Shopping For Price In Medical Care
February 10, 2007
Consumers for Health Care Choices reviewed two articles from Health Affairs on self-pay in health care. The first article titled, “Self-Pay Markets In Health Care: Consumer Nirvana Or Caveat Emptor?” (full text available) discusses a study of Lasik eye surgery and dental Crowns as examples. The consumer group notes that Lasik providers fall into three market segments: “highly credential “premium price” surgeons, high-volume discounters, and a mid-level that falls in between”. They note that about half of patients come in through marketing but the other half is largely word of mouth. And the premium price group “are the ones most focused on quality, asking about technology, safety, and
outcomes, but also about ‘customer service amenities’.”
In Vitro Fetilization is another example given. Conclusions overall: “For consumers who do take quality into account when shopping, comparing quality across providers is more easily done in some self-pay markets than others.” The Health Affairs article goes on to recommend better comparison tools which adjust for case complexity in quality outcomes.
The second article is “Shopping for price in medical care: Insurers are best positioned to provide consumers with
the information they need, but will they deliver?”
Why aren’t more Docs Web MDs?
February 9, 2007
In an article in USA Today, this is stated as a fact but primarily based on the 2005 Harris Interactive poll. The interviewees for the article tend to confirm a low adoption rate for email communication with patients but debunk the fears that privacy will be compromised and that physicians will be overwhelmed with emails.
- first, there needs to be updated survey data on physician adoption of email communication. More large group practices and small are providing this service as a way to distinguish their practice in a competitive market.
- Second, privacy can be protected if the email is secure. There a plenty of services that now provide secure portals.
- Third, managing patient emails depends on incentives – for Kaiser, an HMO, patient emails potentially reduce visits which make the physician’s schedule lighter and reduces cost for the HMO. For non-HMO physicians, the incentives is more visits rather than non-reimbursed emails. Once the right incentives are in place, the adoption rates will catch on since the technology is solid and available if implemented right.
Social Networking in Healthcare – Matthew Holt
February 8, 2007
Matthew Holt of The Health Care Blog has a thorough review of social networking in health care in Health IT World. He cites the major players in this space – Revolution Health, Daily Strength, Patients Like Me and Organized Wisdom, all of which have a growing base of users who both post their own content and receive email newsletters and RSS feeds on a range of health topics. Then there is Sermo which is for physicians only. All are experiencing exponential growth in new users and postings. Some are successfully raising second round funding. Sounds like the dot com boom all over again except this time it is in healthcare.
Will this growth rate continue or level off or even drop as users become bored and move on to the next trend. Or does this reflect a growing online baby boomer generation concerned about health and wellness and using online networks to support their personal efforts?
Share this:Cleveland Clinic Launches Teleconsultations
February 7, 2007
Reported in Crain’s Cleveland Business, the Cleveland Clinic will offer Virtual Visits through Internet enabled exam rooms to provide expert consultations anywhere in the world. The technology was demonstrated at Arab Health, a conference in Dubai last week. The Clinic is also recruiting physicians and others for a new hospital in Abu Dhabi. This is one of many international ventures by major US medical centers. Ehealth technology will drive the best offerings from major centers to a global market.
Share this:Home Monitoring for the Elderly – NY Times
February 6, 2007
A report in the New York Times features the growing market for home monitoring tools for the elderly. Some can monitor every move of an elderly person living at home and allow concerned adult children to monitor their activities. Others are oriented toward warning alarms for non-compliance with medication or symptoms like high blood pressure. Others are more passive and focused on prevention. Wisely, due diligence in purchasing these systems is encouraged. It is still a young (sic) market but the demand is growing from the “sandwich generation” of the middle aged trying to care for the elderly parents and their own children and juggle careers. The ability to monitor one’s parent even from out of state is a plus for those whose parents may have moved south for retirement. The article does cite privacy concerns but with consenting parties and the opportunity for the elderly to remain in their own homes or living independently, it appears to be a trade-off worth taking.
Share this:Adam Bosworth on the Comeback of AJAX
February 3, 2007
As reported by eWeek, Adam Bosworth spoke in New York City on “Why AJAX Failed (Then Succeeded).” It is an interesting tale of how the physics was not ready when AJAX was first developed while now it is revolutionizing programming, particularly on the web. Although the article does not mention the term, it is a form of convergence of Internet speed (e.g. DSL in many homes), reintroduction of a programming tool abandoned for several years, and novel uses of the tool in Web 2.0 websites such as Google Maps.
Is the point of this that no technology should be abandoned forever but its introduction may be a matter of timing.
Share this:Generational Attitudes toward Social Networking
February 2, 2007
In a report on a study posted on Government Technology, the real differences in how 18-24 year olds view privacy versus those older. For example, “Only 19.6 percent of 18-24 year-olds consider their dating profile to
be an invasion of their privacy, compared to 54.6 percent of other respondents.” The study also showed this younger group strongly preferred the Internet over TV. Implications for healthcare privacy – this younger group may be more receptive to a PHR, for example, and less concerned about privacy threats but may have less use for it. Older users may benefit more but have more privacy concerns. Result = low adoption rates.
Low Adoption Rate for Payor-based PHRs
January 31, 2007
Forrester research reports that only 7% of consumers have used a PHR offered by their insuror. In a graphic on iHealthbeat about the report, the majority also report that they have not used their insurors website at all. “34% of respondents said they do not trust the security of computer programs and 29% said they do not believe there is a significant benefit to maintaining a PHR.” Forrester recommends that, “Health plan customer experience executives must address members’ privacy and security concerns as well as provide incentives to use well-designed tools to drive adoption.”
Assuring or even convincing consumers about the value and security of PHRs is essential for anyone providing one. Another factor may be that if your insurance company changes, you would lose this PHR. The solution needed to encourage adoption – the ability to integrate personal health data from all sources – providers, insurors, pharmacies, etc.
Share this:Rate Your Cardiologist
January 30, 2007
Vimo.com is a relatively new Web 2.0 offering which is in the Consumer-directed healthcare space. Specifically, it gives pricing for medical procedures and allows users to rate physicians and hospitals. For a heart month promotion (an to increase the number of ratings on the site), they are offering to donate $1 for each physician rating to the American Heart Association. The amount of data pulled from various sources is impressive. Cost data by procedure including average price, negotiated price, whether the hospital is above or below the average. For physicians there are ratings but also integration with Google maps for location. Nice job overall.
My question is, what is the value of these ratings to consumers? Will consumers embrace this practice the way they have for consumer items? Or will these rating sites become places for complaints to be aired rather than the best physicians and hospitals to be spotlighted? The competition between rating sites (see for instance, Revolution Health) will be worth watching. Will there eventually be a site which aggregates comments from these rating sites?
Share this:eHealth Conference in Montreal in May 2007
January 30, 2007
This conference, sponsored by the Canadian Institute for Health Information is currently accepting abstracts for presentations. Topics include EHR, Privacy, Security, Ethical & Legal Considerations, E-nabled Access, Human Factors, Innovation and Sustainability.
I have not seen many conferences which address EHRs also discuss the issue of sustainability. Human factors, such as, usability, is also a plus.
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