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

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By ROCK MACKIE PhD

Mackie_rockRadiation 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.

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Rich Noffsinger, AnvitaHealth

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

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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.

An Economics Lesson From Erectile Drugs

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By MICHAEL MILLENSON

-2The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that hospital and pharmaceutical companies have been pushing  through large price increases in the first quarter of 2009 even as most businesses struggle just to
stay above water. (And later Wednesday, the CPI recorded its first
actual decrease since 1955.)

As an example of drug company tactics, the newspaper reported a recent
20.7 percent price increase by Pfizer for Viagra and a 14.2 percent
price increase by Eli Lilly for Cialis, two popular erectile
dysfunction (ED) drugs. Sadly, neither the Journal nor
the drug makers took the opportunity explain the concept of “inelastic
demand” for treatments of a condition where elasticity is the problem.
Pfizer and Lilly are betting that very few of their customers will say,
“Honey, I was in the mood for love tonight for $15, but for for
$18…let’s go see a movie.”

Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised by the lack of economic clarity
because the drug companies clearly don’t understand some basic economic
concepts. For example, a Pfizer spokesman, asked to defend the
aggressive price increases, responded that “the vast majority of our
customers receive some type of legislated or negotiated discount off
our announced list prices.” Gosh, I guess he never thought about the
fact that if you get a 10 percent discount off list price, and the list
price goes up 20 percent, the price you pay also goes up 20 percent!

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X-Prize Foundation CEO Dr. Peter Diamandis

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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

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By SUSANNAH FOX

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.

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The Biggest Health Care Controversy on the Hill

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By ROBERT LASZEWSKI

Capital

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.

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Next Generation Healthcare Analytics

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By DEB BRADLEY

Verisk_Deb_Bradley_PhotoMedical 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.

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