Health IT

Top February blogs focus on healthcare strategy: Castlight’s IPO, jobs & pent-up entrepreneurs

Some of the more interesting blogs published by our MedCitizens in February 2014 focused on what startup companies are doing, the latest on the healthcare job front and new EHR certification criteria.

It’s time to prioritize health creation – not just care and prevention

by Pritpal S Tamber

So much has happened in the world of Wellthcare I don’t know where to start.

I’m a reductionist at heart so let’s start with a number – 20. This is the percentage that health care contributes to our health, according to Nancy Adler of the University of California, San Francisco. She was writing for ‘Investing In What Works For American Communities’, a project that calls on leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors to build on what we know is working to move the needle on poverty.

It’s worth taking a moment to reflect on that number. It’s small. And yet when you read about health, whether it’s in the mainstream media, academic journals or the effervescent health innovation scene, what you’re really reading about is health care. It’s very rare to read about health creation. Continue reading here.

Castlight’s valuation reflects on the company, not the business opportunity

by Michael Cadger

presented by

This is disappointing news that is more a reflection of poor strategy/execution than the opportunity in the transparency/healthcare digital IT space.

Castlight spent tremendous amounts on establishing a brand and growing FTEs and hiring consultants. It seems to dominate various trade association events to the point the associations appear to be Castlight captives. That’s expensive too; and stifles sector growth and competition.

Castlight very successfully portrayed itself as a giant — and as Kevin Leary (Sharktank) says, “The truth always comes out.” Continue reading here.

Welcome to the war for talent: 4 ways to win all healthcare jobs

by Josh Tolan

The Affordable Care Act is dropping 32 million additional patients into the U.S. healthcare system. This means the war for talent is on, and if you’re not thinking ahead then you’re already behind. Unfortunately a horde of new patients isn’t the only issue facing healthcare recruiting. The skills gap is also making competition for the best candidates downright brutal. According to Careerbuilder, 23 percent of employers have open healthcare positions they just can’t fill due to the difficulty of finding candidates with the right skills.
Continue reading here.

What does a ‘start-up entrepreneur’ look like? They’re older and they have more insurance

by Lisa Suennen

OK, I want you to take a quick test and answer the question with the first thing that comes to mind: What does a “start-up entrepreneur” look like? OK, do you have a picture in your mind?

If you are like most people, I bet your first thought was someone who looks suspiciously like a white male 20-something in a blue hoodie, torn jeans and ironically unhip tennis shoes. And if you stroll through the “typical” tech or health IT startup in Silicon Valley, that is exactly what you see, although there may be a few females sprinkled in. Continue reading here.

I read the Voluntary 2015 EHR certification criteria so you don’t have to

by Dr. John D. Halamka

There’s nothing like a crisp New England winter evening, a roaring fire, a cup of cider, and a 242 page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to fill your Friday night.

I’ve summarized the preamble and all 50 criteria to save you time as you consider the proposals during the 60 day comment period. Note that no vendor needs to implement 2015 criteria and no provider needs to adopt 2015 certified software, hence the term voluntary. In many ways, this document is meant to signal what might be included in the 2017 edition that supports Meaningful Use Stage 3.
Continue reading here.

View more MedCitizen contributions on MedCity News

Interested in adding your thoughts to the website? As a MedCity MedCitizen you can publish your own thoughts, stories and perspectives on MedCityNews.com alongside our own staff writers. MedCityNews.com is fast becoming the leading source for business coverage of innovation in healthcare and life sciences, and you can start speaking to our considerable audience today. Sign up here.

MedCity has a new topic we focus on every month.
In March we are specifically looking at digital health and wellness: What is really working?

If you have opinions, ideas or analysis to share on on digital health and wellness, email Editor Veronica Combs.
In February, our Google+ Hangout focused on big data in healthcare. Watch our panelists discuss how they are making sense of big data.

Related: From predictions to prisoners: 5 blogs you need to read about innovation in healthcare