MIT invents machine for fast pharma prototype-making
"If there was an emergency you could have these little plants located all over. You just turn them on and you start turning out different pharmaceuticals that are needed."
Price transparency regulation: Spotty staff training poses challenge to enforcement
There is no penalty in the state law for hospitals or doctors who give inaccurate prices or don’t tell patients how much something will cost.
presented by
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Harvard Medical School study finds symptom checker websites unreliable
A Harvard Medical School study reviewed 23 sites, such as WebMD, the Mayo Clinic and DocResponse. One third listed the correct diagnosis as the first option for patients.
Massachusetts inches within 1 percent of a fully insured population
When Massachusetts passed its landmark health coverage law under Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006, no one claimed the state would get to zero, as in 0 percent of residents who are uninsured. But numbers out this week suggest Massachusetts is very close. Between December 2013 and March of this year, when the federal government was […]
Massachusetts patients can ‘shop’ for healthcare, doctors must give prices to customers
Here’s an essential question: Is it possible to actually list prices for childbirth, MRIs, stress tests and other medical procedures? And will patients, armed with health care prices, begin to shop around for where (and when) they “buy” care? Massachusetts is trying to find out with a new requirement that hospitals and doctors tell patients […]
Price transparency, a longterm goal in future of healthcare, tough to obtain even with Mass. law
Finding out how much an X-ray costs sounds like a simple question. But it is actually very difficult to get an answer. In Massachusetts, a new state law requires insurers to be able to tell members how much a test, treatment or surgery will cost. But while the new law pulls back the curtain on prices of […]
Health Benefit Consultants, Share Your Expert Insights in Our Survey
Share some of the trends you are seeing among your clients across healthcare, including chronic conditions, behavioral health, healthcare navigation, and more.
Lessons learned from Massachusetts apply to ACA
A lot of the Affordable Care Act supporters point to Massachusetts as proof that signing up the uninsured is a big, but doable task. Here, in 2013, that’s a reasonable conclusion. But back in 2007 and 2008 things were a lot messier, an...
Q & A with Dr. Don Berwick on healthcare and political lessons
Dr. Donald Berwick might be running for Governor of Massachusetts, but he's still got a foothold in his former life. Berwick, most recently known as the acting chief of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, had a long record as the leading autho...
‘Complicated’ program to move patients back home after nursing home stay off to slow start
Two years ago, Dorothy Holmes, then 75, was in the cozy pink bathroom of her mobile home getting ready to shower when she fell. It's the type of accident that's pervasive among older Americans - and it's often the very thing that triggers the end of in...
40,000 health-related apps and no easy way to know which ones work
Christine Porter is hooked on the My Fitness Pal app. In October, after deciding to lose 50 pounds, Porter started typing in everything she eats, drinks and any exercise she gets. “This is like my main page here,” says Porter, who lost 42 p...
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.
How much for an MRI? $500? $5,000? Reporter finds no easy or accurate answer
Massachusetts is launching a sweeping plan to hold down health care costs. A new law is partly designed to get patients to help drive down prices by shopping for medical care. So when I had a series of migraines over the summer, I decided this was an...