Category: Uncategorized

Op-Ed: Dropping Cancer Death Rates and the Role of Radiation Therapy

Apr 20, 2009• 5

By ROCK MACKIE PhD

Radiation therapy is the most overlooked of cancer therapies. While attention has primarily been given to chemotherapy and immunotherapy, the truth is that for every 100 people who survive cancer, about 50 can principally thank surgery, 45 are alive because of radiation therapy and perhaps 5 survive due to all other therapies. As cancer death rates continue to decline, we must recognize and support the critical role that radiation therapy plays in this trend.

Of the $2.2 trillion spent by the U.S. economy on healthcare, less than one percent (about $800 million) is spent on radiation therapy equipment—this, despite the fact that radiation therapy serves as our safest, most convenient and cost-effective method of treating cancer.

Rich Noffsinger, AnvitaHealth

Apr 20, 2009

By Matthew Holt

AnvitaHealth, recently changed its name from SafeMed. It’s been one of the more interesting companies using its technology to personalize drug interaction and guideline data to individuals based on their clinical data. Why the name change and what’s the business strategy?

I had a quick chat with CEO RIch Noffsinger at last week’s World Health Care Congress.

NaviNet (nee NaviMedix) explains all

Apr 20, 2009• 2

So now I really am playing catch up from last week at WHCC and the week before at HIMSS. At both places was (appropriately enough) a company that connects health plans and providers. Like AnvitaHealth it too has changed it’s name–from NaviMedix to Navinet.

I spoke with CEO Brad Waugh and VP of Marketing, Kendra Obrist about the name change, the company’s role in the healthcare payment system and where they are thinking about going in the future (hint: services for consumers). And in case you want to find out more (and this does sound like THCB turning into a commercial but you have to forgive me this week) Navinet will be exhibiting at Health 2.0 Meets Ix on April 22-23.

X-Prize Foundation CEO Dr. Peter Diamandis

Apr 18, 2009• 1

By MATTHEW HOLT

The X-PRIZE Foundation has generated a lot of attention recently by awarding substantial prizes designed to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in areas from genomics to space travel. Earlier this week X-Prize announced they are extending the model to healthcare with a $10 million plus prize, intended to “catalyze dramatic improvements in
health and health care value in the United States.” (You can read the full release here.) I talked with X-Prize CEO Dr.Peter Diamandis about what it means and what they expect to happen next. Not sure if blogs are eligible, but they should be!!

Peter Diamandis, CEO, X-Prize Foundation from Health 2.0 on Vimeo.

Participatory Democracy, Participatory Medicine

Apr 16, 2009• 11

By SUSANNAH FOX

More than half of the entire adult population in the U.S. used the internet to get involved in the 2008 political process. Blogs, social networking sites, video clips, and plain old email were all used to gather and share political information by what Lee Rainie has dubbed a new “participatory class”:

18% of internet users posted comments about the campaign on a blog or social networking site.
45% of internet users went online to watch a video related to the campaign
Half of online political news consumers took advantage of the “long tail” of election coverage, visiting five or more types of online news sites.

And guess what? This participatory class of citizen is not ready to go back in the box. Many people expect to stay engaged with the Obama administration and you can bet that the rise of mobile applications will accelerate this trend toward engagement for lots of Americans.

My new survey data shows that not only is there a participatory class of citizen, but there is a participatory class of patient.

Most people with a health questions want to consult a health professional – no news there. Second most popular choice: friends and family. Third choice: the internet and books (yes, books are still popular, even among internet users!). But participatory patients (aka, e-patients) are using the internet in new ways. They not only gather information, but seek out expert opinions, such as the “just in time someone like me” who holds the key to their situation.

The Biggest Health Care Controversy on the Hill

Apr 16, 2009• 31

By ROBERT LASZEWSKI

Since when was a two-tiered health insurance system a Democratic policy goal?

Among Democrats in the Congress and at the White House there is a great deal of interest in creating a government-run health plan in the under-age-65 market. Such a plan would compete with the existing private health insurance market in a head-to-head showdown between private and public health insurance.

Such a plan was part of the President Obama's campaign health proposal—albeit limited to the small employer and individual market. We are told the President’s greatest interest here is in “keeping the private health insurance market honest.” That is, creating competition in order that private insurers do a better job of controlling costs.

While
most observers assume that this would mean paying providers at
Medicare—or even Medicaid—rates the administration says not necessarily.

The respected and non-partisan Lewin Group recently issued a report evaluating the idea, “The Cost and Coverage Impacts of a Public Plan: Alternative Design Options.”
It looks to me to be a credible job. They made the assumption providers
would be paid at Medicare rates—a logical conclusion if the objective
is lowering costs.

Interview: Microsoft Health Solutions

Apr 16, 2009• 1

By MATTHEW HOLT

Microsoft Health Solutions Group were one of the more interesting interviews I did at HIMSS. Here, Chris Sullivan & Randy Fusco from Microsoft Health Solutions talk
about what they're doing with Amalga (their provider solution) and
HealthVault (their consumer solution) and discuss the interaction
between the two.

Chris Sullivan, Randy Fusco, Microsoft from Health 2.0 on Vimeo.

For the skeptics who think Health 2.0 tools don’t matter…

Apr 15, 2009• 5

By Matthew Holt

Read this

Next Generation Healthcare Analytics

Apr 14, 2009• 9

By DEB BRADLEY

Medical claims, pharmacy claims, lab values, HRAs, genetic markers, biometrics – the abundance of data is having an immediate impact on how analytics shape healthcare. Next generation analytics are bringing attention to health and wellness rather than disease-specific guidelines, and generating novel approaches to value-based medicine and care management.

Traditionally, analytics, such as predictive modeling, have been used to identify individuals for chronic care management and to set rates. New predictive models, however, include financial and clinical algorithms, which allow healthcare organizations to implement advanced ways to identify, manage and measure risk across and within a population.

A few examples of these pioneering applications of advanced analytics are outlined below.

The Doctor Is In and Logged On.

Apr 14, 2009• 1

By RAHUL PARIKH

Wow. I’ve just taken care of three patients in 12 minutes, and I didn’t do it by “churning” them through my office as if it’s some sort of factory assembly line. Rather, those patients (their parents, more specifically — I’m a pediatrician), e-mailed me over a secure network with questions and descriptions of signs and symptoms.

One mother attached a digital photo of a rash on her 3-month-old daughter’s face; it turned out be nothing more serious than baby acne (it’ll go away in a month or so). Another mom had noticed that her son was missing one of his pre-kindergarten immunizations (she had pulled up his shot records online) and requested that I order it. And the father of a 5-month-old boy told me that his son has been constipated off and on for the last month. I e-mailed him a questionnaire so I could determine whether the family should try something at home or bring the child to the office.