The Haas Business of Health Care Conference provides an interdisciplinary forum where cutting-edge information and innovative approaches to health care are shared. This is the only event of its kind on the West Coast where health care industry professionals will come together with students from multiple disciplines, predominantly business, public health, and public policy, as well as engineering and science, to present and discuss ideas and learn from each other.
The 3rd Annual Haas Business of Health Care Conference promises to be a extraordinary event, attracting more than 350 attendees and speakers, and bringing together a wide range of perspectives while focusing on the theme of "The Impact of Integration" – We will explore the extent to which the trend toward integration is working to address existing fragmentation and improve the overall ‘health’ of the industry. Panel discussions will span a broad range of major health care hot topics.We invite you to explore our website at www.haashealthcareconference.org/2009 to learn more!
A Shout Out to Our Sponsors
According to ConnextionsHealth, growing losses of individual and group plan members are eroding acquisition costs, profitability and competitive advantage at all major health plans, making member retention a strategic priority for 2009. At some health insurers, member turnover is running as high as 40%. Further, McKinsey & Co. found that health plans capture less than 10% of members lost through job termination, early retirement and elimination of employer-funded coverage. This “employee transition” market segment alone is estimated at $40 billion annually. To address this emerging market need, ConnextionsHealth and World Health Care Congress are hosting a first-of-its-kind Leadership Summit on Member Retention for Health Plans scheduled for March 18-19, 2009 in Orlando, FL. Designed for health plan senior executives, the Summit will provide an insider’s look into the underlying issues and successful strategies for retaining individual and small group plan members and building brand loyalty. More information is available at www.worldcongress.com/retention.
Trackers – you can use Zume yourself at last (and others too)
In this piece I’m slightly pulling CEO Rajiv Metha’s chain (but he’s an Arsenal fan so he can take it). At any rate the Zume Life beta program is open and it works on the iPhone (as previewed at Health 2.0 in October. Zume has received the kind of publicity that tiny starts-up dream about (articles in the WSJ, NY Times et al) while only having a tiny number of people in pilots actually using the service. So it’'s good to know that the rest of us can actually use it and see what the fuss is about.
Meanwhile Zume is by no means alone in the market for lightweight trackers of health, diet and everyday activities. Health 2.0 “Launch” star thecarrot.com has a nifty interface to the iPhone designed in from the start, and has been adding different trackers to its platform at a ripping rate. For a pure platform approach that you can track basically anything at all on, it’s really neat.
It’s the platform, stupid
By Scott Shreeve
I read with interest a recent article by my favorite health care reporter, Joe Conn, who has long time interest in the commercial success of the VistA Electronic Health Record system developed by the VA.
VistA has an incredible, well described impact on the clinical and
system peformance of the VA. Given its availability through the Freedom
of Information Act, it can and should seriously be considered as a
potential solution for government-based health care information
technology. I mean, why not? The several billion dollars already
invested, and the several billion dollars already wasted on
alternatives, would hopefully help the new administration come to their
senses to realize the development of a common platform for all
government related health IT would make good business sense.
The Truth About Health IT Standards – There’s No Good Reason to Delay Data Liquidity and Information Sharing
Now that the Obama administration and Congress have committed to spending billions of tax payers’ money on health IT as part of the economic stimulus package, it’s important to be clear about what consumers and patients ought to expect in return—better decision-making by doctors and patients.
The thing is, nobody can make good decisions without good data. Unfortunately, too many in our industry use data “lock-in” as a tactic to keep their customers captive. Policy makers’ myopic focus on standards and certification does little but provide good air cover for this status quo. Our fundamental first step has to be to ensure data liquidity – making it easy for the data to move around and do some good for us all.
Nomination for U.S. Surgeon General
This is a reprint of the letter originally posted to Facebook.
Dear President Obama and Former Senator Tom Daschle:
As a physician leader in the medical specialty Preventive Medicine for 30 plus years, I am writing this open e-letter to you to strongly urge you to consider George D. Lundberg, MD as our nations next U.S. Surgeon General.
My letter relates to the distinctly unique qualifications that Dr Lundberg would bring to this important position and to express my views about the position itself since various previous administrations have held variable views on how to define the activities of the position itself. And the “power of personality” of some of our best US Surgeon Generals has influenced the perception of the role.
When You’re a Wonk, You’re a Wonk All the Way
Folks at the Health Affairs blog are proudly highlighting a Business Week snippet about incoming health
reform czar and HHS Secretary Tom Daschle. The magazine quotes a friend talking about Daschle’s intensity this way: “He really does unwind by reading [policy journal] Health Affairs.”
As long-time Health Affairs readers, we applaud this seriousness of purpose. However, we cannot help but be reminded of the story of the man who went to see a psychiatrist and complained that all he dreamed about was baseball, baseball, baseball. “Don’t you ever dream about travel, or adventures or women?” asked the shrink. “What,” replied the man, “and miss my turn at bat?!”
Healthcare Reform Should Include Connected Health and Participatory Medicine
In response to President Obama's call for recommendations on health care reform, the Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners HealthCare, convened an online Community Health Discussion in December, to explore the opportunities and advantages connected health, population management and participatory medicine can offer to health care reform. A report of the discussion findings was submitted to President Obama's Presidential Transition Health Policy Team, led by Secretary of Health and Human Services Nominee Tom Daschle. Over 30 participants, including academic and business leaders, technologists, physicians, health insurers, patients and payers, took part in the discussion. The Center's final report submitted to the Obama team addressed how connected health and its core tools – physiologic monitoring presented to the patient in a meaningful way, and data-driven coaching to help individuals make positive lifestyle and health behavior changes – could play a critical role in transforming health care delivery, improving quality and expanding access to care throughout the U.S.
Doubts about Gupta for Surgeon General
Editor's note: Maggie wrote this originally as a comment to Brian Klepper's post, but we thought it worthy of its own headline.
I vote for Dr. Lundberg–who I know, admire and trust.
I am troubled by Dr. Gupta's nomination because I have heard him
promote products or treatments on television while ignoring the best
medical evidence. In other words, he misinforms the public–without hinting that he is contradicting current best practice guidelines.
There are disturbing ties to Pharma which suggest conflict of interest.
Professor Gary Schwitzer of the University of Minnesots's
Journalism school documents many of these incidents on his excellent
blog "Health News Review."
Strategic Implementation of the NHIN
By
In the last few weeks, it has become evident that a National Health Information Network (NHIN) has the
political support necessary to become a reality and to help the health care system progress to a twenty-first century interconnected environment. The question is no longer what, if, or when — but how to deploy such a network.
The American National Standards Institute’s Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) has been identifying scenarios that are most urgent to automate and has identified the standards to be used for the electronic exchange of health information. The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) has been certifying systems that comply with the standards, and is now in the process of preparing interoperability certification procedures.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology has been promoting an interoperable national health information network for the last few years and has provided the necessary funding for the pilot projects that are demonstrating the technical feasibility of an interoperable NHIN. One of the necessary steps in deploying the NHIN is to have a financial funding mechanism that will provide for the long term operation of such network.
Perhaps it is time to look at how the NHIN can be built by the health care industry without the need for long term government and grant funding.
