            OrganizedWisdom is an expert-driven platform for health and wellness. One of the things we discovered five years ago when we launched it is was there was all sorts of great information on the web, but it was mixed in with random information, really a lot of junk.... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036413 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:41:53 +0100 5036413 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4636552&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Forganized.mp3 OrganizedWisdom encourages physicians and other health experts to move online and share wisdom through blogs, open forums and link sharing. In this podcast interview, OrganizedWisdom co-founder and President Unity Stoakes and I discuss the rapidly evolving online health care world. Topics we cover include: The “online health gap” and how it’s being closed by health experts How the vast world of online health care information should be organized and shared The interaction of online health care and traditional print media, in particular OrganizedWisdom’s partnership with Reader’s Digest What the future will bring and how OrganizedWisdom will take part Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4636552 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 20:07:02 +0100 4636552 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036416&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FGkH_7v5VE7w%2F This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Continua Health Alliance Executive Director Chuck Parker. David Williams:            This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Chuck Parker,  Executive Director of the Continua Health Alliance.  Chuck, thanks for being with me today. Chuck Parker:            Thank you.  I appreciate the opportunity. Williams:            Chuck, what is Continua and why is there a need for it? Parker:            Continua Health Alliance is an association of organizations throughout the world that are focused on the interoperability of personal health care devices. The real need was to create an ecosystem for these interope... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036416 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 02:21:50 +0100 5036416 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4622364&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FContinua.mp3 Continua Health Alliance is focused on creating an ecosystem where personal connected health devices can communicate using common standards. In this podcast interview, Continua’s Executive Director, Chuck Parker and I discuss the meaning of “connected health” and the “connected home,” progress in demonstrating return on investment, and the link between Continua’s activities and emerging delivery models such as the Patient Centered Medical Home. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4622364 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:04:37 +0100 4622364 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4405882&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FdUY9eq1wMj0%2F Dan Pollard, founder and CEO of myDrugCosts, Inc. is working on a solution that fits perfectly into the transparency and mobile health trends I discussed in my 2011 predictions post. myDrugCosts.com (now in public beta) allows patients to engage about drug costs, either at the point of care or before or after a doctor’s visit. It goes well beyond the usual advice to switch to generics  by offering information about alternative products within the class and different dosage forms. It also goes beyond the health plan’s drug formulary information by including information on discounted retail purchase options that are sometimes cheaper than the plan’s copay and even includes details about co-pay coupons offered by brand name companies. myDrugCosts can be used on a smartphone... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4405882 Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:31:57 +0100 4405882 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399670&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2F-DV-_GGBXpo%2F This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with MEDecision’s VP of medical home initiatives, Matt Adamson. David E. Williams:            This is David Williams, cofounder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Matt Adamson, vice president of medical home initiatives for MEDecision.  Matt, thanks for being with me today. Matt Adamson:            Thank you, David.  I appreciate the opportunity. Williams:            A number of new care models are moving forward.  Which are most significant? Adamson:            It all starts with the medical home, with the advocacy from the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative and a number of pilots that have been successfully run and repo... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399670 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:35:46 +0100 4399670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382853&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FYRd8xYKJ168%2F Conclusion There will be some big EHR winners within the next five years and consolidation will be a net positive for the industry. However, buyers must be careful not to become collateral damage as the fierce battle for market share plays out. It’s important to determine which vendors are closing business, growing their revenue and building a sustainable, profitable business. Providers should keep in mind that their success is tied to the success of the software vendor that will enhance and support their EHR system in years to come. This article originally appeared on the Software Advice Medical Blog. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382853 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:57:15 +0100 4382853 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4377659&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FAdamson.mp3 In this podcast interview, MEDecision’s vice president of medical home initiatives Matt Adamson lays out his vision of patient centered medical homes and neighborhoods and Accountable Care Organizations. He argues that these new clinical care models are best served when health plans are closely involved. In his view, the new entities can benefit from the care coordination data and tools available from health plans through MEDecision. Adamson is convinced that medical homes and ACOs have important roles to play in bending the health care cost curve, and thus are unlikely to be threatened by the ongoing political wrangling in Washington, DC. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4377659 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 01:29:26 +0100 4377659 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4331109&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FxTe-ORjesJI%2F This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Inspire CEO Brian Loew. David E. Williams:            This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Brian Loew, he’s CEO of Inspire, a provider of online health communities.  Brian, thanks for being with me today. Brian Loew:            Likewise, thank you.  Glad to be here. Williams:            Tell me about the history of Inspire and what you offer. Loew:            We’re a five year old company founded by a group of friends who were all interested in health, the way our personal experiences have been shaped by difficult health issues and the way that we could use the web to improve things. When we star... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4331109 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 04:46:21 +0100 4331109 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4314116&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FInspire.mp3 Inspire develops and maintains disease-specific online communities that connect patients, families, and caregivers for support and information. The company works with about 70 non-profit partner organizations and derives its income primarily from sponsors who are interested in accessing Inspire community members. In this podcast interview, Inspire CEO Brian Loew and I discuss the “e-patient” movement, ways patients interact in the communities, the pharmaceutical industry’s interest in working with Inspire, and ways that the company builds trust and allows members to control access to their own information. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4314116 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:33:25 +0100 4314116 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4309727&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FBR1KwbCVgLs%2F This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Dr. Ted Eytan of Kaiser Permanente. David E. Williams:            This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Dr. Ted Eytan of Kaiser Permanente.  Ted, what’s your role at Kaiser and how did you get there? Dr. Ted Eytan:            I work for the medical groups in a part of the organization called the Permanente Federation.  I’ve been there since 2008. Formerly I worked at Group Health Cooperative in Washington State, where I was a practicing physician and also supported the rollout of their electronic health record and their personal health record. Williams:            What are the main things you’re trying to ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4309727 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 01:01:01 +0100 4309727 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4285258&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Feytan.mp3 Kaiser Permanante’s Dr. Ted Eytan is a passionate advocate of patient centered care, supported by health information technology. I first encountered him last month at a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation meeting where he gave an inspiring talk about Kaiser’s success in engaging patients and families. In this podcast interview, Ted speaks about his role at Kaiser Permanente and how he got there, the ways life is changing for patients and their families as electronic health records and personal health records roll out, and the potential for mobile health and social media. We then turn to the topic of walking meetings (Ted is a major proponent and practitioner), innovation within large organizations, and what’s ahead for 2011. If you want to hear more from Ted, check out his blo... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4285258 Thu, 23 Dec 2010 21:39:35 +0100 4285258 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203221&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FGmZL5vRfDw0%2F Thanks to a librarian relative who tipped me off, I started using Google early on, before the company started making money from ads. I remember thinking it was just a matter of time before Google started charging users for the valuable search service they provided.  But one reason Sergey Brin and Larry Page are multi-billionaires and I’m not is that they figured out a much more powerful economic model. Google’s real product is not providing search solutions for consumers; it’s segmentation of consumers for marketers. The Google-led approach has become so pervasive that consumers just assume any service they receive on the web will be free and don’t tend to think through the implications. In Privacy Groups Fault Online Health Sites for Sharing User Data With Markete... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203221 Thu, 25 Nov 2010 20:02:33 +0100 4203221 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4162980&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fusablenet.mp3 Usablenet extends consumer facing websites to mobile platforms. The company got its start 10 years ago with mobile applications for business travelers. Since then it’s expanded into other industries including health care. The new CIGNA Mobile application, powered by Usablenet, enables members to find in-network providers (such as urgent care clinics) while they’re on the road, and provides a variety of other self-service functionality. In the podcast interview Usablenet’s VP of Global Product Strategy discusses the Usablenet approach overall and CIGNA Mobile specifically. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4162980 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:39:41 +0100 4162980 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159337&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FrGbdWblALtQ%2F St. Joseph’s Health System is participating in a health care reform/Accountable Care Organization development pilot program with leading decision support company Zynx Health. In this interview, Dr. Clyde Wesp, St. Joseph’s  Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Medical Information Officer discusses the experience. David E. Williams: Dr. Wesp, thank you for joining me today. Dr. Clyde Wesp:            It’s my pleasure. Williams:            What is the scope of St. Joseph’s Health System? Wesp:            St. Joseph’s Health System is a Catholic health system on the West Coast.  We have hospitals in Southern and Northern California and Texas and clinics in New Mexico as well.  We have about 22,000 to 25,000 employees. We ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159337 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:47:09 +0100 4159337 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4125127&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FT-nVS5M4ojI%2F This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Quest Diagnostics CMO Jon Cohen, MD. David Williams: This is David E. Williams, cofounder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Dr. Jon Cohen, Chief Medical Officer of Quest Diagnostics.  Dr. Cohen thanks for being with me today. Dr. Jon Cohen: Thank you. Williams: Quest has a new Gazelle app.  What can you tell me about it? Cohen: Gazelle is an application for smartphones. Right now it’s for Blackberry and Apple iPhone; we’ll be adding Android relatively soon. Gazelle empowers people to see, store and share their critical medical information and gives them a chance to take control of their health anytime and anywhere.  