Category Archives: Healthcare Providers
Premier Launches Healthcare Innovators Collaborative
To help life sciences organizations better understand ever-evolving healthcare delivery, measurement, financing and risk, the Premier healthcare alliance has launched the Healthcare Innovators Collaborative. The collaborative shares knowledge from health systems nationwide that are implementing accountable care organizations (ACOs), as well as Premier research on care coordination, new payment models, resource utilization and more. Five pioneering organizations specializing in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, laboratory and more have already joined the collaborative, including: ARUP Laboratories Inc., Salt Lake City; Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Baxter, Deerfield, Ill.; Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis; Integrated Healing Technologies LLC; and Johnson & Johnson Health Care [...]
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New Novation Report Highlights Emerging Cardiovascular Technologies
Novation has just released a report entitled, “Innovations in Cardiovascular Devices,” highlighting promising new technologies and trends in the cardiovascular field. “This is an exciting time in cardiology, where new technology is helping improve care and increase patient quality of life like never before,” said David Richman, Vice President, Sourcing Operations, Physician Preference, Novation. “This report provides member hospitals with the information about new and innovative technologies, such as renal denervation and aortic valve replacements, that will allow them to better serve patients and understand options, and will also impact their supply chain costs.” The report compiles the potential economic [...]
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Oh No! An mHealth Device Tax?
In a hearing yesterday by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on the regulation of the mobile health (mHealth) application market, Benjamin M. Chodor, CEO of Happtique, Inc., an mHealth solutions company, addressed questions relating to the regulation of the rapidly-growing mobile health market. The hearing, “Health Information Technologies: Harnessing Wireless Innovation,” is the first of three hearings on health information technology scheduled for this week by various Energy and Commerce Subcommittees. Noting that more than 40,000 health apps exist on the market to assist healthcare professionals deliver and improve patient care, Chodor [...]
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Insufficient Data Stalls FDA’s Approval of Abbott’s New Heart Device
Staff reviewers for the Food and Drug Administration did not recommend the approval of Abbott Laboratories‘ implantable heart device MitraClip, citing a lack of “valid scientific evidence” of safety and effectiveness. In briefing documents, posted yesterday, the approval of the device was denied, as major questions of safety, efficacy and overall benefit-risk remained unanswered. The device is being tested to treat mitral valve insufficiency. Mitral Valve problems are typically related to a condition where a heart valve does not close properly causing blood to flow back into the heart. Patients with this condition are generally considered high risk for open [...]
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California –Just 1 of 36 U.S. States to Earn a D or F in Pricing Transparency
According to two studies conducted independently by Catalysts For Payment Reform and Healthcare Incentives Improvement Institute, 36 U.S. states are getting a failing grade when it comes to healthcare consumer pricing transparency. But for just a moment, forget about how many U.S. states are stinking up the joint. Wouldn’t we all be better off if the government officials responsible for “improving” this situation were being graded for their performance? Obviously, their efforts are failing so miserably that it begs us to consider if their ineptitude is intentional. Indeed, there are so many ironies related to the system’s persistent ability to [...]
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HMS Delivers New COB Solution –Right on Time for Commercial Insurers
We all have certain experiences that stand out in our respective memories and will forever remain vivid. For many of us, it’s the birth of a child. For me, it was a short period of time between late 1992 and early 1994 when there were actually two incomes in our household –two paychecks. My wife was gainfully employed during that time. I get wispy even thinking about it. We not only had two paychecks, but two sets of benefits. She worked for Glaxo at that time and I worked for a no-name start-up. Her benefits were gold-plated and mine, well, [...]
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Fixing Contracting Process –#1 HIDA Recommendation for Healthcare SCM
The HIDA Educational Foundation today released 15 key recommendations to help supply chain leaders anticipate and respond to trends including declining reimbursements, market consolidation, and healthcare reform. Top recommendations included improving contracting processes to reduce complexity and unproductive costs, linking products to outcomes, and championing data standards. The recommendations resulted from a year-long collaboration between the HIDA Educational Foundation, an affiliate of the Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA), and McKinsey & Company. The top recommendation, “fix the contracting process,” reflects growing awareness of the unnecessary costs that inefficient and unproductive contracting practices add to all levels of the supply chain. [...]
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C.diff: Tell Me More about the Cure
A recent Modern Healthcare article by Rachel Landen entitled “Expanded Efforts against C. diff haven’t Reduced Infections” points out that while efforts to curb the spread of C.diff are increasing, the industry isn’t having much success in curbing the rate of infection. A survey sponsored by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology showed that while 70% of infection preventionists have adopted additional practices to halt the spread of C. diff since March 2010, only 42% have experienced a decline in the infection rate. In fact, 43% have not noticed any improvement. “We are encouraged that many institutions [...]
