Docs Going Digital

There’s an interesting article in the July 2005 Business 2.0 entitled "Helping Doctors Go Digital."

It talks about an application that runs on Palm and Pocket PC devices call Epocrates Essentials (1 in every 4 docs subscribes to it). It is free for basic drug data and starts at $60 a year for information like disease profiles and diagnostics.   

This sounds like a perfect partner for C-Tools down the line.

Experts discuss health care policy

Two policy-focused groups are looking at health care spending this week, so be sure to check out The Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation.

First, on June 20 the Brookings held "Health Policy Initiative Public Forum: Biting the Bullet on Health Care Costs." According to the Brookings web site statement, "Brookings Senior Fellow Isabel Sawhill moderated the first of a series of public discussions on the Brookings health policy initiative on Monday. This forum focused on strategies to slow the growth of health care spending, particularly in Medicare and Medicaid. You can find the transcript at the Brookings web site.

The second item comes from the Heritage Foundation. A Heritage backgrounder issued this week,"A Road Map for Medicaid Reform," is written by Nina Owcharenko. She says that the "federal–state health care program for the poor and indigent, is long overdue for comprehensive reform. "You can read more about her ideas by visiting the Heritage web site.

Pushing the envelop on healthcare delivery

There are high-profile business leaders who take an interest in big health issues affecting Americans and people all around the world.

For example, Bill Gates (and his wife Melinda) started the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to bring innovations in health and learning to the global community. Now, Steve Case (formerly of AOL fame), has started a new company called Revolution.

There is a difference between the two – one is a foundation and the second is a for-proft company. But, Case’s new concept is intriguing and one that will be getting attention as he moves it forward. I am not trying to promote his work, but it may have an impact healthcare delivery in the future and thus worth a look.

According to the web site Revolution, for the time being the company will focus on three areas: resorts, wellness, and health.

Case says this: "Over the past year, Revolution Health has been working behind the scenes to create the first comprehensive, consumer-driven health care company, designed totally around meeting the needs of consumers and giving them more choice, control, and convenience. There are certainties in life. The need for health care is one of them. The need for a more effective health care system is another. Many who have followed this nation’s health care crisis claim it is too complex and intractable to change. We disagree."

Today’s New York Times article says Case is about to announce a number of business initiatives. Let’s keep an eye on what Case tries to accomplish.

Snapshot of the future?

This article points to some things I think we’re going to see much more of in the future: going outside the US for treatment and using the internet as health advisor. (Excerpted from AP article.)

When Arnaud Durieux needed to get his
teeth fixed about six months ago, the freelance Web designer caught a
flight from New York to his native France.

Because he has no health or dental insurance, he figured this was
his best option to get good care at a good price, even factoring in the
cost of the airplane ticket. The French dentist charged him about $500
for the crown, compared with the $2,000 he says it would have cost him
in New York.

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