With Gazelle you can manage your personal health data ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4125127 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 00:44:56 +0100 4125127 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119269&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fquestcohen%25202.mp3 Leading lab company Quest Diagnostics just released the Gazelle app for iPhone and Blackberry, which enables people to see, store, and share their Quest lab results. Quest will provide patients with access to their results 48 hours after releasing them to the ordering physician –at least in the 33 states and DC where it’s legal to do so. Patients who want to fax or email lab results to another doctor can do so from within Gazelle. They can also perform other typical personal health record tasks. Quest hopes Gazelle will differentiate the company from other labs and advance its goals of patient centricity, quality of care, and transparency. In this podcast interview, Quest Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jon Cohen provides the rationale for Gazelle and details on how it works. Share (... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119269 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 01:44:46 +0100 4119269 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119270&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FyKoJtQbs15c%2F I’ve been watching the patient-clinician e-messaging field for 10 years. My firm helped webVisit pioneer Healinx (later renamed RelayHealth) develop its business model, and we’ve kept close tabs on other innovators such as American Well’s live consultation program and MinuteClinic’s in-store, nurse practitioner model. RelayHealth has the advantage of connecting patients and doctors who have an established relationship. The service is asynchronous, meaning a patient provides information, then receives a response from a doctor within a day, sometimes sooner. That helps the doctor fit webVisits into their available time and doesn’t disrupt their workflow. Patients don’t have to skip work to come to the office. It took a decade but health plan reimbursement ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119270 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 02:32:45 +0100 4119270 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119278&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FMNsQ-bNSaUM%2F This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with eHealth Initiative CEO Jennifer Covich Bordenick. David Williams: This is David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Jennifer Covich, CEO of the eHealth Initiative.  Last month the organization released a benchmarking survey of Regional Extension Centers in partnership with MedPlus, the health IT subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics. Jen, thanks for joining me today. Jennifer Covich Bordenick:    Thanks so much David for having me. Williams:    Please start off by explaining what Regional Extension Centers are and what role they’re supposed to play. Covich:    The Regional Extension Centers –or RECs– were created through the HITECH Act, ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119278 Fri, 15 Oct 2010 21:05:16 +0100 4119278 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119279&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FfEtq0N_MxVg%2F Regional Extension Centers (RECs) are charged with helping physicians achieve “meaningful use” of electronic health records in time to receive federal incentives under ARRA. Recently the eHealth Initiative and MedPlus (the health IT subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics) released a benchmarking survey to provide a snapshot of the progress the RECs are making in their first few months of operation. In this podcast interview, eHealth Initiative CEO Jennifer Covich Bordenick explains what RECs are and shares survey findings about their progress to-date, how RECs expect to sustain their operations after federal funding dries up, how RECs are working with other entities such as health information exchanges and the Health IT Resource Center, and what benefits patients can expect. The surve... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119279 Thu, 14 Oct 2010 19:53:57 +0100 4119279 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119303&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2Fq14fNUANPIQ%2F This is a guest post by David Stievater, a health care consultant working at the intersection of provider, payer, patient and technology trends. Many policy makers and health care industry participants believe that improving provision of primary care holds the key to lowering costs and improving  outcomes.  But a new report from the Dartmouth Atlas Project suggests that tackling primary care will involve a lot more than just giving patients better access to a family physician, internist or pediatrician.  According to the study (Regional and Racial Variation in Primary Care and the Quality of Care among Medicare Beneficiaries), “neither a greater supply of primary care physicians in an area nor a regular visit to a primary care clinician is, by itself, a guarantee that a patient will ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119303 Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:00:30 +0100 4119303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119314&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2F8UG94ZYPsaA%2F The Health Business Blog is on summer vacation until Labor Day, and has been re-running some classic posts for the past two weeks. This is the last one. This item originally ran on April 24, 2008. It’s one of a number of posts I’ve run encouraging the medical profession to take more care to limit radiation doses from imaging. If you’d like to comment, please do so on the original post. American Imaging Management (AIM), a radiology cost containment company owned by health insurer WellPoint, has a web-based patient exposure tool called Aimee that provides information for doctors and patients about the amount of radiation associated with various scans. The site is well-designed and easy to use. Simply click on the relevant scan and portion of the anatomy and the site provi... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119314 Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:00:49 +0100 4119314 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119342&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2Fa1PNbf5WtaM%2F This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Mary Hiller of MedExpert International. David Williams:            This is David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Mary Hiller.  She is Executive Director of Knowledge Engineering and Health Systems at MedExpert International.  Mary, thanks for being with me today. Mary Hiller:            It’s a pleasure to be with you. Williams:            What is MedExpert? Hiller:            MedExpert is a medical information company that is rooted in medical informatics and artificial intelligence. Our information goals are to provide patients with current advice and accurate information so they can make the best decis... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119342 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:40:45 +0100 4119342 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3794910&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F7%2FHiller%25202.mp3 MedExpert International’s Individual Medical Decision Systems (IMDS) help patients answer the question, “What would the world’s top experts do for my medical situation?” This e-enabled shared decision tool promises to provide answers in the short time frame patients demand when facing serious health problems. In this podcast interview, MedExpert’s Executive Director of Knowledge Engineering and Health Policy, Mary Hiller talks about the origins and history of the company, how MedExpert improves patient outcomes and decision making while simultaneously reducing costs, and how her role at MedExpert compares with her role in Diamonds are Forever. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3794910 Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:06:13 +0100 3794910 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119350&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FHealthBusinessBlog%2F%7E3%2FyG9difuOk_w%2F American Medical News reports that hospitals are stepping into patient-specific marketing by using data from electronic medical records to target messages to patients’ specific situations. CPM Marketing Group, a Madison, Wis.-based marketing company specializing in CRM technology, has created an automated mechanism that generates website ads and content geared specifically for a visitor. If a patient is at risk for heart disease, for example, he or she might find a banner ad at the top of the page for a heart risk assessment. Edward Hospital & Health Services in Naperville, Ill., was the first hospital to launch CPM’s automated system, which the company calls iCRM. Brian Davis, vice president of marketing for Edward, said the system essentially works like a patient portal. ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119350 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:05:17 +0100 4119350 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767186&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D3589 American Medical News reports that hospitals are stepping into patient-specific marketing by using data from electronic medical records to target messages to patients’ specific situations. CPM Marketing Group, a Madison, Wis.-based marketing company specializing in CRM technology, has created an automated mechanism that generates website ads and content geared specifically for a visitor. If a patient is at risk for heart disease, for example, he or she might find a banner ad at the top of the page for a heart risk assessment. Edward Hospital & Health Services in Naperville, Ill., was the first hospital to launch CPM’s automated system, which the company calls iCRM. Brian Davis, vice president of marketing for Edward, said the system essentially works like a patient portal. ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767186 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:05:17 +0100 3767186 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3690935&cid=t_194338_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2F7-benefits-hipaa-5010 Although HIPAA 5010 essentially serves as the EDI pre-cursor to ICD-10, the new transaction standard also brings a fistful of its own noteworthy advantages. Let's face it: HIPAA 4010 is outdated; hence the more than 500 changes in the pending 5010. What's more, HIPAA 5010 will “offer consistency of processing for payers and clearinghouses,” that 4010 does not, according to Christine Stahlecker, CMS director of medical billing procedures. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3690935 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:03:26 +0100 3690935 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599569&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D3432 Before I harsh on MedWaitTime, which I will do shortly, I do want to say that the company’s heart is in the right place –to make life easier for patients whose doctors and hospitals are keeping them waiting. The company’s smartphone app and text messages let doctors notify patients that they are running late and lets emergency rooms provide information on waiting time. The idea is to avoid having patients arrive at the waiting room too soon –just like airlines do with their flight status notifications. I read about the company in today’s Wall Street Journal (Internet Tool to Curb Waiting-Room Time). There are a number of problems with the approach: As an experienced user of the airline flight status systems, I can tell you they are of little practical benefit... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599569 Tue, 25 May 2010 19:52:31 +0100 3599569 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3508311&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D3354 This is a transcript of my recent podcast interview with M*Modal’s Chief Scientist, Juergen Fritsch. David Williams: This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Juergen Fritsch, Chief Scientist at M*Modal.  Thanks for your time today. Juergen Fritsch: Thanks for your time.  I appreciate it. Williams: We’ve just been through a very interesting demo that unfortunately the blog listeners and readers won’t be able to observe.  Tell me about speech understanding and how it from speech recognition. Fritsch: Speech recognition to me is the literal translation of the spoken word to text.  Speech understanding goes beyond that, into understanding what the intent of the communication is and und... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3508311 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:32:49 +0100 3508311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494409&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F4%2FMmodal.mp3 I’ve written recently about how speech recognition can enhance physician productivity in the use of electronic health records. Meanwhile, M*Modal goes a step beyond voice recognition to what it calls “speech understanding” –the ability to transform physician dictation into a structured document. I saw a demonstration of the system and was impressed by the way the system interpreted the user’s dictation. In this podcast interview, M*Modal’s chief scientist, Juergen Fritsch describes the philosophy behind the system, advantages over other approaches, and the company’s contribution to helping providers meet Meaningful Use requirements. M*Modal has just been named to Gartner’s “Cool Vendors in Healthcare Providers, 2010″ list, and I c... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494409 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:11:34 +0100 3494409 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3475932&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F4%2Fliquic.mp3 The Life Quality Improvment Center (Liquic) is an online portal that helps people improve their quality of life by connecting them with coaches, counselors and therapists for face-to-face or online interactions. In this podcast, Liquic CEO John Khoury discuss how the company is shifting from a traditional directory business to an online platform, how regulations limit the adoption of interstate counseling, and the pluses and minuses of online sessions. