Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:
Ending Medicare’s doughnut-hole “death sentence”: One popular provision of the new health reform law closes the much-derided and so-called doughnut hole” in Medicare’s prescription drug coverage. But the hole won’t be completely closed for 10 years, and that’s 10 years too long for many seniors who may be forced to go without medications they need. First some background: When Republicans in 2004 passed a law providing prescription drug coverage for Medicare patients, they did so with a “hole” in the coverage. Medicare stops paying when total drug costs reach $2,830. At that point, Medicare beneficiaries pay until their yearly out-of-pocket expenses reach $4,550, and amounts above that are covered by Medicare. Why does this seemingly harmful and nonsensical hole exist in the first place? It was George W. Bush and Congress’ way of gaming the system, as a means of holding down the cost of the bill to attract more votes. But for seniors who are more interested in, um, breathing than political grandstanding, the doughnut hole has real consequences.
“Three million Americans hit the doughnut hole each year, and for many that’s a death sentence,” said Cathy Levine, executive director of the Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio, an advocacy group.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Once seniors hit the hole, about 15 percent stop taking their prescription drugs entirely. The health reform law admirably takes steps to fill in that hole–starting with a $250 rebate this year, which admittedly isn’t much. In 10 years, Medicare recipients who fall into the hole will be responsible for just 25 percent of their drug costs, which certainly beats 100 percent, but for some that isn’t fast enough. “I have no plan, I’ve been trying to figure it out,” one senior who expects to fall into the hole this year told the Columbus Dispatch. “I just don’t know what we’ll do.”
Sit down, Doc: Doctors who want good satisfaction scores from their patients–and the repeat business that comes with that satisfaction–would be wise to sit down in the exam room when chatting with patients. A pilot study at the University of Kansas showed that when doctors sat down with patients instead of standing, patients thought the doctors spent more time with them even when they hadn’t. In the admittedly limited study, standing visits lasted an average of 1 minute and 28 seconds, but patients thought the appointment lasted an average of 3:44. Sounds good, but contrast that with sitting visits, in which the doctor sat for, on average, one minute, yet patients thought the appointment lasted five minutes. Further, patients who saw a seated doctor “expressed greater satisfaction and a better sense of understanding of their condition,” than those who saw the standing doc, according to the study.
“In most hospitals, physicians want to get in and out of the room and often there’s no good place to sit,” the study’s physician-author said. “But I received uniformly positive responses when ‘sit down. When I stood, people thought they were being rushed or didn’t get questions answered.”
Microsoft–coming to an EHR near you? The gentlemen at Software Advice, a valuable resource for health IT software buyers, take a look at a topic that could be of interest to doctors looking to take advantage of government grants to purchase electronic health records systems. Microsoft curiously is a big player in nearly every major software market but medical, so logic dictates that’ll soon change. That could be big for doctors because, should Microsoft enter the market, they’d be a huge force to be reckoned with given their considerable marketing muscle and support infrastructure. Plus a familiar name like Microsoft could put wary doctors at ease: Physicians often worry that vendors won’t be able to help them if and when something goes wrong with their EHR system. Figuring that Microsoft is highly likely to buy its way into the EHR market, Software Advice speculates on 10 likely acquisition targets for the software behemoth.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Slow suicide by sandwich: In what seems like a monstrosity out of your worst fast-food nightmare, KFC has a new sandwich for those who yearn to kill themselves slowly by shoving 32 grams of fat down their throat in a matter of moments. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Double Down. This bacon-and-cheese sandwich has no need for bread. Instead it substitutes two pieces of fried chicken (or grilled, for the slightly less suicidal) for bread. That’s right, fried chicken instead of bread. Look for it start clogging the nation’s arteries on April 12.
Photo from flickr user arnold | inuyaki
