Date Post Title Post Summary Topics
Jan 31, 2012 Coalition Building for Care Transitions: Communities Work to Help Frail Elders

“Care transitions” is the new buzzword in efforts to improve health, improve care and reduce costs.

Care Transitions
Jan 27, 2012 Thoughts on Robert Samuelson's "Cutting Health-Care Spending the Old-Fashioned Way"

Kudos to Robert Samuelson  (Op-Ed, January 16, 2012, Th

Costs & Economic Analysis | Health Reform
Jan 26, 2012 Are Consumers Ready to Transform Health Care? If Not Now, When?

There is a massive untapped resource in health care: consumers.

Consumer Choice | Health Policy
Jan 23, 2012 Encouraging Risk in a Risk Adverse World

 “It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It's the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance.

Childhood Obesity | Women & Children
Jan 19, 2012 Cultural Differences in the Treatment of Pain Due to the rapid increase in prescription drug abuse, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared prescription drug abuse an epidemic. The latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicates that over 70 percent of people who abused prescription pain medications obtained them from friends or relatives, while approximately 5 percent got them from a drug dealer or over the Internet. Chronic Disease | Public Health
Jan 17, 2012 Resolving to Talk with Your Loved Ones About Aging with Dignity and Independence Although not an easy discussion, it is vital that we know the preferences and choices of loved ones (and they know ours) regarding the kind of support you and those you love expect long before a crisis occurs. Aging | Medicare
Jan 12, 2012 The Walmart Opportunity: Can Retailers Revamp Primary Care? Just as Walmart and other retailers shook up the prescription drug business by offering $4 generic drugs, the industry now aims to apply its negotiating and marketing clout to tackle problems that vex consumers and the health sector: unpredictable costs, a lack of primary care doctors and inefficient management of chronic illnesses, whose costs drive the majority of health care spending. Consumer Choice | Insurance | Public Health
Jan 10, 2012 Tell Me About It: Clinicians Must Work with Patients To Develop Good Care Plans

Our health care system ably treats sudden threats to life, prevents many illnesses and cures much of what ails us.

Aging | Chronic Disease
Jan 10, 2012 Are We Ready or Not for the Next Public Health Emergency? It seems that a number of programs that help detect and respond to bioterrorism and other health emergencies are at risk for major cuts or elimination. Public Health | Public Health Preparedness
Jan 6, 2012 Most Consumers Don't Ask About the Price of Health Care Services

How interested are consumers in the price of health care services? Results from our Consumer Opinion survey indicate that most consumers have never asked about the price of a health care serv

Consumer Choice | Costs & Economic Analysis | Insurance
Jan 5, 2012 Grading Docs With Electronic Medical Records Once most doctors saw how grading could help them improve, they were won over. Electronic medical records are good for the patient, the doctor and the bottom line. But they're not the silver bullet that will slay all the nation's health care problems. Health Reform | Information Technology
Jan 3, 2012 We Need to Focus on Hospital Prices - It’s Where the Money Is The U.S. hospital sector is one of the largest industries in the United States. It’s a $700 billion dollar industry, and there is twice as much money spent on hospital care than is spent on the purchase of new cars. Hospitals | Medicare