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3475932 Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:28:32 +0100 3475932 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3471862&cid=t_194338_109_f&fid=38950&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shockmd.com%2F2010%2F04%2F15%2Fonline-trust-and-its-antecedents%2F We’ve discussed the use of online shopping and gender previously. Especially women are skeptical towards online shopping, they tend to fear risks and threats associated with online shopping. The acceptance of online transactions depend on the perceived risks involved, the technology used for the online transactions and the organizations as the other parties in the transactions. A recent review discusses the research of the determinants of online trust within e-commerce, e-government and e-health. The antecedents of online trust: Propensity to trust facilitates or moderates the impact of other attributes on trust information such as the system used, the websites used. Those with a higher level of experience tend to have a decline in trust for online transactions probably due to the ... Dr Shock MD PhD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3471862 Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:21:08 +0100 3471862 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3471905&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F4%2FAmy.mp3 In this podcast interview, Amy Rees Anderson, CEO of MediConnect Global describes the rationale for the acquisition of PassportMD, a consumer-oriented personal health record company that is one of the four vendors selected by the federal government to provide electronic personal health records to Medicare recipients under a pilot program. The acquisition is part of MediConnect’s ongoing strategy to transform itself from a B2B gatherer of medical records for legal and insurance purposes to a consumer-facing company that is part of the digital wave. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3471905 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:26:20 +0100 3471905 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3433028&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D3274 This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Zynx Health CEO, Dr. Scott Weingarten. David Williams: This is David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Dr. Scott Weingarten, CEO of Zynx Health.  Scott, how are you today? Dr. Scott Weingarten: I’m fine.  How are you David? Williams: Good, thanks.  I know a lot of people are thinking about meaningful use. Definitions are being finalized, the qualifying period is coming up, and people are trying to figure out how to meet the different parts of it. Give me a sense about clinical decision support and how it fits in to meaningful use from your perspective. Weingarten: There is a lot involved with meaningful use.  A number of aspects relate to ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3433028 Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:08:19 +0100 3433028 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3429295&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F3%2FZynx2.mp3 Physicians and hospitals that implement electronic health records (EHR) are sometimes disappointed with the results. In many cases, EHRs are used largely to convert paper information into electronic form, which is a costly and cumbersome process. But when advanced clinical decision support is added, significant improvements are attainable. Fortunately the federal government recognizes the importance of clinical decision support. The definition of “meaningful use” under the HITECH Act is likely to include a reasonably strong emphasis on clinical decision support. EHR (and computerized physician order entry) vendors are preparing to upgrade their decision support offerings to meet the demand. Meanwhile dedicated decision support companies are ready to help them. Zynx Health is on... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3429295 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:53:10 +0100 3429295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3395254&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D3238 This is a transcript of my recent podcast interview with Dr. Larry Garber of the Fallon Clinic. David Williams: This is David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.    I’m speaking today with Dr. Larry Garber.  He is medical director for Informatics at Fallon Clinic.  Dr. Garber, thanks for you time today. Dr. Larry Garber: It’s my pleasure. Williams: Dr. Garber, what is the Fallon Clinic and what’s your role there? Garber: The Fallon Clinic is a multi-specialty group practice located in Central Massachusetts.  We have 250 physicians and another 80 advanced practitioners seeing over one million patients a year here.  We have physicians representing approximately 30 different specialties. I’m Medical Director for ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3395254 Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:42:40 +0100 3395254 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3382942&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F3%2Fgarber.mp3 The Fallon Clinic in Central Massachusetts has invested heavily in electronic health records. Fallon’s deployment of Epic has been successful. However, cost-savings projections on transcription were not being met, because many physicians preferred to continue dictating their notes for transcription rather than typing them directly into Epic. Fallon decided to study the use of voice recognition software in conjunction with its EHR, in the hopes of weaning physicians away from traditional transcription. In this podcast interview, Dr. Larry Garber, Fallon’s Medical Director for Informatics, describes Fallon’s experience with Dragon Medical speech recognition software, which was used in the study. Among the key findings: Turnaround time for the note to appear in the EHR drop... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3382942 Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:06:37 +0100 3382942 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370549&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D3198 This is the transcript of part 2 of my podcast interview with Christus Health SVP/CIO George Conklin. I suggest reading part 1 first. David Williams: The 2004 to 2006 standardization initiative is very impressive.  A lot of organizations probably thought that that would be useful but probably didn’t see how they could do it. Can you provide a perspective on how organizational culture, psychology and technology interacted to get you moving in the right direction? George Conklin: I joined a predecessor organization of Christus in 1998, just months before the formation of Christus.  At that time we were primarily a two-vendor shop from an HIS perspective. We looked carefully at the culture of the organization at that time, which very much held the belief that health care has to be del... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370549 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:40:15 +0100 3370549 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362478&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D3196 The objective is to move us toward our goal of being a low cost, high quality provider. Williams: That sounds like a very well thought out strategy.  How close is it to being realized?  Is it in place today or is that more of a long term strategic vision? Conklin: That’s a longer-term strategic vision.  Today, through our portals, a clinician could gain  access to George Conklin’s information from anywhere, but would have multiple log in’s and multiple systems to look at.  We are actively seeking a health information exchange engine to sit on top of all our systems. We want it to do three things for us. One is to present the information in a uniform fashion so you won’t have a Meditech system in one location that you’d have to learn how to deal with and a ser... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362478 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:08:29 +0100 3362478 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3350415&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F3%2Fchristus2.mp3 In part 1 of our podcast interview, Christus Health SVP/CIO George Conklin described describes how his 44-hospital system leverages IT to support its business. In part 2, he explains how organizational culture, psychology, technology and leadership interacted to enable the organization to achieve massive standardization of data and protocols.  That effort has allowed Christus to generate value from the scale of its information resources, for example through its partnership with Humedica. When Christus Health came together several years ago, Conklin and his colleagues realized the time was not ripe for standardization. Regional leadership was protective of their individual approaches, and senior management chose not to resist. Instead, Christus initiated its 4 Directions to Excellence prog... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3350415 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:26 +0100 3350415 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3342758&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F3%2Fchristus1.mp3 In this podcast interview, Christus Health’s SVP/CIO George Conklin describes how his 44-hospital system leverages IT to support its business. The overall organization has a three-part strategy: Revamp acute care to lower costs and boost quality Shift toward non-acute settings including mall-based retail clinics Expand internationally, starting with Northern Mexico The IT group seeks to provide just the right information at the time and place it’s needed, across the continuum of care. A health information exchange (HIE) architecture is rolling out, and will include  clinical decision support and data aggregation capabilities along with the ability to present information. Christus has a head start in generating useful information from large data sets, thanks to a “massi... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3342758 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:58:35 +0100 3342758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3322499&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D3158 Received this interesting tip from medical writer Brian Bujdos: U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies may see a subtle spike in revenue due to Google’s revised policies that no longer allow Canadian pharmacies, as well as many “rogue” pharmacies to advertise on Google through AdWords. Now, only VIPPS-certified pharmacies (as selected by the National Association of Pharmacy Boards) can advertise on Google. To date, there are only 19 such pharmacies/companies, including Walgreens and Drugstore.com. As you may know, AdWords allows any eligible party to purchase key words, and every time that a Google user types in those key words in their search, that party is charged X amount of money to have their paid link appear above, or to the right of, the regular/unpaid search listings. There are ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3322499 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:09:02 +0100 3322499 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3246974&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D3075 This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Quantros co-founder and CEO Dr. Sanjaya Kumar. David Williams: This is David E. Williams, co-Founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Dr. Sanjaya Kumar.  He is CEO of Quantros.  Dr. Kumar, thanks for your time today. Dr. Sanjaya Kumar: Thank you David. Williams: There is a lot of attention being given now to implementation of the HITECH Act. I wonder whether this concept of meaningful use is going to have a real impact on the care of patients. Kumar: Definitely David.  It is really an unprecedented era for such a large influx of dollars to be used to provide more digitization of health care settings and health care environments.  So there is a lot more data available ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3246974 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:43:54 +0100 3246974 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3243903&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F2%2FSanjaya.mp3 Quantros provides software and services to the health care industry, with a focus on safety, risk management, quality and performance improvement. I spoke recently with Dr. Sanjaya Kumar, CEO and founder about a number of current topics, including: The impact of “meaningful use” on patient care The role that non-payment for “never events” and avoidable errors is starting to have The IOM report: To Err Is Human –10 years later Quantros’s role in the health care ecosystem The new Quantros professional networking site: Clinical Cafe Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3243903 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:30:54 +0100 3243903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3197775&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D3030 This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Practice Fusion CEO Ryan Howard. David Williams: This is David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice Fusion.  Ryan, how are you today? Ryan Howard: I’m good. How are you David? Williams: Good.  Well we’re into 2010 now.  It’s been a few months since we spoke.  Tell me what milestones you’ve been hitting over the last few months and what some of your plans are for the coming quarter. Howard: Our last quarter was excellent.  We were very excited about how we ended up the year.  We delivered on our partnership with Salesforce.com and we now have a fully integrated personal health record that reside... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3197775 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:05:54 +0100 3197775 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3193888&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D3020 Software Advice has prepared a chart on meaningful use, illustrating: The definition of meaningful use What EHR software features are required to achieve it How the government will measure it Incentive for achieving meaningful use will be available soon, so there’s no excuse for not reading up on the details. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3193888 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:42:39 +0100 3193888 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3176009&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F1%2Fryan2010.mp3 I checked in with Practice Fusion CEO Ryan Howard yesterday for an update on the progress of the company’s free, web-based electronic health record. In this podcast Ryan discusses recent milestones including hitting the 25,000 user mark, adding e-prescribing, plans for a “chart share” feature to allow physicians to exchange patient records, the company’s personal health record,  progress toward Meaningful Use, customer support, the company’s recent fundraising and its business model. