Health Wonk Review
The latest edition of the Health Wonk Review is up at Workers Comp Insider.
Category: Current Events
Six cutting edge Health 2.0 ideas
VentureBeat (“…Health 2.0…“) profiles six innovative Health 2.0 firms which were at the 2008 Health 2.0 Conference in San Diego. Each firm on the list aims to reinvent the doctor patient relationship. Included on the list is Carol.com which allows patients to do medical shopping. PharmaSurveyor allows users to enter the medications they are on…
Fidelity: A quarter of a million dollars needed to cover retirement health costs
How much money do you need to save for retirement? $100,000? $500,000? $1,000,000? $5,000,000? Well whatever your figure is, you need to tack on an extra quarter of a million dollars in order to cover your health care costs in retirement. The Boston Globe (“Fidelity…“) reports that Fidelity now estimates that a couple will…
Are seat belts a safety hazard?
Seat belts save lives. At least conventional wisdom says so. But is this really the case? Seat belts are useful because the reduce the chance that–given that you are in an accident–you will die or sustain a serious injury. But wearing a seat belt may give drivers an incentive to drive more recklessly since the…
Waste in Healthcare
Joe Paduda has a great post (“Wasted Dollars“) reviewing a study by Alex Swedlow. The study focuses on waste in the health care sector with a focus on Workers Compensation. Mr. Paduda concludes the following: There’s a lesson here for the non-workers comp world, and policy wonks in particular. It is this – providers overtreat,…
Should all children get flu shots?
According to Reuters (“All U.S. kids…“), the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is recommending that all kids should receive an influenza vaccination. Previously, the CDC recommended that all children 0-6 receive a flu shot. Now, all children 18 and under should get the shot. In addition to the direct health benefits the children…
Cross-border health insurance
The San Diego Union Tribune has an article (“Cross-border coverage“) profiling entreprenuer Jim Arriola and his low cost health insurance plan covering medical care in both the U.S. and Mexico. His company, Sekure Healthcare, provides a limited-benefit insurance program through employers along with a discount health card program. Both can be used by Sekure members…
Markets and Medicare
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article (“Markets and Medicare“) by John Goodman, President of the National Center for Policy Analysis. The article has some innovative suggestions regarding how to improve the health care system. Medicare should allow alternative payment mechanisms, such as compensating doctors for e-mail and telephone communication with the patient (I…
Economist health care articles
This week’s edition of The Economist magazine has some great articles on health care. Mayo with Everything: World-famous hospitals are becoming the hub of economic activity for many cities. For instance, Rochester, Minnesota’s economy is heavily dependent on the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland relies heavily on the Cleveland Clinic to attract high quality health care…
Flu shot overhaul next year
According to the USA Today, the influenza vaccine may receive a complete overhaul for the 2008-2009 flu season. All three flu viruses in this year’s vaccine should be swapped for others next year because of a dramatic change in the mix of circulating flu bugs… The decision launches a “time-critical, highly orchestrated” effort by public…