Author Archives

Matthew Holt

Wicked Good

Jan 8, 2011• 5

By ED PULLEN, MD

I grew up in Maine and wicked is an adverb or adjective meaning “very” or “especially” that can be attached to almost any verb or adjective. Wicked good is by far the most prevalent use though, and so I thought I’d take a minute on what I hope you think is a wicked good health blog to talk about what I think is wicked good medical care.

Let’s talk about what would qualify a specific care as wicked good.

First it would need to have excellent evidence that it is beneficial. In this regard effective treatment of hypertension could qualify as wicked good, but pushing for a HemoglobinA1C or less than 6.5% rather than less than 7% in a diabetic wouldn’t as the evidence for significantly better outcomes is unconvincing. Second it would have to be something that is realistic to do for most or at least many patients.

For example here effective treatment of CHF with an ACE inhibitor or an ARB and a beta blocker would qualify, whereas counseling patients to lose weight by better diet and exercise wouldn’t as it is just something that seldom is successful. The third and most challenging criterion is that it needs to be applicable to a large number of patients. The more patients for whom a medical intervention can be used, the more likely it is to be wicked good medicine. Here is a list of Dr. Pullen’s wicked good medical interventions:

Sam’s Club as a locus for (The) Prevention (Plan)?

Jan 7, 2011• 1

By Matthew Holt

There’s lots going on in the world of online tools for health improvement and prevention. Yesterday I saw a new demo of the latest version of Keas (can’t tell you much but think Zynga!). Just this Fall we had a whole host of wellness tools including Limeade which is working with REI and other employers. Another of our buds in the world of Health 2.0 is Fred Goldstein, who runs The Prevention Plan. Like the others, Fred’s mostly been going after employers as his main client base. But is there room for a consumer-direct online wellness plan?

Fred obviously thinks so and today is announcing that a major retailer, Sam’s Club (the warehouse store owned by the beast of Bentonville) will be selling The Prevention Plan at $99 to its members. Sam’s Club has had a couple of false starts in health care before (remember them trying to sell eClinicalWorks to doctors?) but it’s likely that they think that their members (many of whom are small businesses) might be interested in buying wellness as a consumer product. By the way, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey also said at a conference in October that they’re getting into that business too.

So we’ll see. But maybe this is the way that (at least some of) middle America gets into the world of wellness.

And if you want to get a freebie intro, tomorrow (Saturday) Sam’s Club will be offering free health screenings.

How the Republican Assault on Health Care Could Backfire On Them

Jan 7, 2011• 6

By ROBERT REICH

When it comes to health care, Republicans should be careful what they wish for.

Their upcoming vote to repeal the health-care law will be largely symbolic — they don’t have the votes to override President Obama’s certain veto. The real thing happens later, when they try to strip the Department of Health and Human Services of money needed to implement the law’s requirement that all Americans buy health insurance. This could easily precipitate a showdown with the White House—and a government shutdown later this year.

On its face it’s a smart strategy for the GOP. The individual mandate is the lynchpin of the heath-care law because it spreads the risks. Without the participation of younger or healthier people, private insurers won’t be able to take on older or sicker customers with pre-existing medical conditions, or maintain coverage indefinitely for people who become seriously ill. The result would be to unravel the health-care law, which presumably is what many Republicans seek.

At the same time, the mandate is the least popular aspect of the law. According to a December 9-12 ABC/Washington Post survey, 60% of the public opposes the individual mandate. While they want help with their health-care bills, and over 60% want to prevent insurers from dropping coverage when customers become seriously ill, most Americans simply don’t like the idea of government requiring them to buy something. It not only offends libertarian sensibilities, but it also worries some moderates and liberals who fear private insurers will charge too much because of insufficient competition in the industry.

Health Problem Quantified

Jan 7, 2011• 11

By JOHN GOODMAN, PhD

We now know how many people have the problem most often cited as the reason for last years’ health overhaul legislation. Answer: 8,000

No, that’s not a misprint. Out of 310 million Americans, only 8,000 people have the problem given as the principal reason for spending almost $1 trillion, creating more than 150 regulatory agencies and causing perhaps 150 million or more people to change the coverage they now have.

Alert readers will remember the White House summer of 2009 invitation to all Americans to send in their horror stories describing health insurance industry abuses. Although the complaints were many, the vast majority were about pre-existing condition limitations. Then, on the eve of the ObamaCare vote, every member of Congress who appeared on television to defend the legislation was able to cite by name an individual or family in his or her state or Congressional district with a heart wrenching story.

Gone was any interest in “universal coverage” or “insuring the uninsured” or “helping poor people get health care.” The case for change was focused almost exclusively on protecting the middle class from miserly insurance companies.

The Needle In the Haystack

Jan 6, 2011• 2

By J. LEONARD LICHTENFELD, MD

Well, it didn’t take long to get into the New Year, did it?

There I was this earlier this week, starting my New Year right by getting exercise on my elliptical when I heard the announcement that Johnson & Johnson was partnering with researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital’s cancer center and other major cancer centers to evaluate the potential of a new technology which can isolate single cancer cells circulating in the blood of patients with known cancers.

The news in itself is an impressive step forward in this type of research. Being able to isolate a single cancer cell in a sample of blood is in a sense one of the holy grails of cancer research. Scientists have been working diligently on developing these techniques for a number of years, and to now have a technology that may in fact move that dream closer to a clinical reality where it actually improves the treatment of patients with cancer is exciting.

