The Payment Reform Landscape: Where We Started On Transparency Tools And Where We Need To Go
Today we live in the age of information. Modern technology is abundant, providing many with access to a wealth of knowledge and resources. With so much information at our fingertips, we can easily learn more about many of the choices we face in daily life and compare the available options.
For instance, a shopper in the market for an umbrella (which those of us in California have finally needed again) can easily understand her options using powerful Internet search engines that instantly generate endless webpages, videos, and images. She can access an online marketplace to compare hundreds of umbrellas by feature, color, m...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - March 31, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: Suzanne Delbanco and Lea Tessitore Tags: Costs and Spending Featured Payment Policy Quality Catalyst for Payment Reform Consumers high deductible health plans tiered networks Source Type: blogs
Pregnancy & Exercise
An increasing amount of research is coming to the forefront showing the relationship between exercise and the health of expecting mothers and their baby. The benefits of increasing physical activity before and during pregnancy begin instantly and can play a significant role in your health for the rest of the mother’s life.
Shorter labor and easier delivery: There have been some small studies that have shown that women who exercise regularly are 58% less likely to request pain medication. Regular exercisers are 75% less likely to need a forceps delivery and 4 times less likely to have a C-section. Also, women who tr...
Source: Cord Blood News - March 29, 2016 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: aims Tags: Cord Blood pregnancy Source Type: blogs
Pregnancy & Exercise
An increasing amount of research is coming to the forefront showing the relationship between exercise and the health of expecting mothers and their baby. The benefits of increasing physical activity before and during pregnancy begin instantly and can play a significant role in your health for the rest of the mother’s life.
Shorter labor and easier delivery: There have been some small studies that have shown that women who exercise regularly are 58% less likely to request pain medication. Regular exercisers are 75% less likely to need a forceps delivery and 4 times less likely to have a C-section. Also, women who tr...
Source: Cord Blood News - March 29, 2016 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: aims Tags: Cord Blood pregnancy Source Type: blogs
NICE rejects acupuncture for low back pain
Of all types of alternative medicine, acupuncture is the one that has received the most approval from regular medicine. The benefit of that is that it’s been tested more thoroughly than most others. The result is now clear. It doesn’t work. See the evidence in Acupuncture is a theatrical placebo.
This blog has documented many cases of misreported tests of acupuncture, often from people have a financial interests in selling it. Perhaps the most egregious spin came from the University of Exeter. It was published in a normal journal, and endorsed by the journal’s editor, despite showing clearly that acupunct...
Source: DC's goodscience - March 24, 2016 Category: Science Authors: David Colquhoun Tags: acupuncture Back pain NICE LBP Low back pain NSLBP Source Type: blogs
NICE rejects acupuncture for low back pain
Of all types of alternative medicine, acupuncture is the one that has received the most approval from regular medicine. The benefit of that is that it’s been tested more thoroughly than most others. The result is now clear. It doesn’t work. See the evidence in Acupuncture is a theatrical placebo.
This blog has documented many cases of misreported tests of acupuncture, often from people have a financial interests in selling it. Perhaps the most egregious spin came from the University of Exeter. It was published in a normal journal, and endorsed by the journal’s editor, despite showing clearly that acupunct...
Source: DC's goodscience - March 24, 2016 Category: Science Authors: David Colquhoun Tags: acupuncture Back pain NICE LBP Low back pain NSLBP Source Type: blogs
I’m a doctor. I worry every time I prescribe painkillers to a patient. - Vox
"Please, I need my Oxycodone!" my patient, M, pleaded with me.
My eyes met his. I observed every fleeting facial expression, hoping to gauge his intentions. The discussion about whether to continue to prescribe this medication was one I'd had too many times with too many patients over the past few months.
"My arthritis is always worst in the winter," he said, rubbing his lower back.
It was a snowy afternoon in clinic, and M and I were in the midst of a debate. Oxycodone is an opioid medication, and, like other painkillers such as Oxycontin, Percocet, and Vicodin, it carries a significant risk of ...
Source: Psychology of Pain - March 16, 2016 Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: blogs
I ’m a doctor. I worry every time I prescribe painkillers to a patient. - Vox
& quot;Please, I need my Oxycodone! & quot; my patient, M, pleaded with me. < br > < br > My eyes met his. I observed every fleeting facial expression, hoping to gauge his intentions. The discussion about whether to continue to prescribe this medication was one I & #39;d had too many times with too many patients over the past few months. < br > < br > & quot;My arthritis is always worst in the winter, & quot; he said, rubbing his lower back. < br > < br > It was a snowy afternoon in clinic, and M and I were in the midst of a debate. Oxycodone is an opioid medication, and, like other painkillers such as Oxycontin, Percocet,...
Source: Psychology of Pain - March 16, 2016 Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: blogs
Zika virus infection of the nervous system
Evidence is mounting that Zika virus is neurotropic (able to infect cells of the nervous system) and neurovirulent (causes disease of the nervous system) in humans.
The most recent evidence comes from a case report of an 81 year old French man who developed meninogoencephalitis 10 days after returning from a 4 week cruise to New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and New Zealand (meningoencephalitis is infection of the meninges – the membranes that cover the brain – and the brain). His symptoms included fever, coma, paralysis, and a transient rash. A PCR test revealed Zika virus genomes in the cerebrospin...
