The Health Care Blog – Page 381 – Everything you always wanted to know about the Health Care system. But were afraid to ask.

Above the Fold

Data Socialism

Jan 26, 2016• 4

By SAURABH JHA, MD

In an unusually candid editorial in the NEJM, Longo and Drazen say that data sharing may be problematic because some researchers fear that the data could be used to by others to disprove their results. The editors predicted a new class of researchers who use data created by other researchers without ever taking the trouble to generate data themselves – research parasites.

With this editorial, the NEJM has firmly established itself as descriptive (the way the world is), rather than normative (the way the world ought to be). I, for one, find this move rather refreshing. I have been pumped to a diabetic state by the saccharine naivety of the hopey-changey, “we need this and that” brigade. The editors merely said what some researchers secretly think, and how many actually behave.

Why Are Physician Engagement Scores So Dismal?

Jan 25, 2016• 4

By RICHARD GUNDERMAN, MD

Gunderman Many hospitals around the nation have been stung by dreadful physician engagement scores. Engagement is a problem not only for demoralized physicians, but for healthcare organizations, their employees, and everyone they serve. They should take note, because low levels of engagement are associated with higher physician turnover, increased error rates, poorer rates of patient cooperation in treatment, and lower levels of patient satisfaction.

Definitions of engagement vary, but it generally includes pride, loyalty, and commitment. When engagement scores are low, physicians take little pride in the hospital, would not recommend it to a job-seeking colleague, and believe that the hospital’s mission and vision are not in sync the needs of patients. On the other hand, engaged physicians are more likely to perform better in every area, including patient care, education, and research, which benefits everyone.

To better understand the roots of poor physician engagement, I recently sat down for a conversation with a large group of students from the Indiana University Kelley Business of Medicine MBA program. Its students are practicing physicians from around the country who have realized that to improve patient care they need to become better leaders. Many work in hospitals that have identified engagement challenges and are attempting to develop solutions to the problem.

Data Parasites?

Jan 23, 2016• 2

By DAVID SHAYWITZ, MD

flying cadeucii In just four years, it seems, data science has devolved from the “sexiest job of the 21^stcentury” to a community of “research parasites.”

The latest assessment is courtesy of an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), written by editor-in-chief Jeff Drazen, along with Dan Longo.

Essentially, Longo and Drazen argue that while the Platonic ideal of rich data sharing is lovely, reality is not so pretty.

First, Longo and Drazen allege, researchers who weren’t involved in gathering the original data often lack essential appreciation for how it was gathered, and thus may misinterpret it, as they “may not understand the choices made in defining the parameters.”

Second–and this is really the heart of the issue–Longo and Drazen worry that a new class of research person will emerge—people who had nothing to do with the design and execution of the study but use another group’s data for their own ends, possibly stealing from the research productivity planned by the data gatherers, or even use the data to try to disprove what the original investigators had posited. There is concern among some front-line researchers that the system will be taken over by what some researchers have characterized as “research parasites.”

The Patient-Centered Health Record

Jan 23, 2016• 8

By PETER ELIAS, MD

The other night I participated in a very useful Google+ hangout with Adrian Gropper, Michael Mascia and Michael Chen. The discussion focused on a subject I think is incredibly important: the patient-centered health record. Unfortunately, this topic is hard to discuss without drowning in technical terms and acronyms. I consider myself fairly tech-savvy and still struggle.

A (55 minute) YouTube video is here: Click here

I think it is worth watching. before watching it, consider reviewing the following basic information to help set the stage, first without tech terms or acronyms, and then repeated with some of the key jargon.

The current EHR model is that each office or institution owns and manages an electronic record that contains information about the patients in that system. Despite the obvious need and lots of talk, there has been little actual progress towards making these separate and mostly proprietary systems ‘interoperable’ and therefore able to share information. The result is that clinicians routinely work with incomplete or outdated information, patients are locked into their home system, and it is extremely hard for patients to access their own information in any meaningful or useful way. Care is less safe and less reliable, patients are prevented from actively managing their care, and clinicians are frustrated.

Will the Pharmaceutical Industry Learn From Past Mistakes?

Jan 22, 2016• 3

By SOEREN MATTKE, MD

Soeren Mattke Awash in negative headlines, public condemnation and government scrutiny, the pharmaceutical industry faces a public relations problem that, left untreated, could bring new regulations or sanctions either from governments or the courts. At the same time, though, the recent scandals over price gouging could offer an opportunity for responsible, research-based companies to distance themselves from the profiteers.

The industry has come under fire at a time of unprecedented innovation. As a physician who trained in the 1990s, I am in awe of the recent breakthroughs. Immuno-oncology drugs like Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Opdivo (nivolumab) offer hope for patients with previously untreatable cancers. Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) – the first novel treatment in over a decade for congestive heart failure, a condition deadlier than most cancers – was approved this year. There is a cure for many forms of Hepatitis C with Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) and vaccines for dengue fever and maybe even malaria may become available soon. More patients in developing countries than expected have access to antiretroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS and companies are devoting resources to achieving the same for the new scourge of noncommunicable diseases.

At the same time, some in the industry have been seeking to tackle the image problems. Overeager sales representatives are being reined in. Financial ties to physicians and clinical trial data are being disclosed. The main industry bodies in the United States, PhRMA and BIO, disowned Turing Pharmaceuticals, the company behind the notorious 5,000 percent price increase for Daraprim, a critical drug for certain infections in immunocompromised patients.

