Category Archives: General News and Commentary
Drawing Attention to World Immflamatory Bowel Disorder Day, Crohn’s Patients Pan NHS Food
Back in 2004 – 2005, I had the unfortunate pleasure of managing a project whose objectives included aggregating about $1 billion in spend/demand from as many NHS Trusts as it took to get it. I traveled from one Trust to the next, doing my best to convince procurement directors to participate in our ambitious, yet poorly hatched sourcing enterprise. While I can’t recall how many individual Trusts I might have actually visited, 120 would not be an overstatement. The point is, I have visited a representative sample of NHS facilities throughout the UK and feel confident in saying that the [...]
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Big Data At Its Best: PremierConnect Driving Next Wave For Members
Adventist Health System (Altamonte Springs, Fla.), Adventist Health (Roseville, Ca.), Adventist Healthcare, Gaithersburg, Md.) and Kettering Health Network (Dayton, Oh.) have pooled their $1.5 billion in demand to save money and improve care delivery. These same members had already saved $5.4 million since forming the initiative two years ago –on top of the more than $200 million combined in quality and cost improvement savings they achieved as Premier members over the same period. Obviously, there is nothing new about Premier members forming regional and national SCM collaboratives, but the success of Premier’s PremierConnect information sharing platform is driving these same [...]
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Best of the Healthcare Supply Chain Honored with GHXcellence Awards
Yesterday, GHX today announced the winners of its 13th Annual GHXcellence Awards. The winners were announced yesterday and are being honored at this year’s GHX Healthcare Supply Chain Summit, currently in progress in Las Vegas. New for this year, GHX honored an individual supply chain leader for work in improving the business of healthcare with its GHXcellence Leadership Award. In early 2013, GHX called on its community to submit nominations for the award and then invited the entire healthcare industry to vote for the winner. This year’s winner is: GHXcellence Leadership Award: Réginé Honoré Villain, corporate director of Supply Chain [...]
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WalMart Will Transform Healthcare –Not a Question of “If” or “When,” but “Where”
At a recent healthcare conference, Marcus Osborne, Walmart’s vp for health and wellness joked with his audience suggesting that he didn’t even know why he was invited: “After all, Wal-Mart’s in retail, we’re not in health care.” The crowd responded with polite, but uncomfortable chuckles. I recently read a post in The Healthcare Blog written by Dan Diamond entitled, “Wal-Mart Could Transform Care –But Does It Want To?” I have to admit that my reaction was decidedly more visceral. In fact, I found myself having fun with imagining different titles for Dan’s post: “Walmart will Transform Care –Because It Can,” [...]
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Fee For Service On Life Support in Michigan –New BCBS & Trinity Contract Sets Industry Example
The new contract between Trinity Health (Trinity owns a dozen hospitals in Michigan that include Saint Mary’s Health Care in Grand Rapids and Mercy Health Partners in Muskegon, both of which now operate under the Mercy Health banner) and BCBS of Michigan puts a heavy spotlight on reform era reimbursement models. This deal highlights the latest and preferred compensation mentality –one that eliminates fee for service in favor of putting the focus on patient outcomes instead. BCBS and Trinity both refer to the agreement as a “value-based contract,” saying it should improve care quality and drive costs lower, not only [...]
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Intuit’s Inaugural Consumer Spending Index Confirms a “Nation on the Rebound”
U.S. consumers are spending again. After a prolonged lull following the 2008 recession’s historic spending lows, consumers are now spending about nine percent more than they did just four years ago. Gasoline, gift and healthcare spending have increased significantly, and the biggest spenders are men. These are among the findings of the new Intuit Consumer Spending Index, from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU), which provides a unique view into the U.S. economy. The Intuit Consumer Spending Index findings are based on anonymized, aggregated, transactional data from Mint.com, Intuit’s leading online and mobile personal finance software. The key takeaway? Americans are rebounding. [...]
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GHX Announces Industry’s First Implantable Devices SCM Solution –First Looks at This Year’s Supply Chain Summit
GHX today announced the release of Case XpertSM and Order IntelligenceSM, two components of a solution that the company bills as the healthcare industry’s first end-to-end supply chain solution for managing and tracking implantable medical devices –including the physician preference items (PPI) used in the OR. Case Xpert and Order Intelligence are among the first in a series of GHX solutions designed to address the estimated $5 billion in revenue losses currently recorded every year by healthcare providers and manufacturers due to the lack of automation and process efficiency for these devices. Case Xpert captures and shares data from case [...]
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Just in Time for Mother’s Day: New FDA Warnings for Moms-to-be
The FDA is now warning doctors and putting out the message to women of child-bearing age that half-a-dozen medications commonly prescribed to treat migraine headaches have been found to decrease a child’s intelligence, if taken while their mothers are pregnant. In fact, just yesterday, the FDA said that the drugs, including Depakote and Depacon, should never be taken by pregnant women for the prevention of migraine headaches. These drugs all contain the ingredient valproate sodium which already carries a boxed warning about the risk of birth defects. But the FDA said that it is now adding this new warning based [...]
