Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:
Too much jargon: Nearly nine out of 10 adults have difficulty following routine medical advice, largely because it’s often incomprehensible to average people, according to a federal study. This lack of health literacy leads to unfilled prescriptions and skipped tests, and pushes up the nation’s healthcare bills.
Hospitals’ impact on the economy: In an attempt to influence regulators, politicians and anyone who’ll listen, the American Hospital Association is trying quantify hospitals’ impact on America’s economy. The AHA says hospitals “support” one in nine jobs in the U.S.–a number that’s predicated on the assumption that each hospitals job creates 2.8 additional jobs. I guess we’ll leave it to the economists to evaluate that.
DIY healthcare: One MD/MBA really believes in consumer-driven healthcare. “I am talking about consumers being able to order their own lab tests without involving a physician … and self-prescription of certain categories of medications (e.g., statins).”
Don’t cold call: Venture Beat shares a list of the five most common mistakes rookie entrepreneurs make when dealing with venture capitalists, including attempting cold calls, asking for NDAs and obsessing over valuation.
Getting a joint replacement: The number of joint replacements in America exceeded 800,000 last year, and is only expected to keep rising. It’s probably safe to say that if you don’t know anyone who’s had one, you will (or you’ll get the procedure yourself) someday. It’s in that spirit that the New York Times publishes a guide to getting a joint replacement. As always, do your research.
Hospital hip hop: Ragan.com compiles a number of hip hop videos starring hospital staffs, including this one from Southwestern Vermont Health Care.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Photo from flickr user greeblie