The Unaffordable Care Act

Jan 21, 2016• 22

By DEVON M HERRICK

Liberal public health advocates and left-of-center health policy wonks have long thought every American needs health insurance (they don’t, but that’s another discussion). Lefties assume health insurance is the only way Americans access medical care. After all, the purpose of the Affordable Care Act was to insulate Americans from the financial hardship of medical care they couldn’t afford to pay for out of pocket. Moreover, many pundits believe having to reach for one’s wallet during a medical encounter is unacceptable. So imagine my shock when I read a headline in The New York Times claiming that Obamacare is no guarantee against crushing medical bills.

In a survey of non-seniors, the New York Times/Kaiser poll found about one-in-five people struggle with medical bills even though they have insurance. Among insured people who reported crushing medical debts, about three-quarters reported putting off vacations, major purchases and cutting back on household spending. Nearly two-thirds used up all or most of their savings. Far fewer had to resort to second jobs, take on more hours or ask family members for funds (42 percent to 37 percent).

Why are these insured Americans having to reduce their standard of living and, in fewer instances, having to resort to more drastic measures? Was it entirely because they’re sick? A common refrain among those struggling with medical bills was that money was tight prior to a family illness. This includes high-income households as well as low income households.

FHIR: The Last, Best Chance to Achieve Interoperability?

Jan 20, 2016• 3

By DAVID SHAYWITZ, MD

Can an impassioned band of savvy, battle-tested techno-optimists save our healthcare system from its worst instincts, and deliver at least a soupcon of real interoperability?

That’s the question I found myself seriously contemplating after last week’s JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, and in particular after an inspiring data science roundtable discussion led by Aneesh Chopra (the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States, now at Hunch Analytics) and Claudia Williams, a senior advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

The FHIR Engine

The (not so) secret sauce in question is the FHIR (pronounced “fire”) interoperability standard that has emerged from the non-profit HL7 organization, and functions as a universal adaptor, allowing some types of clinically-relevant data types to be shared easily and securely. Remarkably, most major electronic health record (EHR) vendors – including athenahealth ATHN +0.00%, Cerner CERN +0.00%, and yes, Epic — have signed onto this concept, and agreed to support an early effort at implementation, known as the Argonaut Project.

Ann Marie O’Callaghan and Perjeta

Jan 20, 2016• 11

By DAVID BELK, MD

Screen Shot 2016-01-20 at 5.10.39 PM A respected group of cancer specialists developed a chemotherapy program for a breast cancer patient. But then her insurance company denied the claim, so the cancer center stuck her with a bill three times as large as what they would have required from the insurance company.

In June of 2012 Ann Marie O’Callaghan got some of the most terrifying news a woman can get: she had breast cancer. Worse, Ann Marie was only 39 at the time and the oldest of her two children was about to go into kindergarten.

Cancers that strike young women can often be very aggressive, but fortunately there were proven treatments for her particular breast cancer. After six months of intensive chemotherapy her stage III tumor had shrunk to become a stage I tumor which could be removed by a simple lumpectomy. After she received local radiation treatment to her breast there was good reason to believe she might be cured.

Then, last summer, her cancer came back. It was only a small, locally recurring tumor, but any cancer that recurs is likely to be tougher to treat because it’s already learned to survive the original therapy. Ann Marie wanted to be able to raise her children, so she returned to the same specialists who had knocked her cancer back the first time.

Should Companies Invest In a Chief Health Officer?

Jan 20, 2016• 3

By JAAN SIDOROV, MD

flying cadeucii While employer-sponsored wellness, health promotion and disease prevention programs have been linked to “human capital,” talent recruitment and retention, improvements in employee morale, reductions in absenteeism, reductions in presenteeism and bending the curve of claims expense, should shareholders care?

After all, according to President Obama’s latest State of the Union Address, corporate America’s pursuit of profits have resulted in greater automation, less competition, loss of worker leverage and “less loyalty to their communities.” According to that narrative, employees are just another commodity on the road to total shareholder return.

Well, according to an expanding body of peer-reviewed scientific literature, shareholders should care.

The latest example of why is this publication by Ray Fabius and colleagues that appeared in the January issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

EHR Incentive Programs: Where We Go From Here

Jan 19, 2016• 16

By ANDY SLAVITT and KAREN DeSALVO, MD

Screen Shot 2016-01-19 at 8.34.45 AM As we mentioned in a speech last week, the Administration is working on an important transition for the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. We have been working side by side with physician organizations and have listened to the needs and concerns of many about how we can make improvements that will allow technology to best support clinicians and their patients. While we will be putting out additional details in the next few months, we wanted to provide an update today.

In 2009, the country embarked on an effort to bring technology that benefits us in the rest of our lives into the health care system. The great promise of technology is to bring information to our fingertips, connect us to one another, improve our productivity, and create a platform for a next generation of innovations that we can’t imagine today.

Not long ago, emergency rooms, doctor’s offices, and other facilities were sparsely wired. Even investing in technology seemed daunting. There was no common infrastructure. Physician offices often didn’t have the capital to get started and it was hard for many to see the benefit of automating silos when patient care was so dispersed. We’ve come a long way since then with more than 97 percent of hospitals and three quarters of physician offices now wired.