Source: virology blog - March 10, 2016 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information central nervous system flavivirus meningoencephalitis myelitis neurotropic neurotropism neurovirulent paralysis viral viruses West Nile virus Zika zika virus Source Type: blogs
Christine’s breathtaking Wheat Belly transformation
This is Christine’s impressive Wheat Belly transformation: weight down 100 pounds over 15 months, back pain, migraines, sinus infections all gone.
“This picture of me in the rocking chair was the day I bought your Wheat Belly book. My Uncle had told me about it. I now tell EVERYONE I meet to buy & read it!
“My health is amazing. My blood pressure is down and I was borderline diabetic and my doctor wanted to put me on medication. I was suffering SEVERE lower back pain, migraines and suffered CHRONIC sinusitis.
“Also, need to add I was exhausted ALL the time and had horrible acid reflux and swal...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - February 8, 2016 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Wheat Belly Success Stories back pain gluten grains Inflammation joint pain migraine sinusitis Weight Loss Source Type: blogs
Integrating Specialty Care Into Accountable Care Organizations: Perspectives From The Field
Integrating specialty care can be key for high performance and financial success for ACOs, as the most complicated and costly patient care usually is managed by specialists. A large portion of the cost in our health care system is driven by specialists. Specialists are responsible for most medical and surgical procedures, involving both inpatient and outpatient care. Even for office visits, spending for specialists is higher than for primary care physicians. For example, while 45.7 percent of visits to office-based physicians in 2009 were to primary care physicians in general practice, family practice, internal medicine, o...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - January 19, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: Leslie Korenda and Sarah Thomas Tags: Costs and Spending Health Professionals Innovations in Care Delivery Organization and Delivery Accountable Care Organizations ACOs healthcare leaders Primary Care specialty care Source Type: blogs
Wanted: Medical Sherpas to guide patients through the unfriendly world of health care
2015 was a hard year for my father. He’s a remarkably healthy 89 year old, with no diabetes, no hypertension, and (most importantly) he’s got a sharper mind than I do on most days. Perhaps that’s a low bar to cross, but it’s pretty good for him. I think this is from all the crossword puzzles he’s done over the years.
Dad’s troubles started around the middle of the year when he started having low back pain. This pain progressed from mild pain to being so severe that he required a wheelchair to get around the house. This is the man who, a year after breaking a hip, was impossible t...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - January 16, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Rob Lamberts, MD Tags: Physician Primary care Source Type: blogs
Disruptive Women and the White House Collaborate to Improve Men’s Health
During an afternoon’s worth of inspiring stories crystalizing the need to get men more engaged in their health, one speaker perhaps shared the day’s most powerful moment, speaking from a podium at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, among an audience of esteemed guests, advocates and stakeholders.
John Kevin Hines recalled a day in San Francisco when he felt that he could no longer go on. Seeking just some simple positive interactions with other members of his community – an offer of encouragement or support – he instead got silence. Soon after, he found himself at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, where, am...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - January 12, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Access Advocacy Men's Health Source Type: blogs
LITFL R&R – Best of 2015
This article is one more piece of the mounting evidence demonstrating a clear call to change what is the usual care in many institutions in the U.S. Stop the madness!
Chest pain is tough — it’s the second most ED common chief complaint, and it scares the heck out of us and our patients – partially because missed MI is one one of the top causes of litigation. But we also see a ton of resources spent on a terribly low yield from chest pain workups. This new study in JAMA-IM including Mike Weinstock (of Bounceback fame), Scott Weingart and David Newman looked at the bad outcomes of patients with normal ECG...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - January 9, 2016 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Anand Swaminathan Tags: Airway Anaesthetics Cardiology Education Emergency Medicine Intensive Care Pre-hospital / Retrieval R&R in the FASTLANE Respiratory Resuscitation Trauma critical care examination research and reviews Source Type: blogs
Like Uber for Health Care With Sherpas?
By ROB LAMBERTS
2015 was a hard year for my father. He’s a remarkably healthy 89 year-old, with no diabetes, no hypertension, and (most importantly) he’s got a sharper mind than I do on most days. Perhaps that’s a low bar to cross, but it’s pretty good for him. I think this is from all the crossword puzzles he’s done over the years.
Dad’s troubles started around the middle of the year when he started having low back pain. This pain progressed from mild pain to being so severe that he required a wheelchair to get around the house. This is the man who, a year after breaking a hip...
Source: The Health Care Blog - January 6, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Tech Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Placebo effects are weak: regression to the mean is the main reason ineffective treatments appear to work
“Statistical regression to the mean predicts that patients selected for abnormalcy will, on the average, tend to improve. We argue that most improvements attributed to the placebo effect are actually instances of statistical regression.”
“Thus, we urge caution in interpreting patient improvements as causal effects of our actions and should avoid the conceit of assuming that our personal presence has strong healing powers.”
McDonald et al., (1983)
In 1955, Henry Beecher published "The Powerful Placebo". I was in my second undergraduate year when it appeared. And for many decades afte...
Source: DC's goodscience - December 11, 2015 Category: Science Authors: David Colquhoun Tags: acupuncture CAM placebo publishing quackademia random randomisation randomization RCT regression to the mean reproducibility statistics alternative medicine chiropractic osteopathy physiotherapy placebo effect Source Type: blogs
