Pharmacy Benefit Managers vs Physicians: Let the Games Begin!
As a gastroenterologist, I treat hundreds of patients with heartburn. You already know the names of the medicines I prescribe, since they are advertised day and night on television and…
Crowd-Sourcing in Clinical Development
Guest Post from Tomasz Sablinski, MD, PhD FDA’s Janet Woodcock recently testified to a subcommittee of the House of Representatives that drug approvals in 2011 may be headed for…
Scientific Advances on Contraceptive for Men
This blog is largely about texting and health and as much as I love to find new and interesting facts and figures about the later, it's time to start…
Public Employee Benefits Alliance (PEBA) Signs Agreement With Satori Medical Tourism
PEBA represents over 150,000 from two Texas Political Subdivision Pools and 68 individual employers and I guess when you have the former CEO of Cigna it seems like it is…
High Levels of Physical Activity Could Reduce Silent Stroke Risk
Researchers at Columbia University and the University of Miami found the risk of silent strokes was 40% lower in older people who reported high levels of physical activity. Researchers at…
Will FDA Stifle Innovation in Diagnostic Software?
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:…
Your Lifestyle Can Prevent Sudden Cardiac Death
Adhering to a moderate yet healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death by about 90% according to a new study. It is well known that high blood…
Why Don’t Hospitals Compete on Quality?
As explained in a previous Health Alert, it’s more profitable to compete on amenities in a third-party payment system. Here is an update from Colorado: Concierge service. Jacuzzi tubs. Bacon-wrapped…
Conservatives: The Utah Health Exchange is Not a Model
The Utah Health Exchange has gone from being a marginally interesting sideshow to a serious cognitive obstacle to conservatives’ wholesale rejection of Obamacare. Witness the Wall Street Journal’s editorial of…
M&A Activity and Hospital Priorities Seek a Groove as ICD-10 Looms
While the deadline for ICD-10 implementation is not until October 2013, the new clinical documentation code set expands over 8x from 24,000 to > 200,000 and with enterprise-wide effects will…