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Latest Stryker Recalls Based on Failure to Secure 510Ks?
Stryker said it received a warning letter from the U.S. FDA related to quality concerns at its Portage, Michigan facility. Among other things, the letter says that Stryker failed to notify the FDA of a product recall related to a system (The Neptune Waste Management System) that Stryker had taken to market without the proper 510K registration and that it now must oblige its customers to return. Is Jeff Spicoli in charge here? The Neptune Waste Management System is intended to collect and dispose of surgical fluid waste in operating rooms and surgical facilities. The Neptune 2 Ultra can also [...]
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New Yorkers Are Celebrating: “Do the Dew!”
Today was to have been the last day you could legally purchase a large, sugary soda in the big apple. Yes, today should have been that day, but alas, a New York judge intervened and added some ice. How gauche but, thank goodness. I’m reminded of a similar course correction made by Doc Holliday in the movie Tombstone. When presented with a law badge he refused to wear, the good Doctor commented, “my hypocrisy only goes so far.” But at his end, when given his last rights he acknowledged, “it appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds.” In the city that [...]
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GS1 Healthcare US Publishes New Guideline for Pharmaceutical Handling
The GS1 Healthcare U.S. Secure Supply Chain Task Force, consisting of more than 50 members from throughout the supply chain, has developed a guideline to identify and serialize pharmaceutical products using GS1 identification numbers. The guideline titled “Applying GS1 Standards to U.S. Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Business Processes to Support Serialization, Pedigree and Track & Trace” enables pharmaceutical companies to trace the movement of products through the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain. The guideline focuses primarily on best practices and methodologies for product serialization and sharing pedigree and traceability data to support implementation for pending state regulations. Implementing GS1 Standards will contribute [...]
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If Fee-For-Service is Dead –What are Reform’s Essential New Attributes?
In doing my research for this morning’s post, I became more familiar with The Commonwealth Fund and the work it is doing. Definitely some practical, down-to-earth stuff designed to help everyone get on the same page. After all, time is not standing still. The “new rules” of the game are actually being implemented. And because “getting paid” has always been a favorite topic of mine, especially when dealing with complex or evolving systems, I thought the following summary –a summary of the current “ideal” pulled together by The Commonwealth Fund– might be a useful primer. As our current system (U.S. [...]
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Re-admissions Penalties: What the Early Adopters are Saying
We’ve all heard about Medicare penalizing hospitals that have unacceptable re-admission rates for select conditions. For obvious reasons, new types of penalties tend to stick in the front of everyone’s brain. The “new deal” for hospitals that exceed the number of expected re-admissions includes a range of penalties, with a maximum penalty increase in 2013 to 2 percent for discharges starting in 2013 and to 3 percent in 2014. Based on those penalties, Medicare may accumulate savings of up to $8.2 billion over the next seven years. More than 2,200 hospitals faced some level of penalty in the first year. The penalties amounted [...]
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GPO News –Premier Cuts Significant CRM Deals
This past week, Premier struck deals with 4 major players in the cardiac device market for several cardiac rhythm management (CRM) device product groups. The suppliers include, Boston Scientific, Biotronik, Medtronic and Oscor –all have agreed to make selected CRM devices available to members of the Premier network. According to a prepared statement, the deal took effect on February 1 and will expand the variety of CRM therapies available to Premier members. In a separate deal that also took effect on Feb.1, Premier cut a new deal for various surgical supply instruments. In other GPO news, HealthTrust finalized deals with [...]
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Healthcare in the Cloud: Forecast Still Hazy
Interest Growing Among Payers and Providers, But Concerns Remain Healthcare Matters would like to thank David McCament for his following guest post. David is a director with ISG: In today’s healthcare environment, relatively immature technology organizations face growing pressure to address mounting business and operational challenges. As a result, many providers are conflicted between reluctance to enter uncharted technological territory on the one hand, and determination to aggressively pursue new initiatives on the other. This dynamic is particularly evident with regard to cloud-based services, as healthcare providers have been relatively slow to embrace cloud-based services. While many analysts and observers [...]
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CRE: Latest “Superbug” to Infect US Hospitals
The bacteria are called Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae and they have killed nearly 50% of the patients who have contracted bloodstream infections from them. Just yesterday, CDC officials published their most recent findings revealing evidence that although CRE is still considered rare, it is also considered an untreatable, antibiotic-resistant “superbug” that is unfortunately and clearly on the rise in U.S. hospitals. The CDC published its findings in a “Vital Signs Report” which outlines action for the healthcare community to take immediately on the individual, regional, and national basis. Early on in 2012, close to 200 hospitals and long-term care facilities treated at [...]
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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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