Health costs significantly higher in U.S., report finds

This Week's Healthcare News
Healthcare Info Security
Medical Research: Privacy Measures
Mar,29,2013
by:+Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
The new Aurora Research Institute is taking multiple steps to protect the privacy of patients who participate in medical research, clinical trials and personalized medicine endeavors, says institute leader Randall Lambrecht.

Aurora Health Care, a delivery system in Wisconsin, launched the institute this month to consolidate its research efforts.

"There are a number of mechanisms put in place to make sure information is protected," Lambrecht says in an interview with HealthcareInfoSecurity.
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iHealthBeat
Physicians Offer Mixed Views About Emailing With Their Patients
Mar,26,2013
by:+Staff
Some physicians find that emailing with patients saves time and money, but others have concerns about the practice, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Benefits of Emailing With Patients

Physicians who email with their patients say the practice:

Is a convenient way to communicate about patient care;
Avoids the challenges of reaching patients by phone; and
Helps prevent patients from inaccurately diagnosing their health conditions using the Internet.

Andrew Martorella -- an endocrinologist in New York -- said that if he did not email with patients, he likely would need at least one extra staff member to field patients' phone calls. He added that emailing with patients has "definitely made a big change in terms of reducing costs, especially for solo practitioners."

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Modern Healthcare.com
Health costs significantly higher in U.S., report finds
Mar,26, 2013
by:+ Melanie Evans
Private insurers in the U.S. last year paid significantly more—up to 26 times as much in one case—for common procedures, hospital and doctor visits and prescriptions when compared with private and public insurers in 10 other countries, a report shows.

The report, by the International Federation of Health Plans (PDF), did find a few instances where average prices paid in other countries mostly matched those of the U.S., but such occurrences were rare. Instead, U.S. private insurance prices widely exceeded those of other countries.

“It means, to us, that apparently the difference in the cost of healthcare is not so much about utilization,” said Tom Sackville, CEO of the IFHP. “They seem to be more about the actual unit cost of items of care.”

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Featured Report: Evidence that mobile health is making the tiny steps to make us better
Med City News
Mar,27, 2013
by:+Woodbridge, Rob
I quit smoking 14 years ago this past March.
I can still remember that last pull of my last cigarette and the little jingle that played from my LifeSign smoking cessation computer. I quit smoking because a mobile device told me when to smoke … and when I was done smoking for good. And it worked.

That was the first time for me that a habit change was brought on by a mobile device — but certainly not the last. Back then the commercial web was emerging, mobile was a distant ripple and the RAZR was the rage. There wasn’t a single smartphone in sight.

Today, when five out of six people on the planet carry a connected device, many habits have already been modified as a result of this pervasive technology. There is a “low-hanging fruit” kind of change that is sweeping through the home as land lines are being dropped in lieu of mobile phones. Parents are debating at what age to buy their kids cell phones.
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Hello Businesses Owner,

I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do.

That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC). This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority.

And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC I am personally inviting you to join our network of small businesses who know that only through our collective voices that will assure that the Affordable Care Act live up to its goal of making healthcare affordable for all.

Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of the SBHCC to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. The SBHCC discusses the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits.

Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side.

As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage. The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. To that end I like for you to hear my own personal story about how the new healthcare law will effect me.

Please go to this link at Healthcare.gov to see my story Watch My Story

Then Join the SBHCC do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or thoughts. I may be reached at wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology

Sincerely,
Howard Lee
CIO
Wirehead Technology
Tel-312-286-8416