By Cheri
During Dr. Don Wright’s update on the HHS Action Plan to reduce the rates of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in the country at APIC 2009, he noted that before the problem can be fixed there were vast gaps in HAI knowledge. Some of the problems he brought up were:
- Patient Tracking: Many patients leave the hospital to reside in long term care or proceed with out patient treatments. If an infection develops as a result of a procedure/medical device that is implanted for these on going therapies, it is never tracked back to the hospital to be included in their HAI rates.
- Measurement: Hospitals report on infections in different ways. Catheter related blood stream infections, for example, can be reported on by the number of infections that occur over the number of days (infections/catheter days) or by the number of infections per catheters inserted (infections/catheters inserted). This makes it difficult to compare rates across hospitals.
- Infrastructure: The way the infrastructure is currently set up, information reported or plugged into one government system, cannot be easily formatted/extrapolated for another report.
There are certainly steps that need to be taken to help reduce rates of HAIs but it sounds like HHS has developed a comprehensive plan, taking into account the current system’s short comings, to find a solution.
June 10th, 2009
By Cheri
This week’s World Health Care Congress has put healthcare reform at the center stage. Today, an impressive panel of Nobel Laureate Mohammed Yunus and Frank Rijsberman of Google met to talk about the sustainability of healthcare. The audience was able to hear Yunus’ view of reforming the healthcare in developing countries and ways to increase access to healthcare providers. Rijsberman provided his thoughts on improving the distribution of healthcare data, a space that Google has already made moves into. Further reporting on the panel can be found on the Healthcare Congress blog.
Additionally, X PRIZE has announced its latest contest with funding from WellPoint, seeking ideas “to create an optimal health paradigm that empowers and engages individuals and communities in a way that dramatically improves health value.” Written entries will be accepted over the next 18 months and five entries will be selected for a three-year experiment. The model will have to work across a community of 10,000 people and improve health by 50% in this three- year period. The winning entry will receive $10 million.
Will you be submitting or have thoughts about how this could be executed?
April 15th, 2009
By Jackie
In an effort to further “technologize” the historically resistant healthcare industry, Medicare recently announced a new incentive for physicians who “e-prescribe.” Beginning in January 2009, Medicare will reward any physician who chooses to scrap his/her traditional prescription pads and take paperless action. Physicians who jump on board in January will receive a two percent reimbursement bonus, which drops to one percent in 2011 and half a percent in 2013. The electronic alternative is expected to bring increased patient safety, decreased medical costs and greater efficiency, and don’t forget, shorter waits at the pharmacy.
Although the U.S. healthcare industry has regularly welcomed the latest innovations in devices and treatments, the industry as a whole has given significantly-less attention to advances in healthcare information technology, designed specifically to improve the way upon which healthcare is delivered. A strong percentage of physicians have resisted the upfront costs associated with these technology systems, and until now, haven’t had much reason, or incentive, to do otherwise. But with President-elect Barack Obama’s marked push for greater healthcare IT adoption, this initiative is only the beginning. With lofty plans to computerize all types of medical records, Obama believes that IT innovation will play a critical role in reviving our ailing healthcare system, saving the system millions of dollars in wasted care.
The implementation of these innovative healthcare IT systems requires more than just a physical change in a physician’s daily activity – it warrants a cultural shift amongst physicians and their staff. We’re asking physicians to step out of the paper age and embrace a very new concept that for many, is uncharted territory. But the end result serves as the most rewarding part of this whole change. Healthcare information technologies have the potential to significantly improve today’s medical care. I’d file this most recent initiative under: One small step for physicians, one giant leap for patients.
December 18th, 2008
By Jackie
With November 4th fast approaching, American voters are spending the final weeks of October sifting through each presidential candidate’s proposal to determine the potential personal and societal impact of each. Given the current state of the economy, rising healthcare costs, gas prices and the war on Iraq, Americans clearly have a lot on their minds. As each candidate’s policy offers a slightly different recipe for success, it’s up to the American voter to decipher the pros and cons of each proposal.
Given our interest and passion for healthcare, we’ve taken an opportunity to examine the basic healthcare reform policies for both Senator McCain and Senator Obama. While both presidential hopefuls ultimately share similar objectives, their approaches and methodologies to achieving each goal differ drastically.
At the most fundamental level, Senator Obama believes healthcare is an American right. He is an advocate for “universal healthcare,” supporting a plan that would provide health insurance coverage to each and every American citizen through both public and private means. Senator Obama’s plan mandates that all children have healthcare coverage and requires that employers offer employee health benefits or contribute to the cost of a new public program. Albeit expensive, his “cure for an ailing healthcare system” aims to guarantee quality, affordability and portability of health coverage for every American.
Conversely, Senator McCain feels healthcare is an American responsibility. Opposed to federally-mandated universal coverage, Senator McCain believes competition will help to improve the quality of health insurance. He supports a plan that provides Americans with a variety of insurance choices, nationwide and across state lines, enabling families to take control of their healthcare costs. He proposes tax credits of $2,500 and $5,000 that would help families to pay for coverage. Emphasizing personal accountability, Senator McCain’s plan essentially makes each and every American responsible for his/her own healthcare coverage.
So there you have it. Something for each American voter to ponder before hitting the polls – is healthcare a right or a responsibility? It certainly holds no place in the U.S. Bill of Rights. But with more than 42 million U.S. residents lacking insurance, perhaps we do need a stronger governmental intervention. At any rate, we leave it up to the American public now to figure out which policy may best reshape a U.S. healthcare system in need of some TLC itself.
October 21st, 2008