However, there is always a caution that comes along with these types of announcements.

First, and perhaps the most obvious, is the fact that this is an announcement of a research deal. Nothing more, nothing less. It is not a new breakthrough. It is not something that has been proven effective in improving cancer detection and treatment. Not that it is anything less than stunning to develop and demonstrate that this technology works-but as with all research it is a giant step to go successfully from the laboratory phase of development to the clinical phase of making a real difference in patients’ lives.

A Healthcare Information Services Provider Business Model

Jan 5, 2011• 8

By JOHN HALAMKA, MD

I’ve written previously about Healthcare Information Exchange Sustainability and the need for Healthcare Information Services Providers (HISPs) to serve as gateways connecting individual EHRs.

How should HISPs be funded and how can we encourage HISP vendors to connect every little guy in the country?

We’ve started to think about this in Massachusetts.

There are numerous vendors promising HISP services – Medicity (Aenta), Axolotl (Ingenix), Surescripts, Verizon, and Covisint.

An HIE needs to include at least one common approach to data transport, a routing directory, and a certificate management process that creates a trust fabric. Existing HISP vendors have heterogeneous approaches to each of these functions. In the future, the Direct Project may provide a single approach, but for now HISP vendors will need to be motivated to adhere to State HIE requirements.

An idea that has been embraced by some State HIEs, such as New Hampshire, is to pay HISP vendors a modest fee (under 100K) to support State requirements. This “connectivity” incentive results in interoperable HISPs, creating a statewide network of networks.

Once a standardized HISP approach is supported by multiple vendors, then individual practices need to be connected. Some practices will be aggregated into hubs by EHR software vendors as has been done in cities such as North Adams (Massachusetts), projects such as the New York City PCIP project, and physicians organizations such as the Beth Israel Deaconess Physicians Organization. However, it’s not likely to be cost effective for a vendor to connect every isolated practice to a HISP for the $50/month the practice is willing to pay.

Eighth Annual Healthcare Conference at Harvard Business School

Jan 5, 2011• 3

Please join us for the 8th Annual Healthcare Conference at Harvard Business School on Saturday, January 29th from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Hosted by the HBS Healthcare Club, the student-run Conference – titled “The State of Healthcare Reform: Challenges. Strategies. Success.” – will address the implications of healthcare reform for various constituents in the global healthcare industry.

Keynote addresses will be delivered by Dr. Robert S. Epstein, Chief Medical Officer of Medco Health Solutions, and Ms. Angela F. Braly, Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer of WellPoint.

The Conference will also feature a wealth of panel discussions for a wide variety of healthcare interests – from venture capital and entrepreneurship to health policy and healthcare IT to medical technology and biopharmaceuticals. Finally, Conference participants will enjoy access to the highly-attended Networking Luncheon and afternoon Career Fair events. For registration and additional Conference details, please visit the Conference website at www.hbshealthcareconference.org.

Job Post: THCB Editorial

Jan 5, 2011

THCB is looking for talented interns to assist with editorial, research and web production tasks as our web site undergoes a major expansion. Perfect for a grad or med student with an interest in journalism, public policy, and/or the business of health care.

Health Impact Assessment: A Tool That Can Build A Healthier America

Jan 5, 2011• 11

By AARON WERNHAM, MD

In December, the Department of Health and Human Services released “Healthy People 2020” — a 10-year blueprint aimed at improving the health of the nation. The plan comes amidst rising rates of many diseases – such as asthma and diabetes — and skyrocketing health care costs.

Now at the dawn of 2011, federal, state and local officials are faced with the tough job of turning the public health goals outlined by that plan into reality.

However, they will almost certainly fail at that increasingly urgent task unless they start factoring health into proposals being considered in non-health sectors like energy, housing, agriculture and transportation.

What does a decision to build a new highway have to do with health?

Plenty, as it turns out.

Depending on how it is planned, a new highway may change levels of air pollutants and the risk of asthma for people living nearby. New traffic patterns may also increase the risk of traffic-related injuries. Furthermore, the roadway might unintentionally cut off an important walking route to and from a transit stop or local school, making it harder for adults and children to get enough exercise.

2010 Unplugged

Jan 4, 2011• 4

By BOB WACHTER, MD

For people like me, who, perversely enough, get a certain thrill from studying healthcare policy, there’s never been a more exciting, if also dizzying, year than 2010. Passage of the reform bill last March was only the start – and in some ways merely a marker – of the Shifting of the Paradigms: from provider to system; from pen to keyboard; from pay-for-piecework to pay-for-performance; from secrecy to transparency; from patient as passive actor to patient as star of our show.

I’ve been catching up on my reading during the holidays, so bear with me as I devote this blog – lengthier than usual – to a handful of articles, talks, and experiences that, while seeming unrelated, helped me better understand some of the threads of this vibrant healthcare tapestry we’re now weaving.

For decades, one of the defining characteristics of the American healthcare enterprise has been the remarkably poor value – quality divided by cost – it produces. Most of the changes afoot represent a push by a variety of stakeholders, using the tools at their disposal, to improve this value equation. And much of the push-back can be seen as the predictable acts of those who benefited from the old order. As the late William Safire once observed, when you zap a sacred cow, you need to brace yourself for the ensuing mooing. Welcome to Old MacDonald’s Farm.