By David R. Burda – Better check the byline on this blog post. It’s about patient safety improving at hospitals. Yes, I’m the author. I also try not to be a hypocrite. If I write about patient safety dropping hospitals, like I did in this monthly column, “Dead Patient Walking,” then I feel compelled to write about it when it gets better…
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By David Burda – As you know, I’m more of a glass-half-empty, bad-news kind of guy, not a glass-half-full, good-news kind of guy. Especially when our health outcomes in the U.S. continue to fall below health outcomes in other high-income nations despite more providers having VBR contracts with commercial insurers. Big deal.
By David Burda – APMs are reimbursement models that put providers at financial risk for the care that they provide to their patients. APMs take many forms. The AMA report covers four basic forms: pay-for-performance, capitation, bundled payments and shared shavings.
By David Burda – Healthcare middlemen like group purchasing organizations, distributors and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) add costs to our already bloated healthcare system, not subtract costs through savings like they claim. If you don’t believe me, read this short but telling research letter in JAMA Health Forum.
By David Burda – I have no doubt that a lot of physicians are burned out. So are a lot of nurses, teachers, journalists, IT people, assembly line workers, truck drivers, rideshare drivers, restaurant servers, fast food workers and pretty much anyone else who’s been asked by their bosses to “do more with less” or “work smarter not harder” as they adapt to the post-pandemic economy.
By David Burda – I have one quid pro quo in my life: I won’t tell you what to do if you don’t tell me what to do. The only exception is anything really stupid that could kill me or you or both of us at the same time. That’s why, 19 months from now, when I turn 65, I’m going to sign up for traditional Medicare.
By David Burda – Part of our Cybersecurity Awareness Month. IBM released its annual Cost of a Data Breach report based from 553 companies or organizations in 16 countries across 17 industries. The average cost of a data breach in healthcare was $10.9 million this year, up 8.2% from $10.1 million in 2022.
Some recent studies and reports that caught our eye from Sage Growth Partners, Inovalon, RAND Corporatioin, AvaSure, BeMe Health, Dr. First, Wolters Kluwer, Surescripts, Carenet Health, Tebra, TimelyCare, and U of Missouri.
The healthcare industry is not in short supply of changes that need to be made. This week’s Friday at Five highlights some industry reports lighting the way for better health data exchange, patient experience, health equity, interoperability, and social determinants of health to name a few.