Are Massachusetts healthcare costs ok after all?
The best defense is a good offense. I assume that’s what Partners HealthCare CEO David Torchiana had in mind when he penned First do no harm in the Boston Globe. In a nutshell, he argues that healthcare costs in Massachusetts are more affordable for businesses and individuals than elsewhere in the country, that they are becoming relatively more affordable, and that the state should resist the urge to impose further cost controls.
I’ve made similar arguments about affordability myself. See for example, Massachusetts: Land of affordable health insurance from back in 2011.
And yet…
While Massachusetts has r...
Source: Health Business Blog - December 20, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Economics Hospitals Policy and politics Governor Charlie Baker healthcare costs Massachusetts Partners HealthCare Source Type: blogs
Just a granule of sugar makes the medicine go down (and out)
What Would Mary Do?
Many drugs fail in development due to safety problems. A study indicates that impurities in the non-active ingredients may sometimes be to blame. According to lead researcher Daniel Weinbuch from Leiden University:
“We found that sugar excipients themselves contain nanometer-sized particles, which can damage proteins and make drugs unsafe. These nanoparticle impurities in sugar could even trigger the immune system itself.”
Obviously, drug companies need to learn about this problem and find sugar manufacturers who can make pure products.
It’s unfortunate that this problem exists, but it...
Source: Health Business Blog - December 15, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Pharma Research pharmaceutical safety Source Type: blogs
Would an FDA radical make any real difference?
Totally radical, dude!
Trump considers naming FDA chief who would radically overhaul the agency, blares the headline from STAT. The candidate, Jim O’Neill is indeed a radical: he wants to eliminate the requirement for drugs to demonstrate efficacy in order to gain approval, favors payments for organ donors, and is part of a group that wants to create sea-based libertarian communities. He also doesn’t seem to know much about the FDA and its people –he said “one thing that surprised me is that the actual human beings at the Food and Drug Administration like science; they like curing disease and they...
Source: Health Business Blog - December 9, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Pharma Policy and politics FDA Source Type: blogs
Kindly Care streamlines home care hiring. Podcast with CEO Igor Lebovic
https://healthbb.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/hbdew051-david-e-williams-interviews-kindly-care-ceo-igor-lebovic.mp3
Kindly Care got its start by helping families hire, onboard, manage and compensate caregivers. Now it is expanding its offering with Care Exchange, which allows home care agencies to collaborate.
I interviewed CEO Igor Lebovic to find out more.
(0:10) What is the problem you are addressing with Kindly Care?
(0:37) How did you decide to pursue this market?
(2:32) You say you meet the caregivers. How do you meet them?
(3:58) How much overlap is there between what you do and what Nanny Tax companies do?
(4:58...
Source: Health Business Blog - December 6, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Podcast Source Type: blogs
Health Wonk Review is up at InsureBlog
The Puppies and Kittens edition of the Health Wonk Review is up at Insure Blog. After a contentious election season, our host Hank Stern is trying to cool things down.
(Source: Health Business Blog)
Source: Health Business Blog - December 1, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Announcements Blogs Policy and politics Source Type: blogs
Recreational marijuana is becoming legal. How will the laws be implemented?
I opposed the ballot question legalizing recreational marijuana in Massachusetts. Nonetheless, the measure passed and it looks like legalization is going to happen. I asked marijuana entrepreneur Rob Hunt, President of Teewinot Life Sciences, to provide the industry perspective on some of the key issues.
Here’s what he had to say:
How does recreational marijuana interact with the market for alcohol? Do you expect alcohol sales to rise or fall? Why?
The adult use cannabis market should have almost no impact on the alcohol market at all. What this market represents is simply an orderly conversion from a long-standing i...
Source: Health Business Blog - November 28, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Entrepreneurs Pharma Podcast Policy and politics Source Type: blogs
BIDMC and Lahey talk merger; I ’ m quoted
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health are talking again about a merger. From the Boston Globe:
Top executives from the two hospital systems are discussing a possible merger, according to people with direct knowledge of the negotiations, the fourth time they have explored a deal in the past five years.
I’m quoted:
David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group, a Boston consulting firm, said Beth Israel Deaconess has been looking for ways to grow its network since its biggest rivals, Mass. General and Brig-ham, merged in 1994 to create Partners.
“Beth Israel Deaconess never got involved in the...
Source: Health Business Blog - November 18, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Economics Hospitals Source Type: blogs
Podcast interview with Dexcom CEO Kevin Sayer
Dexcom “Warriors” surround CEO Kevin Sayer on World Diabetes Day 2016
https://healthbb.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/hbdew050-david-e-williams-interviews-dexco-ceo-kevin-sayer.mp3
Kevin Sayer is CEO of Dexcom, and on World Diabetes Day he had the privilege of ringing the NASDAQ bell at the start of the session. I caught up with him afterwards to ask about developments in Continuous Glucose Monitoring.
Here’s what I asked:
(0:10) What is World Diabetes Day and what does it accomplish?
(0:45) Your company is a pioneer in Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM). What is the impact on patients?
(1:48) Does CG...
Source: Health Business Blog - November 15, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Devices Podcast continuous glucose monitoring Source Type: blogs
