Physician Views on Online Patient Communities
Two-thirds of physicians who are familiar with patient communities say they have a positive impact on patients. Almost 40 percent of these physicians say they already recommend patient communities to…
Copperhead Snakebites
By Paul Auerbach, M.D. By Paul Auerbach, M.D. The journal Annals of Emergency Medicine publishes abstracts each year of presentations delivered at the American College of Emergency Physicians Annual Scientific…
First Steps to Helping Unblock Social Media at Your Hospital
According to QuantiaMD, 67% of physicians use social media professionally, and the ability to always be connected is essential to making online social networking manageable. Healthcare professionals may eventually fall…
Report on Hospital Acquired Infection in CA Released
Healthcare-associated infection data on all hospitals in Califorinia has been released by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). This means anyone can see the nosocomial infection rates of their…
Recession Drives Lower Health Spending
The Great Recession has achieved what 20 years of policy machinations in Washington could not. For the second straight year, the world’s most expensive health-care system did not gobble up…
Medicaid Expansion: Will We get our Money’s Worth?
Should we just hand uninsured adult diabetics $1000 per year rather than enrolling them in Medicaid? That’s the question I’m left with after reading Medicaid Expansion Under Health Reform May…
3 Factors Fueling Growth in Mobile Health Apps
The market for mobile health apps is forecast to grow 70% over the next five years, to $392 million. Beyond improvements in technology there are several factors fueling this…
Patient Receives Spinal Implant for Pain and is Out of the Wheelchair
This is pretty amazing that the man had a spinal injury and could not walk for 3 years and now is out of the wheelchair and moving around just fine. …
Gartner Worldwide IT Spending Forecast
I participated in this morning's Gartner Worldwide IT Spending Forecast. Gartner, the technology research giant, brought together some wonderful speakers who shared information that I feel is important to healthcare --…
Does Shorter LOS Cause a Higher Readmission Rate?
The way Medicare pays hospitals encourages shorter lengths of stay. But could those shorter stays lead to more readmissions? According to a study in JAMA: 60 percent of severe heart…
