By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    What Are the Benefits of CBD?
    November 27, 2021
    How to Measure Adult Diapers- The Ultimate Guide to Picking the Right Size
    March 8, 2022
    medicine cabinet
    The Effect Of Finished Dosage Form Manufacturing In New Drugs
    July 5, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Tooth Decay Marielaina Perrone DDS
    Is Your Child’s Education Affected By Tooth Decay?
    December 13, 2012
    Image
    Millions of Americans Could Lose ACA Subsidies
    July 21, 2014
    Image
    IVF: The Three Biggest Myths
    March 22, 2013
    Latest News
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
    Strengthening Healthcare Systems Through Clinical and Administrative Career Development
    June 13, 2025
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Talking About Medical Quality: Consider the Source
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > Talking About Medical Quality: Consider the Source
BusinessFinance

Talking About Medical Quality: Consider the Source

Jeanne Pinder
Last updated: July 2, 2014 8:00 am
Jeanne Pinder
Share
5 Min Read
measuring healthcare quality
SHARE
measuring healthcare quality

Summary: Measuring quality is a constant challenge in health care: quality of prov

measuring healthcare quality

Summary: Measuring quality is a constant challenge in health care: quality of providers, quality of hospitals, quality of drugs, quality of treatments. Much of what’s out there is conflicting or written for professionals. A lot of quality information is actually delivered in the form of marketing materials, written to induce patients and providers to choose a specific treatment. Other quality assessments are affected by more subtle connections: If a nonprofit organization writes a seemingly straightforward report, that’s good, right? But what if that organization is funded by insurers, drug companies, or the American Medical Association? Make sure you know what the source of the information is.

First, we’re frequent users of the  Mayo Clinic website. There is a lot of plain-English information there.

Another favorite resource: The American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation has spearheaded the “Choosing Wisely” campaign, talking about best practices in prescribing treatments. The choices to recommend for or against treatments were made by the providers themselves, or by their professional organizations, often in conflict with their economic interests. More testing means more money, but more testing is not always a good idea.

More Read

Mobile Health Around the Globe (Bonus Post!): Six mHealth Companies Bringing Health Technology to Developing Countries
How Can Hospitals Make Patient Care and Medical Info Work Together?
5 Reasons Hospital Marketing Will Benefit by Devising Digital Plans
New Surgical Techniques Drive Market Opportunity
Use “FAQs” to Produce Marketing Content for Your Medical Practice

Resources like Dollars for Docs, compiled by the journalists at ProPublica, detail the payments made by Big Pharma to doctors, giving insight into where influence may be being exerted: If your doc is getting paid by a drug company and prescribing a lot of that company’s drugs, how do you feel about it? By the way, ProPublic is an investigative news organization that doesn’t have any financial gain from revealing this information.

Then there are more complex quality assessments.

While doing research for a blog post about the rising price of drugs, I learned of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, a Boston nonprofit, which does thoughtful research on treatments. The topic of the $1,000-a-dose Hepatitis C medication Sovaldi, which has been much in the news, was on my mind.

“A panel of experts at a recent forum in San Francisco concluded that the drug offered ‘low value’ for treating most patients, in large part because of its high price,” The New York Times wrote in an editorial. “That judgment was based partly on an assessment of clinical and cost-effectiveness prepared by a nonprofit organization that evaluates medical treatments (the Boston-based Institute for Clinical and Economic Review). The group estimated that replacing current care of infected Californians with Sovaldi-based regimens would raise drug expenditures in the state by $18 billion or more in a single year. It said projected savings from reduced medical costs in later years would not come close to offsetting that cost.”

In the debate over expensive medications and treatments, the source of the information should be considered. Julie Appleby of Kaiser Health News wrote a wise piece about this detailing recommendations: If the group recommending for the drug has close ties with the drug industry, then shouldn’t its conclusions be suspect? If the group recommending against the drug is from the insurance industry, which is allergic to paying high prices for just about anything, shouldn’t its conclusions be suspect? If the group is doctors, do they have ties to Big Pharma?

Appleby’s story pointed out that the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review has close ties to the insurance industry. Many of its advisors and board members and funders are from the industry, so that might lead us to assess the recommendations with a careful eye.

Still, some of its resources may be useful.

For example, if you were thinking of treatment for sleep apnea,
This guide to treatments is thorough and may help understand the landscape.

A similar guide for treatment of ADHD disorders, and one for prostate cancer treatment, discuss options.

The site’s resource page has a number of links to other quality and assessment sites.

In short: you should always consider the source of the assessment.

Who’s paying for it? What are their interests? Know that, and you can judge the information better.

image: © 2011 401(K) 2012, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio

TAGGED:Quality
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

recovering from injury
Rebuilding After Injury: Path to Physical and Emotional Recovery
News
June 22, 2025
scientist using microscope
When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
Global Healthcare
June 18, 2025
How Therapy Can Improve Your Mental Health and Daily Life
How Therapy Can Improve Your Mental Health and Daily Life
Mental Health
June 18, 2025
healthcare facilities
Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
Global Healthcare Infographics
June 15, 2025

You Might also Like

price transparency in healthcare
BusinessFinancePolicy & LawPublic Health

Seeing Through the Patient CARE Act: Why Transparency Won’t Fix Our System

March 31, 2015
cash flow problems at medical practice
BusinessFinance

Financing a Medical Practice with Cash Flow Problems

March 15, 2014

The HHS Plan to Reduce Racial Disparities in Health Care

May 26, 2011

Response to Austin Frakt

March 25, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?