April 2008
63 posts
The Industry is smarter Hillary.
Multiple people within the Industry have already come up with multiple ways to loophole around all of these mandates and restrictions the Democrats want to put in place. Let the games begin. The profits will win. The Industry is a bit like Colbert, they’re already five steps ahead of you.
“Financing reform without care delivery reform would be a major operational and...”
– George Halvorson, CEO of Kaiser Permanente See this
Long-Awaited Baby Boomer Die-Off To Begin Soon,... →
The troops in Iraq...
Jeff Goldsmith is here in Quebec visiting Myca and helping us create our vision, our technology, and our strategy to bring Hello Health to market as best we can. We had dinner together this evening and he enlightened me about something I hadn’t yet read anything about. Our troops on the front line are fighting a war and solving problems at the local level using consumer technologies like...
Emergence →
“As an industry —as a business model —health care is winning. It is...”
– George Halvorson, CEO of Kaiser Permanente
One of my favorite new songs. Gotta love the...
Faces of the Dead in Iraq - New York Times →
oSkope visual search :: Your intuitive search... →
TwitterPoster →
Twitter Friends Network Browser →
A very odd coincidence...
My aunt lives in Saudi Arabia and is an executive for an international school district. She sent me this email yesterday (and I just got around to reading it about an hour after I finished the Fast Company article: ”Just went to Bangkok and Laos for a 10 days. I’ve never had a complete physical, and over two years since the last pap/mammogram stuff. Had a complete physical done at...
Medical Leave -- Offshore Medicine -- Bumrungrad... →
Well now we have a viable solution for expensive surgeries for the uninsured. It’s long but worth the read. I promise. My favorite quote: “My ears perked up when I heard the prices,” Douglas says, because the average annual health-care cost for Blue Ridge’s 2,000 or so aging employees had doubled to $9,500 in just five years. “Every time we made a move to control...
“”For the first time we act to prevent discrimination before it has taken...”
– Senate Passes Genetic Discrimination Bill - New York Times
Watch“Every night from the 22 to the 29 of February 2008, the vapour emissions of he Salmisaari power plant in Helsinki will be illuminated to show the current levels of electricity consumption by local residents. A laser ray will trace the cloud during the night time and turn it into a city scale neon sign.” Here’s the link.
Wesabe's new recommendation service finds better... →
Maybe in 30 years the healthcare industry will catch up.
“I also think that my party can be smug, detached, and dogmatic at times. I...”
– Barack Obama (via azspot) (via marco) (via jakoblodwick)
Why the Web Is Foreign Territory →
Benjamin Palmer, co-founder of The Barbarian Group, along with the other Barbarians will be doing our advertising, branding, and web-presence for Hello Health. Here is their portfolio. And here is an article written by Benjamin in Adweek talking about the generic problem of global brands: “People travel in part because they are excited about cultural nuances. I love advertising in...
MACE project | ClassificationBrowser →
More hospitals should unite on pricing issues to...
Since the Health Insurance Industry strategically benefits from hidden prices by leveraging their ability to sign better contracts with hospitals and providers, it’s time for hospitals to fight back. Congratulations Alliance Community Hospital.
Doctors and patients must connect.
Another of my posts over at the World Health Care Blog: Contrary to popular belief, I don’t believe that the internet is isolating. The internet actually connects people more and better both online and offline. Despite the scare that air travel was going to be harmed by internet communication, air travel is at an all time high. The so-called Web 2.0 movement has made purchasing and connecting...
It's no LOL: Few US doctors answer e-mails from... →
And I’ll wager that the 1/3 of docs who responded “Yes” to “Do you email with patients?” — they interpreted the question as “Have you ever emailed with a patient?”
Groupthink blows my mind
The speakers are polling the audience right now asking “What is the main factor that will drive change in the US Healthcare System?” The number one response (31%) from the audience was “Payment Reform.” I think they are yapping about changing payment from what we have today to either Pay 4 Performance or some other system that nobody has come up with just yet....
Overheard in the elevator at WHCC 2008
55 year old Doctor Man: ”You know, my kids and their generation have all of their information on MySpace and Facebook — they don’t seem to care so much about privacy.” Dr. Cecil B. Wilson (Chair of the Board of Trustees, AMA): ”That’s because they haven’t had their first heart attack!!” (roaring laughter) Random woman: ”Or their first...
Those poor healthcare consumers...
Another post of mine at the World Health Care Blog: If I got a nickel for every time I heard the word consumers here at the WHCC, I’d be a bajillionaire. If I got a nickel for every time I heard someone use the word consumer appropriately, I’d be broke as a bad joke. consumer |kənˈsoōmər| noun a person who purchases goods and services for personal use : [as adj. ] consumer demand. • a...
