Archive for General
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Harvard Business Review on the Problem with Wellness Programs
The HBR has a great article on the challenges and problems associated with wellness programs that is well worth reading. It makes several important points about the approach that most firms are taking with respect to forcing wellness down the throats of employees and doing it with little reference...
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NAWHC Survey of On-Site Programming
The National Association of Worksite Health Centers has just launched a national survey of employers to determine and define the nature of the health care that is being provided (and planned!) for employees at the workplace. This is an important effort that will build upon other surveys conduct...
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NPR Feature on Oregon Clinic
Driving to and from work each day, or when I am out and about running errands, I tend to listen to NPR (when I'm not in the mood for Country!). Seriously, however, I wanted to pass on a link to a recent interview from the ALL THINGS CONSIDERED program, by host, Audie Cornish. This was about a he...
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The Search for Quality and Pricing Guarantees Continues
In a continued effort by large employers to assure quality healthcare for their employees, at a price that is transparent and guaranteed, Walmart and Lowe's recently chose four hospitals for joint replacements. This was done not just to be able to predict the cost (with no out-of-pocket cost to th...
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Walgreens and Community Health Network Join Forces
With the Accountable Care Act continuing to unfold, the focus by CMS on interoperability and the use of EHRs nationwide, and the continued formation and study of ACOs, it is no surprise that Walgreens would find partners in the health care community and form linkages. For the on-site community, an ...
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Patient Registry on Steroids
Population health management calls for a comprehensive patient registry, something you can't do on an old-fashioned rolodex. Those companies fortunate and forward-thinking enough to have started an on-site clinic years ago, now probably have massive electronic patient registries, but nothing that ...
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The 38-day, $60,000 Emergency Room Visit
Hard to believe, I know, but a patient actually spent 38 days in a hospital emergency room in 2012 waiting for a bed to become available in a psychiatric facility. This isn't a "medical" event, but mental health costs are soaring and contribute to absenteeism, too. The Agency for Healthcare Rese...
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Even the Government Likes Wellness Programs
Rules were recently issued regarding the Affordable Care Act regarding wellness programs, and, "Starting in 2014, the rules will allow companies to reward employees who participate in workplace wellness programs by reducing their health insurance premiums up to 30 percent," as opposed to current reg...
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Does Access Improve Outcome?
One of the reasons frequently given for starting an on-site clinic these days is access. Employees complain that they just can't find adequate primary care services. And, it's true, there does seem to be a shortage of family and internal medicine physicians these days (to say nothing of peds a...
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More About Pricing Transparency
It has been reported that two Representatives from Texas (a rare effort by a Democrat and a Republican collaborating these days) recently introduced a bill into the House (HR 1326) that would require "States to establish laws mandating that hospitals publicly disclose the cost of various services." ...
