Stumbled upon this post and video this morning. This is validation of exactly what 1-800MD is doing. Even Mayo Clinic is looking to reduce cost and improve access to care using telemedicine.
Credit to 3GDoctor Blog which is where I found this.
Effective eConsultations
May 19th, 2010 by Jonathan McGuireShortage of Primary Care Physicians in Massachusetts
March 17th, 2010 by tgibbensToday’s Wall St Journal has an editorial entitled, “The Failure of RomneyCare”. It contains some fascinating statistics about , the average physician availability in the Bay State. In fact, the Massachusetts Medical Society refers to the situation as a “critical shortage” of primary care physicians. “56% of Massachusetts internal medicine physicians no longer are accepting new patients according to a 2009 physician work-force study conducted by the Massachusetts Medical Society. For new patients who do get an appointment with a primary-care doctor, the waiting time is 44 days… ”
Dr. Sandra Schneider, the vice president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, told the Boston Globe last April, “Just because you have insurance doesn’t mean there’s a physician who can see you.”
Once again the issues are pretty clear. Our ongoing medical issues are centered on access and cost containment.
New mHealth Study
February 25th, 2010 by Jonathan McGuireFrom Mobile Health News:
Current global mHealth opportunity is $50B
The parts about US members and the overwhelming interest in mobile health and telemedicine service are really interesting.
To those that don’t believe that a transformation of healthcare delivery is coming, watch out. Get on the wagon, or get out of the way!
Primary Care Physicians Cut Back Hours
February 24th, 2010 by tgibbensYou need to read this. Keep in mind that if healthcare passes, it does not create more doctors. It does not automatically give people access to medical professionals. It does give them the means to pay for it, if they can find it. Unfortunately, the shortage of doctors grows.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35545561/ns/health-health_care/from/ET
How Many Things are Wrong with You??
February 24th, 2010 by tgibbensHow often do you go to the doctor? If you are like me you don’t go often because it is inconvenient and expensive. Health issues tend to pile up. When something comes along for which I really need immediate treatment, I make an appointment and I go. Now, the national average cost for a visit to the doctor’s office is about $65. That, however, does not tell the whole story. If I go in for a sore throat and I am seeking an antibiotic, I also do a “health care dump”. “Doc I have a sore throat, but there is more. My elbow hurts, I have a mole on my arm I would like you to look at, allergy season is coming and I need a new antihistamine, and I am about out of my asthma medication.” My doctor listens intently and taps away on this little electronic note pad. He then diagnoses and prescribes something for each of my illnesses. Each malady is an International Classification of Disease (ICD). Each prescription is a Common Procedural Terminology (CPT). For every CPT, the doctor is reimbursed. So, when I go in for my sore throat which should cost me $65, I walk out of there with a bill for $300! This leads me to my second observation. Insurance co-pays are going away in all but the most “cadillac” of insurance plans. The co-pay will be replaced by higher deductibles. For most people the significance of this is lost, but when you combine the “health care dump” to the end of co-pays, you get a very significant monetary event. Before, I paid $15 to $25 for my co-pay and I could tell the doctor everything that was bothering me. I would do so because it was convenient and because I was making the best use of my co-pay. The insurance company paid the remaining $285 for the CPTs. Now, if I have failed to exceed my deductible, I have to pay the entire $300. It shifts the cost burden away from the insurance company and on to the consumer. In some ways, this is a good thing. It forces the consumer of medical services to shop for a better deal in health care. However, it could mean that I opt not to have the doctor help me with my elbow or take a look at the mole. Maybe I do without the asthma treatment, which, during an asthma attack, can put tremendous strain on my heart. No, the best solution is not to eliminate care, but to find a more cost effective delivery system. Many telemedicine offerings will do the entire “health care dump” for a flat fee. Viva la consumer!!!!
What is Capitation?
February 19th, 2010 by tgibbensIn U.S. health services, capitation refers to a fixed “per capita” amount that is paid to a hospital, clinic or doctor for each person served. It is the basis for the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO). You collect a flat fee to cover a certain number of lives and you hope that you have collected enough to do the job. In fact, you hope you have collected enough to do the job and still have some left over for profit. I will try to tie all of these health models together in a future blog.
Preexisting Conditions II.
February 19th, 2010 by tgibbensToday’s Wall St Journal has a follow up article to the WellPoint attack. It gives an example of what happens when you prohibit insurers from denying coverage due to preexisting conditions. The state of Michigan has a 1980 law on the books requiring nonprofit insurers to accept all applicants. Last year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan lost $280 million prompting them to ask for a 56% rate increase. Gee, who could have seen that coming???
I wrecked my car, can I get it insured?
February 18th, 2010 by tgibbensNo sorry. You have to buy the insurance before the car is wrecked. The same is true for buying homeowners insurance after the fire. The wrecked car and the burnt house have what are called “preexisting conditions”. If the car insurance company agreed to fix uninsured cars after the wreck, they would go broke. Does anyone actually doubt this??? Yet, in Washington, they say health insurers are evil for refusing to insure after the fact for preexisting health issues. The original plan was to have a mandate for all Americans to purchase health insurance. That made sense. There would be no conditions that exist prior to owning health insurance because everyone would already own it. The insurance companies, seeing an opportunity to sell policies to the uninsured signed on. Now, the mandate is either dead, or the penalty too weak to enforce the mandate. So the insurance companies are out and we’re back to, “I wrecked my car, can I get it insured?”
“Just Say No To Health-Care Summitt” WSJ 2/17/10
February 17th, 2010 by tgibbensGreat editorial from Betsy McCaughey in today’s opinion section. She is the Chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. Lots of good points but the best one is this: 40%. In fiscal 2009 total government spending (fed, state and local) exceeded 40% of GDP. It is the first time that has happened since WWII. You can’t get economic growth if government is confiscating that much of the economy’s production. “Americans don’t want to solve every social problem at the expense of their freedom to choose how to spend their own money.”
EHR, Electronic Health Records
February 16th, 2010 by tgibbensHere is an interesting article on EHR from a major health insurance company. http://coventryhealthcare.com/emerging-issues/PersonalHealthInformation/index.htm