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3176009 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:05:39 +0100 3176009 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3163904&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2988 This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Dr. Scott Weingarten, CEO of Zynx Health. David Williams: This is David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Dr. Scott Weingarten.  He is President and CEO of Zynx Health.  Dr. Weingarten, thanks for your time today. Dr. Scott Weingarten: Thank you very much David. Williams: What is Zynx Health? Weingarten: Zynx Health is a clinical decision support company that was founded almost 14 years ago.  The mission is to measurably improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care.  Clinical decision products that are provided by Zynx Health include: evidence based order sets, plans of care, alerts, reminders, check lists, as well as reference info... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3163904 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:43:59 +0100 3163904 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3159836&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F1%2FZynx.mp3 Zynx Health is a clinical decision support company whose technology is in place at more than 1700 hospitals in the US, covering more than half of hospitalized patients. Decision support is an important part of meaningful use, and now that the detailed definition has been published, Zynx is busy working with its customers to help them check the meaningful use box and gain incentive payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2008 (aka the stimulus package). In this podcast interview, Zynx Health CEO Dr. Scott Weingarten discusses the Zynx approach to achieving meaningful use, the impact of decision support on patient care, differences between hospital and physician group meaningful use definitions, and implications of health care reform. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3159836 Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:43:54 +0100 3159836 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3142692&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2968 I have to hand it to the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) for using social media to educate people about the H1N1 flu. The rap-style YouTube video, Talkin ’bout the flu has been up since Thanksgiving. I just found out about it now, by listening to an iHealthBeat podcast on the topic featuring BPHC officials. BPHC started with the realization that African Americans and Latinos are being hit hard by H1N1 and that men in particular are unlikely to get vaccinated. So they did their best to find credible messengers (in this case young BPHC staffers) to make a video to be posted on YouTube and then spread virally. The video is pretty entertaining and informative and most importantly is a good building block and learning effort for BPHC. I like the way they are using their website and... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3142692 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:57:13 +0100 3142692 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3115189&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2959 It’s interesting to be in late 2009 and see e-visits described as a “disruptive innovation” that “the medical establishment is fighting.” I first started working on e-visits almost 10 years ago, consulting to RelayHealth (then Healinx). It’s a sensible concept, fairly straightforward to implement, efficient, and effective for certain situations. Yet growth has been slow. Part of the issue is that it’s health care we’re talking about, where innovation tends to be retarded when it involves changing physician practices. Another, related problem is that there’s no great financial incentive for the physician or patient to make a change. Health plans that do cover e-visits often charge the same co-pay for patients as for in-person visits, eve... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3115189 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:07:25 +0100 3115189 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3079450&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2925 This is the transcript of part 2 of my podcast with Humedica CEO Michael Weintraub and VP Corporate Development/Marketing Allen Kamer. You can read part 1 here. David Williams: I know Anceta has been in the works for a while, and that they’ve made some progress, but perhaps have struggled a bit. Why did they want to work with you, what did you offer that they were unable to do on their own? Michael Weintraub: They have been working on this for a while, because from a leadership perspective, they were early. They were on this topic for five years or so, because many of the opinion leaders in health care are AMGA member organizations. They’ve been expert at the application of information to drive efficiency and effectiveness, but it’s not something that all 330 of their org... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3079450 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:28:31 +0100 3079450 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3071334&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2915 This is the transcript of part 1 of my podcast with Humedica CEO Michael Weintraub and VP Corporate Development/Marketing Allen Kamer. David Williams: What is the focus of the company? What are you bringing to the market that has not been available in the past? Michael Weintraub: We’re aiming to build a census view of health care in America.  What I mean by that is to build a large-scale informatics asset that various constituents can tap into to get a perspective on whatever question they might have, whether it’s a disease or a therapeutic area. The focus will vary depending on whether you’re a hospital, a large medical practice, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, biotech, the federal government, etc. We’re basically building a large-scale factory that is bringing in ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3071334 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:04:55 +0100 3071334 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3067177&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F12%2Fhumedica2.mp3 Humedica is a new, venture-backed clinical informatics company that is making a big splash in the health care industry. In part 1 of my podcast with Humedica’s CEO Michael Weintraub and VP Corporate Development & Marketing Allen Kamer we discussed a variety of topics including the company’s aspiration to offer a “census view” of health care in America, the use of EHR-based feeds instead of claims, and the use of Humedica-generated information for business intelligence and clinical decision support. In part 2 we focus on: The company’s strategic alliance with the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) and AMGA’s Anceta collaborative data warehouse The connection between Humedica and efforts by the Federal government to establish meaningful use of elec... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3067177 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:49:38 +0100 3067177 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3059812&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F12%2Fhumedica1.mp3 Humedica is a new, venture-backed clinical informatics company that is making a big splash in the health care industry. In part 1 of my podcast with Humedica’s CEO Michael Weintraub and VP Corporate Development & Marketing Allen Kamer we discuss a variety of topics including: Humedica’s aspiration to build a “large-scale factory” to provide a “census view” of health care in America The company’s use of EHR-based feeds in comparison with earlier claims-based approaches Use of Humedica information for business intelligence and clinical decision support The company’s collaboration with AMGA’s Anceta collaborative data warehouse In part 2 we will talk about Humedica’s longer term plans to expand its data sources, customers, and ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3059812 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:16:26 +0100 3059812 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3015380&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2871 In conclusion, they’re not inappropriate hoops.  They were hoops that are actually required for complicated workloads that are found in doctors’ offices and other clinical settings.  So what’s present in the certification project is actually laudable.  It’s very well thought out and I don’t think it’s biased at all. It’s a very well thought out set of requirements and I think it’s unwise to challenge that.  I think it’s unwise to contradict that whether or not there are vendors involved. I know all the rest of the issues.  I don’t see it.  I don’t really believe that.  I think things probably happen that we don’t know about of course, but for the most part what we saw was legitimate requirements and criteria for a s... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3015380 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:59:58 +0100 3015380 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3008227&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2859 In May I interviewed Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice Fusion, a free web-based electronic health record (EHR). A lot has happened in the EHR world since then so I thought I’d check back in. (This interview was conducted via email.) David Williams: How are things progressing at Practice Fusion since our last discussion six months ago? Ryan Howard: Practice Fusion has grown significantly in the past six months. We brought on Salesforce.com as an investor, partnered with BioReference and Quest Diagnostics, passed the 22,000 user milestone and are in the process of launching our Patient Health Record (PHR). We’re now the fastest growing EHR community in the country with 400 new sign ups each week. It’s been a great period for us and we’ve more than doubled the team here in San Francisc... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3008227 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:01:17 +0100 3008227 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2977412&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F11%2Fdoctations.mp3 Doctations is an integrated, Internet-based electronic medical record, billing system and collaboration platforms. The goal is to encourage collaboration among physicians and patients and to allow physicians to practice from wherever they are. In this podcast interview with Doctations CEO Dr. Louis Cornacchia, he explains the genesis of the system and how it impacts the practice of medicine. He also comments on meaningful use, the decision to obtain CCHIT certification, and the differences between Doctations, American Well and Practice Fusion. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2977412 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:08:30 +0100 2977412 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2871858&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2714 This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with PatientKeeper CEO Paul Brient. David Williams: This is David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Paul Brient, he is CEO of PatientKeeper.  Paul, thanks for joining me. Paul Brient: Thank you David. Williams: Paul, what is PatientKeeper? Brient: PatientKeeper was founded about 11 years ago with the observation that physicians had, to a large extent, been left out of the health care IT automation wave. A lot of people were hand wringing and considering physicians Luddites because they hadn’t adopted technology.  We founded our company on the premise that perhaps if one set out to build technology that was really focused on the physicians that it... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2871858 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:01:07 +0100 2871858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2865800&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F10%2Fbrient.mp3 Paul Brient was one of the sharpest people in my business school and BCG cohorts and I have not been at all surprised by his success as CEO of PatientKeeper, a company that helps physicians who practice in hospitals to integrate information from a variety of IT systems. PatientKeeper’s founders realized that there was an opportunity to increase physician use of IT by developing systems that focused on their needs. Over the past decade PatientKeeper has worked on turning that insight into reality. Now with ARRA, PatientKeeper is helping hospitals attain meaningful use. That’s a tricky business because hospitals are dependent on physicians they don’t employ to actually use the systems that are put in place. In this podcast interview we spoke about PatientKeeper’s prog... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2865800 Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:15:48 +0100 2865800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2851918&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F9%2Feordering.mp3 The Imaging e-Ordering Coalition is a group of medical imaging-related companies that are striving to have electronic ordering of diagnostic imaging coupled with e-prescribing as part of the Federal government’s incentives for health information technology adoption. A not-so-hidden objective of the Coalition is to counter the influence of Radiology Benefit Managers (RBMs). From a June press release: According to the Coalition, e-Ordering prevents many of the potential issues associated with radiology benefit managers (RBMs), which are organizations employed by some healthcare insurers to manage utilization and costs associated with high-tech diagnostic exams.  Concerns with the RBM model include regulatory oversight and a manually burdensome “prior authorization” system whereby ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2851918 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:41:54 +0100 2851918 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2824279&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2648 Looks like the FDA will soon be taking up the issue of how drug and device companies can use social media like blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. According to the NPR Health Blog, key issues to be considered include: 1) What online messages and chatter are regulated companies responsible for? And what’s not their problem? 2) How do companies comply with existing regulations, requiring such things as fair balance in ads, within the confines of, say, a 140-character tweet? 