Free market for surgery: interview with Allevion CEO Arnon Krongrad, MD
Surgery can be expensive, scary, dangerous and even deadly. Yet it’s hard for patients and even for referring physicians to navigate the system. So I was intrigued when I was contacted by Dr. Arnon Krongrad , CEO of Allevion, Inc., a healthcare logistics company that markets surgery packages. The company’s Surgeo online marketplace let’s patients shop for the surgeon of their choice.
I explored the topic in depth with Dr. Krongrad in this email interview.
What are the limitations of referrals to surgeons by primary doctors?
Conventional surgeon referrals by other doctors, such as primary physicians, r...
Source: Health Business Blog - January 6, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: e-health Entrepreneurs Patients Physicians Source Type: blogs
Remembering Dr. Pamela Davies & her work with premature babies: A personal tribute
Dr. Pamela Davies may not be a household name, but she radically improved the life chances of premature babies.
I had direct experience of this – in fact it is largely due to her work that I’m even around to write this. My early weeks, more than 45 years ago, were spent at Hammersmith Hospital in London after my twin sister Jenny and I were born ten weeks premature – weighing in at 3lbs 5oz and 2lbs 12oz. The circumstances of our birth were anything but usual – the doctors discovered mum was carrying twins less than 24 hours earlier. Mum did have her suspicions. ‘What, do you have an elephant in there?’ my gran...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - November 27, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Champions Childbirth DW UK Source Type: blogs
Ten Years After Hurricane Katrina: Progress And Challenges Remain For US Emergency Preparedness
Ten years ago, the nation watched in shock as Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans. Katrina was followed closely by Hurricane Rita, impacting Western Louisiana, and these storms collectively have become synonymous with systemic failure of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery policy. They provided a wake-up call to government agencies, politicians, and community agencies alike.
That following year, Congress created, among other things, an Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with a mandate to reach across gove...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - August 27, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Nicole Lurie, Karen DeSalvo and Kristen Finne Tags: Costs and Spending Equity and Disparities Featured Health Professionals Long-term Services and Supports Organization and Delivery Population Health Public Health Quality emergency response HHS Hurricane Katrina National Health Secu Source Type: blogs
The Payment Reform Landscape: Tying It All Together
Throughout 2014, Health Affairs Blog has been generous in allowing us to share our insights and opinions on a monthly basis as we examine the evidence for different payment reform models. Along this journey, we’ve taken an in-depth look at how well different payment models are proving to enhance the quality and affordability of care.
We’ve taken a few detours to explore some of the building blocks of a higher-value health care system, like price transparency. And we took some time to share findings from our 2014 National Scorecard on Payment Reform, which revealed the commercial sector is moving toward more value orien...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - December 2, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Suzanne Delbanco Tags: All Categories Consumers Health Care Costs Payment Policy Quality Spending Source Type: blogs
Innovation when collaborating with Academia and Industry
More of the history of productive collaboration between engineers and scientists in academia and in the business entrepreneurship industry needs to be known. The primary beneficiary of this collaboration has been the public. But now, when the public might expect collaboration between academia and industry to be accelerating, it is not. Obstacles to efficient and effective collaboration leading to application have not allowed new technology to keep pace with ever-increasing need. In this analysis, based on experience in both academia and industry, the author provide perspective on current obstacles to academic–industrial ...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - November 4, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Innovation Source Type: blogs
Pediatric Asthma: An Opportunity In Payment Reform And Public Health
Editor’s note: The post is informed by a case study, the third in a series made possible through the Merkin Initiative on Physician Payment Reform and Clinical Leadership, a special project to develop clinician leadership in health care delivery and financing reform. The case study will be presented on Wednesday, September 24 using a “MEDTalk” format featuring live story-telling and knowledge-sharing from patients, providers, and policymakers.
The Clinical Challenge: A Chronic, but Manageable Illness
Asthma affects 7 million children – more than 10 percent of kids in the U.S. – and is the most common chronic ch...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - September 18, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Kavita Patel, Steve Farmer, Meaghan George, Frank McStay, and Mark McClellan Tags: All Categories Children Chronic Care Health Care Costs Health Care Delivery Health Reform Medicaid Medicare Nonmedical Determinants Payment Policy Public Health Quality States Source Type: blogs
CareFusion’s V. Mueller New Line of Bipolar Electrosurgical Tools
CareFusion is releasing a new line of customized bipolar electrosurgical devices that include a variety of forceps and scissors. The V. Mueller branded tools can be selected by surgeons to be non-stick, be made of titanium, and have irrigation capabilities.
The bipolar energy delivery to the instrument through a single cord allows for less damage to nearby tissue while preventing cords from tangling around each other and allowing surgeons easier access around the surgical site.
“Expanding our electrosurgical line to include enhanced bipolar options is good for both our customers and their patients,” said Andr...
Source: Medgadget - March 11, 2014 Category: Technology Consultants Authors: Editors Tags: Cardiac Surgery ENT Neurological Surgery Ob/Gyn Orthopedic Surgery Plastic Surgery Thoracic Surgery Urology Vascular Surgery Source Type: blogs
DOJ to Target Pharma and Device Current Good Management Practices (cGMPs) Violations
Conclusion
The key takeaway, Frimpong said, is to focus on the human element of the equation. “People are not fungible, especially when it comes to the complex and highly technical issues that arise in a pharmaceutical production line,” she added.
Interestingly, Frimpong emphasized that the “GMP regime as we see it presents a great opportunity for partnership and cooperation between government and industry, especially when we are dealing with critical drugs. Not only does the statute explicitly look to companies to determine the appropriate balance in the first instance, thereby making you partners with gover...
Source: Policy and Medicine - February 26, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
New Study Shows Excellent Outcomes in Birth Centers
According to the CDC, in 2009, 98.9 percent of all U.S. births were in hospitals, while only 1.1 percent took place elsewhere.
Many women, however, wish to give birth in an environment that is more homelike, or want to reduce their likelihood of experiencing many of the interventions that have become very common in hospitals, such as continuous electronic fetal monitoring, induction of labor, and cesarean section.
Of the non-hospital births documented in 2009, 27.6 percent (just over 12,000 births) took place in freestanding birth centers – an option for women interested in giving birth with trained professionals...
Source: Our Bodies Our Blog - February 7, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Rachel Tags: Pregnancy & Childbirth Research & Studies birth centers health care Source Type: blogs
Distrust of "Templated" Physician Notes in EHRs; Implications for the Future
Here's a note from Mr. HIStalk in which he quotes from a comment submitted by Hospitalist DZA MD about a Time Capsule article that Mr. HIStalk had previously posted (see: Monday Morning Update 2/4/13):
Hospitalist DZA MD left an insightful comment on my [May 2008] Time Capsule article about doctors getting lost in the barrage of generally useless information cluttering up EMRs:
Anything that is templated has exactly zero clinical information value to me. I don’t care if Osler himself dropped in “dyspnea improved,” “no diarrhea” … If I want to know the validity of that kind of thing, I will look at the...
Source: Lab Soft News - February 5, 2013 Category: Pathologists Authors: Bruce Friedman Tags: Electronic Medical Record Healthcare Business Healthcare Information Technology Hospitals and Healthcare Delivery Medical Ethics Source Type: blogs