The Bushification of Hillary →
I’m starting to hate her more than I hate Bush. Bush is just so bad, it’s kind of humorous and entertaining. But, sadly, I think she knows what she’s doing. She’s watched the success of the Republican politics of fear and now, she too, is joining the ranks of political buffoons.
Magic Doesn't Make Things Happen →
So I'm also posting today as a guest blogger at...
Here is the World Health Care Congress blog. And here is my first post: If asthma takes $200 to prevent and $10,000 to treat, why would any self-respecting doctor or hospital want to prevent such a lucrative opportunity? Why would any hospital group want to use Bayesian statistics to intelligently use radiology studies when intelligent ordering decreases revenue by 30%? Why would we want to cut...
Let's make actively being uninsured a social cause
I am a freelance physician employed by a startup company. We’re in the process of deciding our benefit plan. I haven’t had health insurance since graduating from Hopkins in June 2007. At first, I didn’t have health insurance because I couldn’t afford it. I started my practice and had to depend on patients finding out about me in my own neighborhood and then needing...
Massachusetts May Ban Drug Industry Freebies for... →
Maybe the politicians who actually thunked up this bill should take a dose of their own medicine by banning lobbyists that sway their decisions? Let’s keep it real Massachusetts lawmakers. Do as you say, not as you do…right? The stiffest penalty is throwing docs in jail for up to two years for accepting drug company bribes! That’s a great idea. Let’s throw all the...
I am at The 5th Annual World Health Care Congress... →
I’m a featured blogger and will be covering a few of the events here. I have a few one-on-one meetings set up with the big wigs of the Industry. I’ll be writing all about their strategies to control their revenue the nation’s healthcare costs. If any of you are around, feel free to email or call me (917-753-0751). I’d be happy to meet up and have a drink or two.
5% of docs are responsible for 54% of malpractice... →
Medical malpractice payouts and premiums are only about 1.5% of the total annual healthcare costs. Oh yes, what about the nearly $3 billion spent on pharmaceutical advertising (0.13% of total healthcare costs)? And tort reform is the way to control costs. Or curbing pharmaceutical spending must be the answer. Or maybe we should cut physician salaries by 10% and save 1% of total healthcare...
The McLeod Mirror courtesy of the Barbarians →
Hello Health is going to be amazing.
This is where it's at. →
Publicis & Hal Riney →
This is kind of cool — using your webcam to control website navigation.
Taiwan Takes Fast Track to Universal Health Care :... →
It’s interesting how the media can paint a picture of another country’s healthcare system as being a little utopia. The only problem mentioned here is that they need to increase spending to 8% of GDP (half of the US spending). Other than that, healthcare in Taiwan is a well oiled machine.
Visualizing our healthcare dollars.
Here are five Sears Towers that represent our entire GDP. One is literally made of pennies. Out of the 108 stories, doctors in America take home only about the first 10 floors.
Penguin - "My generation kills bad ideas." →
I’m the lead designer for We Tell Stories - it’s a website created for Penguin, in which six authors are telling six stories in ways that are completely original to the web. Our first story, The 21 Steps (a homage to The 39 Steps) was told over Google Maps; another was written live and displayed in real-time, in five hour-long installments, by Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. This...
Primary Care Educational Debt →
Quite an astute man that Dr. Reece.
A bit more about Hello Health
I’ve been yapping about Hello Health for a while now and no matter what I write, I still feel as if the words I’m writing look like this: When the actual product/service will look more like this: If you show that Frank Lloyd Wright blueprint to anyone, it still looks like a piece of art — but who would have thought that the blueprint would turn into such an amazing structure?...
Gothamist: Judge Says Open Wide for Fast Food... →
It’s a step in the right direction. I’d love to see those restaurant people fighting against this. It’s like arguing with a 2 year old.
I need help! →
The Hello Health experience is going to be awesome. I love the internet. I love experience. I love details. I love people who create simple things and get a sort of “well that’s obvious” response. Genius ideas are often subtle responses to persistent groupthink — a problem that has plagued the pharmaceutical industry. And of course, the Health IT industry.
Tuesday
I’m giving Grand Rounds to the Pediatrics department at St. Vincent’s Hospital in the West Village (my alma mater). If any of you are in NYC and would like to come, stop by at 7 am. It should be an interesting discussion.
I’m at the launch of Navigenics in Soho. I missed Al Gore by a night…he was here last night. They pulled off a bit of a revolution. They’re proof that a consumer branded health test is a viable, potentially profitable business (as evidenced by their massive storefront next to Louis Vuitton and the Apple Store). I’m sure it’s coming to every high end mall in...
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