3) When does a company have to correct misinformation posted by third parties? Hello, Wikipedia! Some companies, the FDA said, haven’t taken action on known problems, fearing they’d then be responsible for correcting everything anywhere online. 4) To link, or not to link? is the FDA’s question. Specifica... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2824279 Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:38:47 +0100 2824279 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2800542&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2636 This is a transcript of my recent podcast interview with Prem Urali, CEO of HealthUnity. David Williams: This is David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today to Prem Urali, who is CEO and co-founder of HealthUnity.  Prem, thanks for being with me today. Prem Urali: Thank you David for having me. Williams: What is HealthUnity? Urali: HealthUnity is a five-year-old, successful health information technology company.  We are solely focused on the health information exchange market.  We offer what we believe to be the most comprehensive standards based product for building health information exchanges. We target pretty much all the various segments of the HIE market namely: hospital outreach by exchanges, IDNs looking ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2800542 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:42:04 +0100 2800542 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2800543&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2633 Mainstream medicine is slowly coming around to the realization that patients are getting too much radiation from diagnostic imaging. I’ve been writing about it for years as the research has been published, and have been a fan of the Image Gently initiative, which seeks to reduce unnecessary pediatric radiation exposure. An article in last month’s New England Journal of Medicine (Exposure to Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation from Medical Imaging Procedures), which documented some disturbingly high exposures among patients, may be a catalyst for broader action. According to the Boston Globe (Is all that scanning putting us at risk?) the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston is planning to start tracking radiation exposure and reporting it to physicians, to raise awareness about ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2800543 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:22:07 +0100 2800543 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2796587&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F9%2FHealthUnity.mp3 HealthUnity is a five year old Health Information Exchange company that offers services to hospitals that want to connect with one another, integrated delivery networks, and local/regional/statewide networks. The company provides infrastructure services, clinical services and gateway services. HealthUnity has established a beachhead in the market and is looking forward to riding the stimulus wave as providers seek to demonstrate meaningful use –for which health information exchange is an important component. In this podcast interview HealthUnity’s CEO Prem Urali describes the founding of the company, its early successes, and his vision for the future. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2796587 Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:33:30 +0100 2796587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2766146&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2604 Manhattan Research recently announced the results of its inaugural Taking the Pulse Nurses study, a multi-client research effort focusing on technology adoption trends among US nurses. To learn more I interviewed Manhattan Research President Mark Bard via email. David Williams: How does nurse use of the Internet compare with that of physicians? (e.g., what sites they use, how much time they spend, what information they are seeking) Mark Bard: There are a lot of similarities between nurses and physicians when it comes to digital trends. Both have a diverse channel mix when it comes to looking up medical and treatment information and rely on a variety of tools and resources such as news sites, professional online communities, drug reference databases, search engines, manufacturer product and... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2766146 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:25:37 +0100 2766146 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2709242&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2541 This is Part II of the transcript of my podcast interview with Dr. Jay Parkinson, co-founder of Hello Health and Chief Concept Officer at Myca. (Part I is here.) David Williams: One of the issues in health care delivery is that physicians and other caregivers don’t necessarily coordinate or communicate with one another in the care of a given patient.  There are some approaches like the medical home that are supposed to address that to some degree.  Some people expect that health IT is going to do it.  I noticed that in one of your promotional videos there is somebody with a Sharpie drawing arrows among the different caregivers.  How do you think about the coordination of care and communication among caregivers as part of the Hello Health platform? Jay Parkinson: What connects car... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2709242 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:26:56 +0100 2709242 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2702387&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2538 This is transcript of Part I of my recent podcast interview with Dr. Jay Parkinson, co-founder of Hello Health and Chief Concept Officer at Myca. David: This is David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Dr. Jay Parkinson,  is co-founder of Hello Health and Chief Concept Officer of Myca. Jay, thanks for your time today. Jay: Sure, no problem. David: Jay, tell me a little bit about how you started your medical practice.  What were you thinking at the time?  It’s kind of an unusual practice. Jay: Well, I got started because I have training in clinical medicine and preventive medicine and when I finished my second residency, it sort of alerted me to the fact that, fundamentally the health care system was... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2702387 Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:27:20 +0100 2702387 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2699725&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F8%2FParkinson2.mp3 In Part I of my interview with Dr. Jay Parkinson, co-founder of Hello Health and Chief Concept Officer at Myca, we spoke about how his experience in starting an e-practice with general Internet tools like Google Calendar and Gmail led him to the conclusion that a purpose-built platform was needed. In Part II, we talked about coordination of care among providers, the patient centered medical home, what happens to Hello patients when they go outside the system, and how Hello Health hopes to make money. Jay also shared some thoughts on health care reform. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2699725 Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:22:39 +0100 2699725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2695477&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F8%2FParkinson1.mp3 Dr. Jay Parkinson is co-founder of Hello Health, a new service that helps connect doctors and patients online. He’s also Chief Concept Officer at Myca, the business and technology platform company for Hello Health. In Part I of our interview, we talked about how Jay started his e-practice with general tools like Google calendar and Gmail before realizing he needed a dedicated platform to scale effectively. We discussed the Hello Health concept, the role of patients and physicians in the tech-enabled era, then ended up on a discussion of traditional health insurance and its (lack of) fit with Hello. In Part II (to be posted soon), we discuss the patient centered medical home, coordination of care, health care reform, and the Hello Health business model. Share (Source: Health Business ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2695477 Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:02:37 +0100 2695477 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2660820&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2502 American Well is a pioneering telehealth company. It’s responsible for a number of innovations –its principal advance is to work closely with health plans to deploy existing provider networks. I conducted an interview with the CEO, Roy Schoenberg last year and consider myself a fan. However, the New York Times (Mental Health for the Military Over the Web) seems to have fallen all over itself in praise of the company. When we first wrote about American Well, a start-up that offers doctor visits over a webcam, a number of the Bits readers suggested that the service seemed well-suited to visits with therapists. The military will soon use American Well to do just that. It will be the first time that online care has been used to deliver mental health services, according to American ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2660820 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:51:38 +0100 2660820 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2621906&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2477 From CDS key to health reform in Healthcare IT News: “The core functionality of an EHR comes across to doctors as mainly clerical, focusing on recordkeeping, communication and billing,” said Lynn Feldman, CEO of a [clinical decision support] platform called SimulConsult. “While these are all important, and everyone likes getting paid on a timely basis, physicians are likely to gauge the meaningful use of EHRs by the extent of the integrated clinical decision support available to help make diagnoses more directly and accurately, choose best therapies and avoid errors such as incorrect use of medications.” “To doctors, the essence of ‘meaningful use’ of computers in medicine is assistance in care of their patient,” Feldman added. As John Kenagy, MD,  fellow of the American C... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2621906 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:11:05 +0100 2621906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2606087&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2471 Kevin Pho isn’t happy to see so many people turn to Wikipedia for medical information. In the USA Today (Wikipedia isn’t really the patient’s friend) he writes of his dismay at patients using Wikipedia, which he considers unreliable and subject to manipulation. But he’s even more concerned about physician usage: Even more troubling is that doctors, too, appear to be increasingly reliant on Wikipedia. According to a survey of 1,900 physicians by Manhattan Research, a health care market research firm, nearly half of doctors going online for professional purposes reported using Wikipedia as a source of medical information. That number has doubled in the past year alone… And as for physicians, there’s no excuse turning to Wikipedia as a source when reputable... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2606087 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:38:03 +0100 2606087 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2606088&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2469 Chris Thorman at Software Advice makes the case for using Twitter as a tool for real-time disease surveillance. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2606088 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:23:33 +0100 2606088 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2602100&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2460 In the Sunday Boston Globe (State helping to shape US efforts to digitize health records for all) Scott Kirsner writes about the prominent role of Massachusetts residents in shaping the health IT agenda. I’m quoted on the impact on federal policy: …Massachusetts won influence because Harvard economist David Cutler was the primary architect of candidate Barack Obama’s healthcare plan. “Cutler sort of dreamed up the idea of spending $50 billion or so on healthcare IT as part of Obama’s platform, when Obama wasn’t likely to win,’’ says David Williams, a consultant at MedPharma Partners in Boston. “That number became the basis for the dollars in the stimulus bill. The article highlights important influencers from Massachusetts including IDX founder Paul Egerman, Natio... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2602100 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:39:40 +0100 2602100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2580362&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2439 This article originated with a “Health 2.0″ community, yet the community decided they wanted “Information therapy.” The “tension” seen by experts in the area was not an issue for them at all.  They were able to put together a complete mix to get the article done: physicians, patients, and a physician/patient.  This illustrates the rule of thumb that I’ve enunciated, that the most useful resources come from getting physicians and patients to work together closely to come up with the insights and resources that are most useful. It also illustrates how the “tension” between Health 2.0 and Ix falls away in practice. Share (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2580362 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:45:42 +0100 2580362 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2513149&cid=t_194338_150_f&fid=38374&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEPharmaSummit%2F%7E3%2FNA3r1Vbq5G0%2Fhealthdatarights-looks-to-help-patients.html (Source: ePharma Summit) ePharma Summit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2513149 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:13:00 +0100 2513149 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511884&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2394 “No news is good news.” If you hear that from your doctor, don’t take it at face value. A study (Frequency of Failure to Inform Patients of Clinically Significant Outpatient Test Results) in today’s Archives of Internal Medicine reports that about one in fourteen cases of abnormal test results are not reported to patients. The authors found no significant difference between practices with and without electronic medical records. The worst performers were practices with a hybrid paper/electronic system. Some physicians closed the loop 100 percent of the time, some as little as 74 percent. I’m not an Archives subscriber so I had to make do with reading press releases from the California Healthcare Foundation, JAMA (publisher of the Archives), and Weill Cornell Me... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511884 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:20:42 +0100 2511884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511888&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2353 GE’s Stimulus Simplicity program received extensive media coverage yesterday. The program is part of the broader $6 billion healthymagination initiative and has two main parts: Interest-free loans to finance implementation of GE’s Centricity electronic health record for physician practices and hospitals. Loan repayment does not begin until stimulus money starts to flow around 2012 A warranty promising that Centricity will meet the government’s “meaningful use” definition, making practices eligible for stimulus money when it becomes available I had the chance to speak by phone today with Vishal Wanchoo, president of GE Healthcare IT, and asked him some questions I didn’t see answered elsewhere. As a savvy, well-coached GE exec, he didn’t give away... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511888 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:26:08 +0100 2511888 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511890&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2347 Health plans in Maine will soon be required to provide reimbursement for telemedicine services, thanks to a bill signed into law last week by Governor John Baldacci. In a statement, he said: Telemedicine offers opportunities to increase the accessibility of health care, ensure that appropriate medical information is available, reduces medical errors and reduces health care costs.This bill makes sense and I am pleased to sign it. There’s nothing really wrong with this mandate, but on the other hand I doubt it will have much of an impact. Mainly physicians have yet to fully embrace telehealth and even when they use it they can be reluctant to charge. It will be interesting to see whether any of the telehealth-dedicated companies such as American Well or TelaDoc or SwiftMD decide to emb... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511890 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:29:13 +0100 2511890 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2473691&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2337 In a way it’s too bad that there’s so much emphasis these days on electronic health records for physicians. Sure they’re useful, and of course record-keeping in the 21st century shouldn’t be paper-based, but today’s systems are mainly costly, challenging to implement, and can have a painful impact on workflow and sometimes on productivity. On the other hand, I’m happy to see the growth of point-of-care information tools and decision support systems, such as UpToDate, MedLink and SimulConsult. When physicians embrace such tools, they are empowered to handle a broader range of situations without a referral and to get the diagnosis and treatment plan right the first time. That is far more certain to reduce costs and improve quality than EHRs, although there... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2473691 Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:27:26 +0100 2473691 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2452886&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2319 This is a guest post from Tyler Kiley, founder and CEO of InQuicker, LLC In If it works for Disney and restaurants will it work for the Emergency Room? Maybe not, David warned against the dangers of promoting the ER as a primary care site, and suggested that the InQuickER online registration/appointment system may exacerbate the problem. Conceptually, the idea of an emergency medical treatment appointment is counterintuitive; however, I believe it is an effective response to the equally-counterintuitive idea of waiting in an ER waiting room for hours. InQuickER gives patients time and certainty; time, because they can wait at home, and certainty, because they know when they can expect to see the doctor. We are increasingly finding that patients place a high value on the time and certainty ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2452886 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:43:12 +0100 2452886 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2447812&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2310 When I was growing up huge lines for rides at theme parks like Disney were the norm. Meanwhile, at least in suburban Maryland where I grew up, it was possible to go to the emergency room and be seen by a doctor within a reasonable time frame. Now things are more or less reversed. With innovations like Disney’s FASTPASS, patrons can essentially reserve a spot in line and then show up when it’s their turn. It’s a nice innovation –I know it made my family’s last visit to Disney a little more fun. Meanwhile, online booking services like OpenTable have made it easy to reserve a spot without speaking to anyone. Now a clever 23 year-old from Powder Springs, GA is applying the same concept to emergency rooms. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Online service holds... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2447812 Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:26:05 +0100 2447812 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2405680&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2256 This is a transcript of my recent podcast interview with Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice Fusion –provider of a free web-based electronic health record (EHR). David Williams: This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog.  I’m speaking today with Ryan Howard,  CEO of Practice Fusion.  Ryan, thank you for you time today. Ryan Howard: Thank you for your time David.  I appreciate it. David: Ryan what is Practice Fusion? Ryan: Practice Fusion is an electronic health record, which is provided to Physicians at no cost for licensing, hosting, support, and training of the application.  Right now we’re the fastest growing physician practice community in the country. David: Now I’m not shocked that you’ve growing fast b... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2405680 Wed, 13 May 2009 17:15:47 +0100 2405680 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2405681&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F5%2FRyanHoward.mp3 Practice Fusion is a free web-based electronic health record for ambulatory physician practices that claims to be the fastest growing EHR company around. In this podcast interview with the company’s CEO, Ryan Howard, I delve into Practice Fusion’s revenue model and the company’s positioning against other EHR vendors. We also discuss Practice Fusion’s position on CCHIT certification and meaningful use, and speculate about how the EHR field will evolve over the next few years. You can read the transcript here. (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2405681 Tue, 12 May 2009 11:45:18 +0100 2405681 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2380953&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2188 This is a transcript of my podcast interview with Kathy Roe, a partner in the Health Law Practice group at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg in Chicago regarding the health IT provisions of the federal stimulus law. David Williams: This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and the author of the Health Business Blog. The stimulus bill signed into law last month contains over 100 billion dollars in health care related funding, including about 20 billion dollars specifically for health care IT. After reading the legislation I still have a lot of unanswered questions about how this money is going to be made available and to whom. So today I’m speaking with an expert on the topic, Kathy Roe. She is a partner in the Health Law Practice Group at Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg in Chicago... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2380953 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:44:21 +0100 2380953 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2353951&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2178 As reported in the Boston Globe, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston has decided to stop sharing  administrative billing data with personal health record sites such as Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault. This came about after e-Patient Dave noticed that the data in his Google Health account –which came from BIDMC– was a mess, and suggested that Dave was in dire health, indeed. I suggest looking here, here, and here for more information on the story. This isn’t an anomalous case: pretty much anyone with a complex medical history would have a similar result. I may well have missed it in the various articles and comments, but I haven’t seen anyone explicitly draw the link between this case and the use of the same kind of claims data for pay for... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2353951 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:59:45 +0100 2353951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2349030&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2161 Fast Company has a particularly good article (The Doctor of the Future) on how physicians are innovating to reduce costs, improve quality and broaden access. SimulConsult is described in some depth on page 4 Dr. Michael Segal, 54, a renowned pediatric neurologist in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, has been working on [rare disease diagnosis] for 20 years. The result: SimulConsult, a sophisticated online crowd-sourcing tool for identifying neurological disorders that demonstrates the potential of the Web to transform the way all kinds of diseases are diagnosed. Doctors enter a patient’s symptoms and test results, and the software produces likely diagnoses and the probability for each… Segal recognized the need for such a tool as a resident in the 1980s, when he spent hours poring ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2349030 Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:54:18 +0100 2349030 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2349032&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2151 This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with Dr. Wayne Guerra, co-founder and chief medical officer of Healthagen, the maker of iTriage. David Williams: This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog. I’m speaking today with Wayne Guerra. He’s co-founder and chief medical officer of Healthagen, which makes the iTriage app for the iPhone. Wayne, thanks for your time today. Dr. Wayne Guerra: Thanks for having me, David. David: Wayne, what is iTriage? Wayne: I’ll just give you a quick background. Our chief executive officer, Dr. Peter Hudson and I are both practicing emergency physicians. We’ve witnessed patients struggling to make difficult medical decisions with very limited information. Collectively, we&... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2349032 Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:39:05 +0100 2349032 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2319002&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2139 In their New England Journal of Medicine Perspective, Drs. Kenneth Mandl and Isaac Kohane suggest learning lessons from other fields that have seen large-scale IT successes: An essential first lesson is that ideally, system components should be not only interoperable but also substitutable. The Apple iPhone, for example, uses a software platform with a published interface that allows software developers outside Apple to create applications; there are now nearly 10,000 applications that consumers can download and use with the common phone interface. The platform separates the system from the functionality provided by the applications. And the applications are substitutable: a consumer can download a calendar reminder system, reject it, and then download another one. The consumer is committe... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2319002 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:20:04 +0100 2319002 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2319006&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2135 From Healia (Medical Students to Answer Your Online Health Questions for Free) Healia and the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the nation’s oldest and largest independent association for more than 67,000 physicians-in-training, announced this morning that AMSA medical students and interns/residents are answering the public’s online health questions for free on Healia Communities. Trained medical students will answer common health questions anytime and at no cost to consumers. According to the Pew Internet&American Life Project, between 75% and 80% of American Internet users have looked for health information online. There are many online Q&A websites but very few of them are appropriate for answering health questions because their members are seldom qualified ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2319006 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:47:10 +0100 2319006 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2319008&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F4%2Fitriage.mp3 iTriage is an impressive iPhone app that its maker refers to as “healthcare in your hand.” With iTriage, someone who’s feeling sick can get more information about what’s ailing them, and then help locate the right place for care –whether an ER, urgent care clinic, or retail clinic. iTriage partners with a telemedicine provider so users can talk directly to a doctor, and they offer  connections to nurse call lines run by health plans. HealthGrades reports are available for users who want to check out provider quality and there is even a cost negotiation service when the medical bill is too high. iTriage is pretty cool. It’s clear that its inventors know the health care system inside and out and really empathize with the patient. It’s well-conceived... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2319008 Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:01:48 +0100 2319008 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2291711&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2123 Today’s New York Times (Online Age Quiz Is a Window for Drug Makers) reveals that RealAge, a popular web-based test that provides tips on how to live better, makes money from pharmaceutical manufacturers. The article is quite balanced, but the overall impression it creates is that RealAge is hypocritical and deceitful: pretending to promote non-medical interventions and acting in the consumer’s interest, while really being a tool of the pharmaceutical industry and hiding that from people taking the test. I haven’t paid much attention to RealAge but after having a look at the site today I don’t see what the big deal is. Maybe it’s just that I know how these sorts of sites work, but actually I think the disclosures are rather clear. Actually they are clearer tha... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2291711 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:06:02 +0100 2291711 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2291712&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2122 Under the HITECH part of the Federal stimulus package, physicians and hospitals will have the opportunity to earn close to $20 billion of bonus payments starting in 2011 for “meaningful use” of “certified” EHR systems. Those terms will need to be defined soon for providers to invest with confidence. Luckily Dr. David Blumenthal, the incoming National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, has written a perspective in the upcoming New England Journal of Medicine that sheds a bit of light on the subject. The article (Stimulating the Adoption of Health Information Technology) is free online. One of HITECH’s most important features is its clarity of purpose. Congress apparently sees HIT — computers, software, Internet connection, telemedicine — not as ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2291712 Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:08:01 +0100 2291712 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2258906&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2102 I like clever headlines but there are some cutesy ones –usually variations of cliches on articles about e-health– that get on my nerves. At the risk of being the pot calling the kettle black or throwing stones from my glass house, I’m going to start pointing out examples. Here are two annoying ones from the past week: Cough, cough. Is There a Doctor in the Mouse? from the Wall Street Journal Take Two Aspirin and Tweet Me In The Morning from Health Affairs I can’t link to the second one since it’s not posted yet. (I saw it in print.) (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2258906 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:48:43 +0100 2258906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2236458&cid=t_194338_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Fwho-e-health-report-finally-goes-online The World Health Organization today put its global, biweekly "eHealth Intelligence Report" online. Right now, you can only get 2009 issues from the site, but the WHO is promising to have the archives, dating to 2005, up by April. Seriously, what took so long? The WHO site has Russian, Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish versions, but this report seems to be available only in English.   (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2236458 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:08:43 +0100 2236458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2236459&cid=t_194338_113_f&fid=38236&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthcareitnews.com%2Fblog%2Ffive-recommendations-onc-head-who-understands-health-it-innovation Now that the legislative language of the HITECH Act -- the $20 billion health IT allocation within the economic stimulus package -- has been set, it's time to identify a National Coordinator (NC) for Health IT who can capably lead that office. As many now realize, the language of the Bill can be ambiguous, requiring wise regulatory interpretation and execution to ensure that the money is spent well and that desired outcomes are achieved. (Source: Healthcare IT News Blog) Healthcare IT News Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2236459 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:04:33 +0100 2236459 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232612&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2090 I’m an advisor to SimulConsult, an advanced decision support software company I’ve described before. It’s a perfect example of the type of “disruptive innovation” popularized by Clay Christensen. Christensen himself seems to agree, citing the company in his new book The Innovator’s Prescription and now in Business Week (A Disruptive Solution for Health Care) Consider tools made by SimulConsult, which help physicians make diagnoses that previously required referrals to costlier specialists. SimulConsult’s online medical-decision support tool analyzes information from physicians about a patient’s condition, and then suggests likely diagnoses, based on information about diseases collected in a wiki-like fashion from a large peer-reviewed communi... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232612 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:30:02 +0100 2232612 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2128906&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2050 The health care IT section of the stimulus bill working its way through Congress looks pretty weak. The $20 billion number is big enough but unfortunately the timing and structure don’t make a great deal of sense. Of the $20 billion, $18 billion is deferred until 2011, when it will start being offered as incentives to physicians who are already using EHRs. In other words, physicians have to invest their own money –and do so within the next few months– in order to be ready to start claiming the funds. It doesn’t strike me as realistic and it’s certainly not a near-term stimulus. It’s actually more like an unfunded mandate since it’s likely the availability of the $18B in 2011 on out will let Medicare and Medicaid pay lower rates than they otherwise ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2128906 Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:38:54 +0100 2128906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2052734&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2008%2F12%2FCarefx.mp3 I spoke recently with Andy Hurd, Chairman and CEO of Carefx Corporation, whose Fusion platform synthesizes data from a variety of clinical systems to provide clinicians with an integrated view of patient information. Andy shared his views of the information challenges facing hospitals and health information exchanges. We also discussed the impact of Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault, the future of the RHIO/HIE movement, and speculated on the impact of the incoming Barack Obama Administration. (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2052734 Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:31:39 +0100 2052734 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2039989&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D2009 In his Software Advice blog (The Double Standard for Web-Based EMRs), Houston Neal argues that some physicians are unreasonably wary of using web-based electronic medical records: Why are some physicians still fearful of web-based electronic medical records (EMRs) when most of them are comfortable using web banking and e-commerce sites? Many physicians allow all of their personal financial information to be transmitted over the Internet - including actionable credit card data - but fear using the same methods for managing their patient records. It’s not irrational to be worried about security breaches on the web. But what is the likelihood of compromising patient data through a web-based EMR? Is it a higher or lower risk than web banking or e-commerce? And who would try to hack that info... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2039989 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:30:41 +0100 2039989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1984840&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1992 This is the transcript of my recent podcast interview with David Hom, Chairman of the Center for Health Value Innovation. David Williams:  This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of The Health Business Blog. I’m speaking today with David Hom, Chairman of the Board of the Center for Health Value Innovation. Dave, thanks for speaking with me today. David Hom:  You’re welcome. Williams:  Dave, there are some listeners that aren’t familiar with the Center, so could you just start by giving us a quick recap on your mission and activities? Hom:  Sure. The center is a not-for-profit organization that was established in 2007 for employers, with employers, by employers, to protect a private healthcare system by sharing best practices in healthcare i... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984840 Tue, 25 Nov 2008 02:05:17 +0100 1984840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1943353&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1978 When RevolutionHealth merged with Waterfront Media, Mark Bard, president of Manhattan Research provided insightful commentary for this blog. (See Manhattan Research President, Mark Bard on the Revolution Health/Waterfront Media merger.) So when Johnson & Johnson bought HealthMedia, a web-based behavior change company, I turned back to Mark for his perspective. David Williams: What differentiates HealthMedia and what methodology underlies its interventions? Mark Bard: Like a number of business models in the online health space, the underlying HealthMedia concept itself is not a radical departure from business models that have been in place in the health system for years. The key point of differentiation is that they are using the online channel to inject significant efficiency into the... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1943353 Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:28:37 +0100 1943353 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1930237&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2008%2F11%2Fteich.mp3 Dr. Jonathan Teich is an emergency room physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and also Chief Medical Informatics Officer for Elsevier. In this podcast interview I spoke with Jonathan about Elsevier’s MD Consult and other clinical decision support tools. We talked about the promise of decision support compared to the current state, and discussed some of the innovations that may come to market over the next few years. We also spent a bit of time on Health 2.0 communities and the potential to use them for patient/clinician interaction. (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1930237 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:10:06 +0100 1930237 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1920963&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1967 Trusted.MD Network CEO Dmitriy Kruglyak shines a harsh light on Health 2.0 in a letter to Modern Healthcare (Buzz surrounding Health 2.0 ‘way overblown’): Just because a thousand people attended a conference to socialize, kick tires and promote their wares does not mean Health 2.0 is here to stay or that the industry is undergoing a revolution (what happened to the eponymous company?). We have seen similar manias with dot-coms and regional health information organzations and everyone knows how long they lasted and how they ended. Irrational exuberance attracts a lot of onlookers. …If you type in a few high-profile Health 2.0 company URLs and do back-of-the-envelope estimation of how much money they have to make per user to pay their expenses and turn a profit it is not ha... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1920963 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:09:44 +0100 1920963 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1914621&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1964 This is a transcript of my recent podcast interview with Telerays CEO, Dr. Daniel Roubein. David E. Williams:  This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog. I’m speaking today with Dr. Daniel Roubein. He is the CEO of Telerays. Dr. Roubein, thanks for your time today. Dr. Daniel Roubein:  David, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you. I appreciate the chance to discuss Telerays with you on Health Business Blog. David:  First of all, what’s the concept behind this company Telerays? Dr. Roubein:  Telerays is basically about connecting people. The Telerays platform is designed to enable hospitals and imaging centers to work directly with radiologists, and to give hospitals and imaging centers instant access to quality... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1914621 Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:17:09 +0100 1914621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1911353&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1962 This is a transcript of my podcast interview with Dr. Ralph Kalies, CEO of BidRx. David Williams:  This is David Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog. I am speaking today with Dr. Ralph Kalies, he is CEO of BidRx. Dr. Kalies, how are you today? Dr. Ralph Kalies:  I’m pretty good. David:  Great! Well, tell me about BidRx. How did you come up with the idea for it? Ralph:  Well, I came up with the idea, because I’ve been involved in the healthcare area for about 30 years, mainly with the pharmaceutical use process. Looking at the pharmaceutical use process, I’ve owned PBMs, I’ve owned physician practices. I’ve consulted pharmaceutical manufacturers, and done pharmaceutical phase three and phase four research. I&#82... