If ever there was a killer app for patients, this is it. Best of all, it’s free. iTriage is an iPhone app (now available for Android, too) that empowers you to get the most appropriate, affordable, timely, and quality care possible. This app, created by an ER doc, proves paternalistic medicine is so 20th century.
Well, good to see we’re making progress. Or not. The annual Commonwealth Fund study reveals no movement in the US’s unenviable healthcare position. We covered this topic extensively in a previous post, and what it means for you the consumer and patient. But here’s the lowdown.
Hidden among the 1990 pages of HR 3962, there are some provisions to tinker around the edges of healthcare delivery and bend the cost curve to a minor extent. There are Medicare payment bundling and pay for performance pilot programs, comparative effectiveness research, and of course Medicare rate cuts. No one expects these strategies to have a big impact over the long term. As the photo translates, “Without theory, no revolution.”
But what if we used the aggressive pursuit of four goals to revolutionize US healthcare delivery and bend the cost curve? A recent Health Affairs article explores what it would take to reach these far-reaching goals.
Read more here. blogsurfer.us
Guess what? Only 1% of hospitals are below average! At least that’s how chairmen of non-profit hospital Boards of Directors see it. Apparently they live in Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon, where all the children are above average. Patients, well, we live in real towns. If you ever wondered why hospitals were such dangerous places to be, we can now give you a big hint.
Read more here. blogsurfer.us
Whether you’re pro-reform or strongly opposed to it, you may be surprised at what the “new” US healthcare system looks like. Read it here.
Editors Note: Broken external links on last week’s posts have now been fixed!
