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Electronic prescribing resulted in greater generic and formulary drug use, according to Crystal Chang, PharmD, and colleagues at Blue Shield of California, San Francisco. It also led to an average cost savings of 17.3% for both the member and the payer.
Women are more likely to look for health information online, according to results of the 2009 National Health Interview Survey.1 Of all those who responded, 45.6% said they had looked up health information on the Internet within the past year. Those aged 25 to 34 years were most likely to seek information online, and those 65 and older were least likely.
The treatment of patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and their various complications has become one of the most discussed and demanded insurance coverage mandates in multiple states. Insurance mandates are being heavily pushed by advocacy groups, especially Autism Speaks, with good success.
On March 2, 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services secretary released a notice of proposed rulemaking for establishing a certification program for electronic health records (EHRs).1
Several months have passed since the publication of the latest US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) breast cancer screening guidelines. The initial, sharp outcry, mainly over the task force’s recommendation against routine screening mammography for women aged 40 to 49 years, has somewhat subsided, but the overall significance of the group’s decision remains undetermined.
Forty-five percent of adults in the United States have hypertension, high serum total cholesterol levels, or diabetes, according to a recent report from the CDC.1 Of these persons, approximately 13% have 2 conditions and nearly 3% have all 3 (Figure 1). In nearly 15% of those with 1 of these conditions, it remains undiagnosed.
Now that President Obama has signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 into law (signed March 23, 2010), what will happen?
American medicine is undergoing the greatest financial scrutiny in its history. The hue and cry for reform stems primarily from the soaring costs of health care. However, placing the blame for these costs solely on increased utilization of technology, cutting-edge pharmaceuticals, cost-shifting hospitals, and physicians misses a bigger mark.
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Pay for performance (P4P) is causing physicians to examine how they provide care individually and collectively within local health systems. It is the most recent attempt by Medicare and commercial payers to reduce the cost and improve the outcomes of health care. Understanding P4P and deciding how to manage the multiple programs being implemented by payers will challenge physicians' ethics and practice resources. Improving health care for musculoskeletal diseases will require cooperation among the specialties that share responsibility for this care and improved methods for coordinating and documenting it.
