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Health Care: A Modern Day Blade Runner?

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Throughout the health ecosystem new technologies and medical advancements enter the market every day. Yet, as Jonathan Bush, President and CEO of athenahealth commented during the 2014 Forbes Healthcare Summit, Only in health care can you increase the staff needed and slow productivity, costing more, by adding new technologies.

His point is well taken. Negative labor productivity is ultimately the underlying complaint of hospital leadership, providers and patients surrounding technology such as electronic health records (EHRs). Although more EHRs enter the market and mergers continue between health systems everyday, the need to actually connect care has sadly been lost in the debate about what software to use and how to use it.

As the President and CEO of Texas Medical Center Robert Robbins pointed out, Just like we are not going back to using pay phones and rotary phones over smart phones, the EHR will never be overtaken by file folders of the past. He contends that there are plenty of opportunities for improvement, but the progress of technology will not be undone because people do not like them, as they exist.

Jonathan Bush used that transition to equate the state of health care technology to the movie Blade Runner, in which a dystopian future involves hover cars and artificial intelligence, but the characters still use pay phones.

While no one can predict with certainty what the future of health analytics and scientific advancement look like, its clear that regression in one area as others surge forward is not an option. Just as we cannot go back to health care in the US before the ACA, the future of health will certainly not look like it does under the ACA.

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Health Care: A Modern Day Blade Runner?

Health Care Sector Update for 12/08/2014: BLRX,CBST,MRK,ALR

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Top Health Care Stocks

JNJ +0.23%

PFE +0.13%

ABT +1.08%

MRK +0.05%

AMGN +1.81%

Health care stocks were mostly higher, with the NYSE Health Care Sector Index climbing about 0.1% and shares of health care companies in the S&P 500 posting a 0.5% gain as a group.

In company news, BioLineRx Ltd. ( BLRX ) rallied Monday after the early-stage biotech company reported positive data from ongoing Phase IIa testing of its BL-8040 drug candidate in patientxs with acute myeloid leukemia.

The prospective chemotherapy triggered substantial mobilization of leukemia cancer cells from the bone marrow to peripheral blood in patients, including a median 70% drop in the number of leukemia in a patient's bone marrow while the number of normal progenitor cells was stable after only two days of BL-8040 monotherapy.

BL-8040 also showed a 350% increase in cell death of leukemia cells in both the bone marrow and in peripheral blood samples during additional testing. There also were no dose-limiting toxicity or serious adverse events during the dose-escalation stage of the trial, the company said.

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Health Care Sector Update for 12/08/2014: BLRX,CBST,MRK,ALR

Stanford Health Policy Forum: Controlling the Cost of Healthcare – Video

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Stanford Health Policy Forum: Controlling the Cost of Healthcare
The United States health care system is a $3 trillion enterprise, the largest in the developed world. Yet Americans often experience more severe access and quality problems, and spend much...

By: Stanford

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Stanford Health Policy Forum: Controlling the Cost of Healthcare - Video

Rally At MP Norlock’s Office Looking For New Health Care Accord – Video

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Rally At MP Norlock #39;s Office Looking For New Health Care Accord
About 25 people attended a rally in front of MP Rick Norlock #39;s Cobourg Constituency Office on Friday, December 5th. The rally was designed to support defiance against the actions taken by the...

By: NorthumberlandView.ca

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Rally At MP Norlock's Office Looking For New Health Care Accord - Video

Health care torch passed to nobody

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Henry Waxman and George Miller spent their congressional careers advocating for reforms. | Getty

Henry Waxman and George Miller spent nearly 40 years pushing universal health care. John Dingell who helped pass the Medicare law in 1965 fought for a vision of health care coverage for all Americans as far back as the Kennedy administration.

Theyre all leaving Congress at the end of this month.

Story Continued Below

Who will be the new health care leaders for Democrats? Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Ben Cardin of Maryland want more delivery system reforms. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington wants better contraceptive coverage and more doctors. All three want to beef up mental health coverage. And Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey arent even saying whats on their agenda they want the Republicans to go first. Its all smaller bore stuff a real comedown from the visions of the past.

The generational upheaval leaves the national health care debate in flux as a new Republican Congress takes control in January. There are no clear grand plans that can break the cycle of Obamacare fights, but the lack of big Democratic ideas and defenders leaves the health care law open to change. In fact, one of the most eagerly awaited proposals is actually coming from Republicans a replacement for Obamacare thats being developed by two possible GOP presidential candidates: Paul Ryan, whos about to become the new House Ways and Means Committee chairman, and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Rubio has described it, but neither one will say when its going to be released.

(Also on POLITICO: Massive spending bill kicks off 113th Congress final chapter)

Some Democrats hope that the changing of the guard occurring as the health care law is starting to run more smoothly means there will be more chances to move on, and even focus on health care issues that dont automatically put both parties at each others throats.

Health care has been in lockdown for the last four years, said Murphy, who took a leading role in pro-Obamacare messaging this year and may become a more prominent health care voice in the next Congress. My hope is that the health care debate will loosen up as the ACA settles in.

The Republicans, meanwhile, are losing Dave Camp, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman from Michigan who played a major role in the GOPs pushback against Obamacare. And Montana Democrat Max Baucus, the former Senate Finance Committee chairman who had a big hand in the writing of the law, left earlier this year to become ambassador to China.

