By Sarah Arnquist

Good Magazine has this interesting graphical representation of the problems facing health care in the U.S. Considering how complex health care is, I think it’s a great attempt to put lots of information visually on one page to provoke conversation. The visual aspect is key because few people have the patience or desire to read long diatribes.

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Jaan Sidirov at Disease Management Care Blog did a great job combining the best of the health blogs for this issue of Health Wonk Review.

Second Annual Innovation in Services Conference: "The Service of Health Care"
explores the innovations in technology, policy, operations and methods that address the deceptively simple question:  How can we improve the service of health care?

Panels of academic, technology, government and policy experts will  discuss the impact of information and digital service on patient care, considering such innovations as telemedicine, mobile services, serious gaming, personal health records, and Web 2.0.

Conference agenda and registration information are available here. A limited number of complimentary spaces are available for students and those with demonstrated need. For more information, please contact CITRIS at (510) 643-2217, or citris@citris-uc.org.

Insureblog hosted the latest compilation of the best from the health blogosphere. Check it out.

The biweekly compendium of the best of the health blogs is up over at Worker’s Comp Insider.

Check out videos from past conferences and learn all about Health 2.0 at our very own channel on icyou, an online source filled with loads of useful health videos!

By Sarah Arnquist

Recognizing that in the two decades since Healthy People 2000 first laid out the nation’s health objectives, the internet has revolutionized how people seek and share health information, U.S. health officials are updating the nation’s health goals for the next decade and want to harness the power of e-health and Health 2.0 in their data collection and goal setting.

On Social Marketing and and Social Change is hosting a series of bloggers and discussions about the future of health communication and its role in the Healthy People 2020 goals.

"This is where talking about health and inspiring people to get involved in national health promotion and disease prevention policy meet," says blog host Craig Lefebvr. "If you’d like to contribute a post, or want to cross-post on relevant topics, please let me know and let’s work something out."

Robert Laszewski hosted the review over at Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review.

By THCB Staff

The Century Foundation announced this week the creation of a working group to create a blueprint for Medicare reform.

Maggie Mahar, award winning journalist, author of the HealthBeatBlog and regular THCB contributor, will direct the group of prominent physicians and health care experts.

Bob Wachter, another regular THCB contributor, UCSF physician and author of Wachter’s World, is also part of the eight-member working group.

The group’s blueprint will be based on recommendations in the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s 2007 and 2008 reports. Among the issues the group will review are:

• Revising Medicare’s physician fee schedule to pay more for primary care, palliative care, and co-ordination and management of chronic diseases.

• Rethinking Medicare’s fee-for-service system to reward doctors for quality, not volume.

• Creating an independent Comparative Effectiveness Institute that reviews head-to-head testing of drugs, devices, and procedures to ensure that they are effective.

• Identifying and rewarding hospitals that provide better outcomes and higher patient satisfaction at a lower cost while helping other hospitals meet benchmarks.

The bi-weekly review of the best from health bloggers is up over at Health Business Blog.