WorldHealthCareBlog.org

New Poll Finds 71 Percent of Americans Favor Investing More in Disease Prevention as Central to Health Reform.

Martin Trussell — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:57:47 +0000

At least one aspect of the healthcare reform package making its way through Congress seems to be very popular with voters. A new public opinion survey released today says that 71 percent of Americans would favor an increased investment in disease prevention. The poll was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies on [...]

Microsoft Launches Video Series ‘Health Tech Today.’

Martin Trussell — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:14:34 +0000

National health spending is expected to reach $2.5 trillion in 2009, accounting for 17.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This is a market segment that has not been missed by the folks at Microsoft. In fact, today, Microsoft Corp. announced the launch of what they term “a fast-paced online video series designed to [...]

New HIPAA Privacy and Security Enforcement Laws Favor Smart Card Use in Healthcare.

Martin Trussell — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:46:24 +0000

Smart cards have been touted for years as a secure and efficient way to convey identification information, health plan benefits information, electronic health records, and more. However, adoption has been slow as providers dragged their feet in buying the necessary readers while the industry has worked to develop universal standards. Now the Smart Card Alliance, the [...]

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and Lawyers Run Amok

Jaan Sidorov — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:07:16 +0000

The DMAA has issued this press release calling for a moratorium of the “GINA regulation implementation.” Why is this important? GINA is part of the logarithmically expanding blob of Washington D.C. acronyms. This particular one refers to the ‘Genetic Information Nondiscrimation Act’ that was signed into law by President Bush on May 21, 2008. Its intent was [...]

Moderating a Dream Panel at WHIT 5.0

Ted Eytan — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:44:13 +0000

Ted Eytan, MD, is Medical Director, Delivery Systems Operations ImprovementThe Permanente Foundation., LLC. He is a family physician with an interest in patient empowerment and patient-centered health information technology. His blog can be read at www.tedeytan.com The 5th Annual World Health Care Innovation and Technology Congress (WHIT v.5.0) A few years ago, I was asked to prepare [...]

Facebook Application Aims to Prevent Cervical Cancer.

Martin Trussell — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:14:30 +0000

Martin Trussell is the author of the Health Plan Innovation blog. A new Facebook application has been launched to help educate, motivate and mobilize people to prevent the spread of Humanpapilloma Virus (HPV). “Fact Check: HPV” (www.hpvfactcheck.org) allows users to take an interactive, educational quiz about HPV, find additional resources, and commit to take action, while [...]

Start-up Health Plan Seeks Chronically Ill and Offers them Richer Benefits.

Martin Trussell — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:55:56 +0000

Martin Trussell is the author of The Health Plan Innovation Blog I wrote recently about an innovative suite of health plans being offered by UnitedHealthcare that feature unique services to enhance the health and well-being of Spanish-speaking individuals. PlanBien incorporates linguistically and culturally relevant health information and customer service programs into its plan designs at no [...]

The e-Patient Revolution?

dleyva — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:21:16 +0000

Debbie Leyva is the author of the Healthcare & Technology blog Thanks to e-Patient Dave for sharing this great video that describes how the Internet is becoming a “fast-track” option for patient education on health conditions and disease. Although it is a plug for a conference this month, it presents real examples of the movement for [...]

Twitter Application Allows Consumers to get Healthcare Cost and Medical Information.

Martin Trussell — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:00:17 +0000

Healthcare marketers and thought leaders have been struggling to find ways in which the popular new social media applications like Twitter and Face Book can be used to dramatically change medicine in the same way that they have changed how we gather our news and connect with friends. A Nashville-based company, change:healthcare, (that’s right, all [...]

Medicare: A Mainframe Using Levers. Why Health Reform Is So Complicated

Jaan Sidorov — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:21:51 +0000

Drive through Hartford, Connecticut on Route I-84 and you cannot miss Aetna’s huge corporate headquarters. Indianapolis’ Wellpoint’s headquarters is an impressive complex too. I’ve been in the hallways of both these insurance behemoths, but I can assure you that they’re pipsqueaks compared to what’s at 7500 Security Boulevard in Baltimore. I recently visited our Centers for [...]