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Health care torch passed to nobody

Small-business Q&A: Explore your health care options

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Q: What options in health care benefits do small business owners have to attract good employees?

A: As competition for talented employees intensifies in the coming years, small businesses will have to find ways to lure and keep good workers. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), less than half of U.S. businesses with fewer than 10 employees offer health insurance. Only 15 percent of companies with 25 to 100 workers do. So, health coverage may well be an important bargaining chip.

One solution is to take advantage of a high-deductible health insurance plan - an HDHP - with a health savings account, or an HSA.

Less costly than conventional plans, HDHPs cover major health and medical expenses for those who can afford some up-front medical costs. Participants have the option to open and make pre-tax contributions to an HSA. Withdrawals are tax-free when spent on qualified medical expenses. Unspent HSA funds carry over, so you can accumulate significant balances over time.

What's more, employer contributions to a tax-favored HSA are exempt from payroll taxes. As a result, premiums can be 40 percent lower in a high-deductible HSA-qualified health insurance plan than those in a conventional co-pay plan. The National Association of Health Underwriters site, http://www.nahu.org, has helpful information on HSAs.

Also, the Affordable Care Act, the ACA, offers incentives to small businesses that want to provide insurance for their employees. Businesses with 50 or fewer full-time employees can shop for health care with the federal Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplaces for comparing insurance companies and plans. Currently, small businesses pay on average 18 percent more than larger businesses for health insurance.

The SHOP Marketplace offers small employers increased purchasing because small employers can pool their risks and reduce costs. If you have fewer than 25 employees and you supply health insurance for all of your full-time employees via SHOP, you can get tax credits of up to 50 percent of the cost.

Businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees that provide health insurance could be eligible for full tax crediting. For more information on the ACA provisions for small businesses, visit sba.com and go to the tab on managing a business.

There's much more to learn about the ACA at the SCORE workshop 'Understanding the Affordable Healthcare Act' presented by Khoa Ho of Agility Insurance Services. It's open enrollment time, so learn about health care reform, what you can buy, when and how. To register, visit http://www.scorehouston.org.

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Small-business Q&A: Explore your health care options

Q&A: Acting El Paso VA director Pete Dancy discusses plans to improve patient care

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Acting VA director Pete Dancy talks with Korean War veteran Javier Diaz in the waiting room at the Veteran's Affairs clinic. (MARK LAMBIEEL PASO TIMES)

The immediate goals for the new acting director of the El Paso Veterans Affairs Health Care System are simple: improve healthcare, increase staff and rebuild the trust between patients and the VA.

Acting El Paso VA director Pete Dancy has been here three weeks, taking over a center that had patient problems similar to most of the VA centers in the country.

In El Paso, veterans seeking a mental health appointment had to wait an average of 60 days, while initial specialty care appointments had an average wait time of 90 days, according to a report by the U.S. Office of Inspector General. The results of the report showed El Paso had some of the longest wait times in the nation for primary patient care, ranking it 123 out of 128 VA health care systems.

Dancy, who is replacing John Mendoza as the director and will hold the position for up to 120 days, met with the media last week to discuss the current state of the veteran health care system in El Paso, his plans to improve it and what veterans can expect in the coming months.

Q: When you took over, what was the state of the El Paso VA healthcare system?

A: I found that from a staff standpoint that we have 800 staff members that are committed to providing excellent care to our veterans. Forty percent of which are veterans themselves. So I think from the standpoint of the foundation, we got a great staff here. As the OIG (U.S. Office of Inspector General) report identified, there are some gaps in terms of access, staffing, etc. I think from the foundation that is what I found when I got here.

Q: What are some of the changes you have planned for the VA system in El Paso?

A: One of the things I did on the first day was identify four focus areas that I wanted the El Paso VA to concentrate on. Those focus areas are access to care, second is patient-centered care, the third area is strengthening veteran and stakeholder trust in the El Paso VA, and the fourth area is continuous readiness. What I have done specifically is I have reached out to our veterans. I just had a veteran focus group today (Friday) with four veterans and basically articulated what those areas were. Plus equally as important, I asked them what their thoughts on the El Paso VA are and they were able to provide that feedback, so I am using that as kind of a baseline to make some changes.

Q: What did they (the four veterans) tell you?

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Q&A: Acting El Paso VA director Pete Dancy discusses plans to improve patient care

RSNA14: Whats the biggest misconception about radiology today? – Video

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RSNA14: Whats the biggest misconception about radiology today?
What #39;s the biggest misconception about radiology today? That it is an ancillary service. Listen in to our expert, Dr. Hiremath of Aurora Health Care, on why radiology the science of using...

By: GE Healthcare

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RSNA14: Whats the biggest misconception about radiology today? - Video

Health Care Transformation: Affirming the Central Role of Medical Education – Video

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Health Care Transformation: Affirming the Central Role of Medical Education
AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., delivered "Health Care Transformation: Affirming the Central Role of Medical Education" at the inaugural 2014 AAMC Medical Education Meeting in...

By: AAMCtoday

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Health Care Transformation: Affirming the Central Role of Medical Education - Video


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