Medicare to Pay for Value

I have spilled much ink on this blog discussing the pros and cons of pay-for-performance approaches to medicine.  Incentivizing high quality care is good in theory, but in practice changes in quality have been modest and providers may be able to readily game the system.  Despite these challenges, Medicare announced this week that it would being  tying 30…

Does your FitBit need to be FDA approved?

Right now, the answer is no, but in the near future, this may no longer be the case. The FDA has released a draft guidance on how it will regulate the new generation of wearable technology.  This guidance  says it will not regulate “general wellness” products like the FitBit. However, if the wearable cites health benefits for…

State of the Union 2015: A Healthcare Review

The Healthcare Economist’s annual tradition is upon us. I review the President’s State of the Union address, identify all healthcare related comments, and provide commentary.  So without futher ado… And in the past year alone, about ten million uninsured Americans finally gained the security of health coverage. The President pats himself on the back for the…

Quality and Quality of Life

There have been numerous efforts to measure quality of health care, especially among the elderly.  For instance, Nursing Home Compare measures of quality of care for nursing homes.  However, these quality measures focus on health and safety.  They do not measure quality of life.  Atul Gawande’s book Being Mortal describes why nursing homes focus more on…