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ObamaCare’s List of Unintended Consequences Conspicuously Alarming –And Growing
Just last week, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a study that indicates that ObamaCare has caused annual family health insurance premiums to increase at a rate three times higher than in 2010. It’s just one more unintended and negative consequence that has been added to a list that continues to grow at a conspicuously alarming rate. Remember that provision that guaranteed health insurance for children? And what about the simplest goal of all –how Obamacare was supposed to quickly reduce the number of uninsured? Not only are less people insured these days, but health insurance costs significantly more. In fact, [...]
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Inbound Logistics Reveals Top 100 Logistics SCM Technology Providers
An Inbound Logistics magazine survey of approximately 300 logistics and supply chain technology vendors reveals that supply chain managers have more technology tools and delivery methods at their disposal than ever before, making it vital that they select the right solution and provider for their business logistics needs. The study also identifies a new trend: companies are buying technology through their third-party logistics (3PL) providers, as well as directly from solutions vendors. The new market research shows cloud computing has opened new ways for logistics managers to deploy best-of-breed solutions. Variable cost and deployment models make initial technology investments more [...]
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MHA Acquired by Roper Industries
Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. (“MHA”), a diversified health care services and technology company focused on alternate site providers has been acquired by Roper Industries. MHA provides expertise in Group Purchasing, Managed Care and Payer Contracting, Reimbursement Management, Specialty Pharmacy Solutions, Pharmaceutical Data Analytics, Clinical Pharmacy Software and Legislative Advocacy. Roper Industries is also a well-diversified company and is a constituent of the S&P 500, Fortune 1000, and the Russell 1000 indices. Among other things, Roper provides engineered products and solutions for global niche markets, including software information networks, medical, water, energy, and transportation. Going forward, the MHA will be [...]
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Novation Dishing Out The Awards at its Annual Supplier Summit
Novation recognized 22 suppliers yesterday at its annual Supplier Summit. These awards were given in recognition of the winners’ superior service provided to the health care organization members of VHA, UHC and Children’s Hospital Association. In addition, Novation also honored an overall supplier of the year with its second annual Mark McKenna award. Mark McKenna served as the president and CEO of Novation from 1999 through 2006. He passed away in October of 2011 after a lengthy battle with cancer. By honoring the overall supplier of 2012 who demonstrated outstanding service, this award continues McKenna’s legacy of putting hospitals and [...]
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California’s Community Medical Centers Joins Premier –PremierConnect Draws Them In
California’s Community Medical Centers joins the Premier Alliance. As central California’s largest healthcare provider and private employer and as a new member (“owner”) of Premier, Community now has the opportunity to collaborate with other Premier members –nearly half of the nation’s hospitals. “Community is excited to partner with Premier to overcome the challenges of this reform environment and lead others in adapting to the changing nature of care delivery with innovative solutions,” said Mr. Jack Chubb, CEO of Community Regional Medical Center. The locally owned nonprofit system will integrate data across its nine network facilities including three acute-care hospitals, as [...]
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Big Pharma Preparing for a Pipeline Shopping Spree, Says GlobalData
Despite a recent fall in deal volume and overall value, some of the pharmaceutical industry’s major players are about to splash out in an effort to restock depleted drug pipelines, says an analyst with research and consulting firm GlobalData. In a new report, Adam Dion, analyst with GlobalData, states that industry leaders such as Pfizer, Merck, GSK and AstraZeneca are paying the price for failing to adequately prepare for the effects of the patent cliff. This report was built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis conducted by GlobalData’s team of industry [...]
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A New IDN is Born: Allegheny Health Network Gains Regulatory Approval in Pennsylvania
What’s in a name? Highmark today announced the creation of Allegheny Health Network (AHN) as the region’s newest integrated delivery system. Having finally secured approval from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department on Highmark’s Form A filing, the hospitals and providers of West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS) will now serve as the anchor of the newly formed and already growing Allegheny Health Network. “Today marks a historic and exciting day for health care in our region. I’m pleased to announce Allegheny Health Network as our integrated health care delivery network,” said William Winkenwerder, Jr., M.D., Highmark’s president and CEO. “Allegheny Health [...]
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Adverse Effects of Hormonal Contraceptives Now On the Docket
I received a note over the weekend from Eric Burns, the immediate past president of Media Matters for America. Along with Karl Frisch, a former communications director, they launched a new company called Bullfight Strategies –and their business is good. The company was founded with a goal to empower clients “to win in the media arena.” It does so by focusing on the right kinds of rapid response narrative, fully conditioned to take advantage of what has become known as “the 15 minute news cycle.” Eric wanted to make sure that Healthcare Matters’ readers were aware of the latest developments [...]
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- Healthcare in the Cloud: Forecast Still Hazy : HIMSS 2013: Top Takeaways Gathering Clouds said: [...] to David McCament’s mind, the future of healthcare cloud is not so clear. In a gue... more
- Time Definite Logistics –MNX Expands Global Network and Adds Track & Trace : Daniel said: Everything is very open with a precise description of the issues. It was definitely inform... more
- Varian Runs a “Clinic” in Effective Lobbying –Harry Reid Rides Shotgun : Thomas Finn said: Thanks for your comment Bo. I do not fully comprehend the differences between the two opti... more
- Varian Runs a “Clinic” in Effective Lobbying –Harry Reid Rides Shotgun : Barton 'Bo' Cooke said: Tom, you nailed it. This rider, put in at the last minute and was rushed into the Congres... more
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