Collaboration Saves Lives
October 29, 2007
USA Today has an article, Atlanta becomes a template for improving EMS, about the city-wide collaboration to improve emergency response. The results are pretty impressive.
“Since September 2005, the survival rate for such patients in Atlanta has jumped from less than 3% to 15%. That’s well above the 6% to 10% survival rate for most cities that was identified in a 2003 analysis by USA TODAY.”
It is impressive that the Mayor of Atlanta took the initiative to improve the city’s emergency response. The program involves using technology to better coordinate data between EMS, 911 call centers and hospitals to better track success rates.
My Doctor, the Boss
October 22, 2007
As employer health costs rise, large employers (as many as 30% of them by next year) are building on-site health clinics for their employees - and saving millions. Companies like Perdue, Toyota, Pepsi and Sprint Nextel are returning to the days, not so long ago, when workers’ health care was a company affair. These employees now get access to cheaper doctor visits while on the clock. But current loopholes in HIPAA (the health care privacy law) beg the question: will an employee with a drug problem feel safe getting treatment at work?
Better Website for Medicare RX Plans
October 18, 2007
The Federal Government has launched a more user-friendly website that lets Medicare enrollees compare the various prescription drug plans and benefits options offered in their communities. A new five-star rating system lets users compare Medicare prescription drug plans based on access to care, quality of care, customer satisfaction and other measures. Website users can also compare and sort plans by annual costs - including prescriptions, monthly premiums, coverage levels in the so-called “doughnut hole” and other factors - and view the information in one chart.
Eligible for Health Care? Dial 1-800
October 15, 2007
There is now an interactive website (http://www.coverageforall.org/) and toll-free number (1-800-234-1317) to help people figure out which heath insurance plans they qualify for. The service was started by a California insurance executive who wanted to help people find insurance plans when they didn’t qualify for the ones he was selling. It has now been expanded to all 50 states.
Ineligible? Don’t Be So Sure.
by Michael S. Gerber
The Washington Post
August 21, 2007
Cancer? You’re Fired!
October 12, 2007
There are many horror stories of people who lose their homes and savings to pay for health care bills, and there are also less frequent but very real stories of those whose employers feel they cannot bear their employees’ health costs and fire them. Illegal? Certainly - but very hard to prove.
Here’s one version of that story:
STRICKEN WITH CANCER, AND THEN TERMINATED
by Theresa Vargas
The Washington Post
October 14, 2007
Sorry, Charlie
October 1, 2007
This article, “Doctors try new word: Sorry.” in the Chicago Tribune highlights the recent trend of “fess up” - doctors admitting when they make a mistake. Medical errors and traditions in medical practice are just some of the things we have learned more about as we have researched health care in the United States. Before reading this article I had not given much though to what happens when a medical error is made. According to the article it is generally not common for doctors and staff to discuss the error with the patient.
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