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1911353 Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:09:47 +0100 1911353 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1891973&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2008%2F10%2Ftelerays.mp3 Telerays is a teleradiology company that provides a platform for hospitals and imaging centers to connect with radiologists. Telerays credentials radiologists, who are then permitted to bid on the image interpretation needs of hospitals and imaging centers. The company handles the billing and takes a 15% commission on revenues received. I spoke today with Dr. Daniel Roubein, CEO of Telerays. He laid out the concept behind the company and walked me through the bid process. We talked about the impact of Telerays on radiologist incomes and work practices, and on hospital and imaging center operations. We discussed Telerays’ policy of performing only final (rather than preliminary) reads. I also asked him about the eventual inclusion of overseas radiologists and the applicability of the ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1891973 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:09:17 +0100 1891973 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1886372&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1953 Nighthawk teleradiology services, which allow offsite physicians to read x-rays at odd hours, have been a boon to hospital emergency rooms and radiology groups. Most of the business involves reading CT scans from patients who come into hospital ERs at night. Radiologists don’t have to take call, and patients benefit by having their images read by wide-awake radiologists on the other side of the world. Cost-savings hasn’t been a big emphasis. Many of the nighthawks are American trained, American board certified radiologists who are enjoying good lifestyles in places like Australia and Hawaii right out of fellowship rather than joining groups and being the low-person on the totem pole. They make good money: typically several hundred thousand dollars per year. If you’ve spen... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1886372 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:38:11 +0100 1886372 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1883330&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1954 HealthGrades, which produces quality reports on doctors and hospitals, just paid $6.2 million to purchase Adviware’s website WrongDiagnosis.com along with another web property. I never heard of WrongDiagnosis but the name sounded intriguing and I took a look. There are some interesting diagnosis checklists –explaining what questions a doctor is likely to ask when a patient presents with certain complaints– and what’s behind the questions. There are some other areas of the site to check your symptoms or to view popularly misdiagnosed diseases. The site is too busy for my liking and somewhat overloaded with pharma DTC ads and Google AdSense ads. The approach makes sense as a revenue model –show people the applicable drugs for the diseases they think they have. ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1883330 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:56:56 +0100 1883330 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1860079&cid=t_194338_107_f&fid=36585&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FHighlightHEALTH%2F%7E3%2F413508790%2F This article was published on Highlight HEALTH. Other Articles You May LikeMore Education Decreases the Risk of Death FDA Attempting to Regulate Dietary SupplementsIncreased Coffee Consumption Associated with Lower Risk of Liver CancerExactly What are Stem Cells?Neurofibromatosis: From Genes to Complications to Treatments (Source: Highlight HEALTH) Highlight HEALTH blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1860079 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:00:21 +0100 1860079 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1856031&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1947 This is a transcript of my recent podcast interview with Keith Belton from Nuance Communications. David E. Williams:  This is David Willams, cofounder of MedPharma Partners and author of the Health Business Blog. A few days ago Nuance Communications released version 10 of its speech recognition software, Dragon Medical. I am speaking today with Keith Belton in the healthcare division about the new launch. Keith, thanks for being with me today. Keith Belton:  David always a pleasure. David:  Keith what exactly is Dragon Medical, and who uses it? Keith:  Dragon Medical is the leading speech recognition product used by medical clinicians –physicians and nurses– in the United States to document patient encounters. David: And do they use it as a standalone or is it used in conju... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1856031 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:01:36 +0100 1856031 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1856033&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1945 Like many of you, I was surprised to hear the news that Revolution Health would merge with Waterfront Media, the operator of Everyday Health Network. In this email interview, Mark Bard, president of Manhattan Research, shares his thoughts on the deal and its implications. David Williams: When Steve Case launched the Revolution Health website last year he said, “While Revolution Health will be a journey over many years to come, we are excited today to launch a site that is the cornerstone of our efforts to revolutionize healthcare.” Now it seems like he’s throwing in the towel on the online business and keeping the rest of the company separate. What’s going on? Mark Bard: This recent move by Revolution Health highlights the challenges in building a health site and ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1856033 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:55:07 +0100 1856033 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1850992&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1944 If you came here on a search for pro-anorexia or pro-bulimia websites please visit Getting Help for Anorexia and Bulimia at HealthyPlace.com instead (or at least first). I’ve been hearing for awhile about websites glamorizing or rationalizing eating disorders. I was a little shocked at first but then realized that it’s to be expected. The web attracts like-minded people of all sorts, including those with destructive or self-destructive ideologies and disorders. Still, it’s a disturbing phenomenon, one I was reminded of when I read a new report from web content security vendor Optenet, reporting a 470 percent increase in the number of sites devoted to a pro-anorexia or pro-bulimia message over the last couple of years. The company doesn’t know how much traffic these ... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1850992 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:21:04 +0100 1850992 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1825628&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1934 I learned today that Daniel Palestrant, CEO of Sermo will be the keynote speaker at the Health 2.0 Northeast event in Cambridge, MA on October 7. That should make an already strong line-up even better. You can read my previous post on the event to learn more or register here. (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1825628 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:29:31 +0100 1825628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1825631&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1931 The terms Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) are usually used interchangeably these days and I’ve basically decided to stop worrying about it. I used to use EMR but now mainly say EHR. I’ve figured it’s kind of a like the shift from Disease Management to Care Management –takes the edge off by shifting to a more benign –if less descriptive– term. But I do cringe when EHR is used interchangeably with Personal Health Record (PHR), as I often do. In any case, Software Advice has an excellent column explaining the difference and documenting the confusion. (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1825631 Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:53:22 +0100 1825631 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1815303&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1925 The next Health 2.0 Northeast event is coming to Boston October 7. The first event was held in January and it was an excellent session with great speakers and networking. (I also had a chance to meet the “other” David Williams, Head of Business Development and Marketing at PatientsLikeMe, so that was a treat, too.) From the looks of it the upcoming event will be at least as good as the kickoff. I plan to be there and I hope to see you. If you register in advance you’ll save $10. Here’s the press release: Boston Becomes a Hotbed for Health 2.0 Industry Leaders Converge on Cambridge for Second Health 2.0 Northeast Forum BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As Boston drives to the forefront of the Health 2.0 sector, industry leaders from health care, finance, academia, t... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1815303 Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:53:29 +0100 1815303 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1809754&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2008%2F9%2FDragon.mp3 Nuance Communications just released version 10 of its Dragon Medical speech recognition software. I saw a demo of the product and it’s pretty neat. You can talk as fast as you want and use voice shortcuts to create blocks of text. It expands JCAHO “do not use” abbreviations into full text and is pre-programmed to understand medical terminology for different specialties. One cool feature: users can set their accent (e.g., Indian, Australian) and the system will understand them right away. Considering the high percentage of physicians from abroad that’s bound to be useful. Dragon is used in conjunction with electronic health records (EHRs). The company says it has about 70,000 clinician users, equating to about 15 percent of all clinicians in practice. Considering the... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1809754 Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:53:29 +0100 1809754 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1788702&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2008%2F9%2FBidRx.mp3 BidRx is one of the more interesting companies I’ve come across recently. Founder and CEO, Ralph Kalies has used his intimate knowledge of pharmacy and PBMs to create a consumer-oriented competitive marketplace for prescription drugs. Kalies believes traditional PBMs are a poor match for patients in the age of consumer-directed health care. In particular, he faults the lack of head-to-head competition by pharmaceutical companies for choice of product and the lack of head-to-head competition from pharmacies for fulfillment. BidRx addresses these issues by establishing a competitive electronic marketplace, which helps consumers initiate generic and therapeutic substitution and allows pharmacies to compete on price and service. In preparation for the interview I gave the system a try, i... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1788702 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:49:39 +0100 1788702 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1763902&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1904 Earlier in the summer I posted about InfoMed MD, a website that provides personal answers to medical questions. Users complete a short, interactive questionnaire after which the system provides useful advice. There are a variety of InfoMeds available and the list is growing. Some examples include: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Contact Lens Irritation Erectile Dysfunction Stroke Symptoms Vasectomy What I especially like about the site is that the output is well thought out and informative. The information is much better than the typical handouts you get on these topics. Last time I looked the site was charging $6.95 per InfoMed, and even though that’s not unreasonable I thought it would deter users. That’s changed now. With only a few exceptions the InfoMeds are now free... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1763902 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:34:59 +0100 1763902 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1709098&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2008%2F8%2FAmericanWell.mp3 American Well provides a platform where consumers can obtain real-time access to physicians via the Web. The company has already signed a deal with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Hawaii to offer online services to BCBS members and non-members –and is busy putting other deals in place. I met this morning with Dr. Roy Schoenberg, the company’s CEO. He described the concept behind American Well and outlined the value proposition for health plans, physicians, and consumers.  American Well has big ambitions, which include revolutionizing the practice of medicine, making the medical home a reality, helping health plans stave off disintermediation, and even offering an alternative to politicians’ plans for universal health care. (Source: Health Business Blog) Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1709098 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:18:24 +0100 1709098 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1704703&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1883 Harvard is helping to build a medical wiki. From The Crimson: The Medpedia Project, which [James P.] Currier aims to launch by the end of the year, is a global effort modeled after Wikipedia, to build a comprehensive medical resource that will be readily accessible and understandable to both health professionals and patients. In addition to the encyclopedic “wiki” component of Medpedia—which will be edited by approved contributors selected through an internal review process—the online Web site will serve as a professional network for the medical community and a platform for patient groups. “In the big picture, it’s an attempt to engage the health and medical communities with Web technology, something that is only beginning today,” said Currier, who graduat... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1704703 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:12:54 +0100 1704703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1686221&cid=t_194338_118_f&fid=34850&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthbusinessblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D1877 Google’s new Insights for Search service is designed to provide marketers better information on search terms over time and across geographical areas. According to The New York Times (Google’s New Tool Is Meant For Marketers): The tool is aimed primarily at marketers, who may use it to devise and track advertising campaigns. A car company, for instance, could experiment with different versions of a television ad in Cleveland and Columbus, and check the number of resulting searches in each city to see which one is more effective. Or it could use the data to find out where users are searching most actively for “fuel efficiency” and aim ads for a gas-sipping vehicle there. It seems pretty clear that there will be implications for health care, too, especially public health. As I... Health Business Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1686221 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 01:36:43 +0100 1686221