For more information, or to sign my guestbook, please go to my website: www.the-pi.org.

AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE FOR US ALL

Enough talk – it’s time to make healthcare about caring for health – not restricting services, limiting treatments & increasing costs to patients.  Prescription: A heavy dose of common sense – see how it can be done. (More details available at The Public Interest (pPI ), www.the-pi.org/).

pPI -- THE PUBLIC INTEREST (the-pi.org; the-pi.info)

Dedicated to Mikel and Auntie Eva


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We Need Bookkeepers – Not Insurance Companies
We Need Bookkeepers – Not Insurance Companies I’m one of those people who resisted the idea of a Single-Payer, Governmental system for purely financial reasons. My fear is that the government (and we taxpayers) will be taken for a bundle. But you know what? We’re already being taken as it is! And, I still fear that most people will think of the Single-Payer system as a (excuse the pun) ‘cure-all’ for healthcare. The drawback, of course, is that we need to address more than just ‘paying’ for healthcare. Results by medical condition published for all to see – and from ...
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Posted by Linda B at 6/26/2007 2:18 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Medical Right Hand – Please Meet Your Left!
My mom has multiple myeloma. She’s on medications that are adversely affecting her potassium levels. So much so, that one day, I was directed to take her to the hospital emergency room right away. While there, we first had to wait in the hallway – all the rooms were filled. That wasn’t ideal, but we were fine. Then they did find us a room with a few other patients. A doctor came in to talk to the patient in the bed next to us. We heard him ask: So, you have a fever? And ...
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Posted by Linda B at 6/19/2007 12:26 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
When the Right Medication Costs Too Much
Or so says the health plan. Micromanaging healthcare has become the latest fashion for health plan providers (I know that’s what we’re supposed to call them, but let’s face it—they’re insurance companies!). I know I told you about my running in circles to get my prescription cleared, but now they’re picking on my 76 year-old mom! I came into her apartment. We said our hellos, and then, almost in tears she tells me: They sent me a letter. They won’t pay for my medicine unless I can prove I’ll die without it...
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Posted by Linda B at 6/12/2007 4:26 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
How to Pay for Results Collection for Healthcare

How to Pay for Results Collection for Healthcare

It will cost too much…

I’ve seen this thrown out as a reason why we shouldn’t go through the effort of collecting risk-adjusted results by medical condition. As I stated in previous blogs, Porter & Teisberg found that costs have been reduced by collecting results by medical condition.

Obviously, ‘it will cost too much’ is just an excuse to avoid accountability.

So, I decided to ...
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Posted by Linda B at 6/6/2007 12:56 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
When You Have to Play Doctor
When You Have to Play Doctor Yes, that’s exactly what I had to do. My mom was recently diagnosed with multiple myeloma – a cancer of the blood that destroys bone... We’re coping…just. But the part that disturbed me, almost as much as the diagnosis, was the lack of someone being in charge of the ‘patient.’ What do I mean? Here’s what happened… My mom was in horrible pain. Her PCP at the time gave her some pain meds, but that was all. We then took her to a pain clinic in an effort to ...
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Posted by Linda B at 5/29/2007 11:27 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Dr. Health Plan

Dr. Health Plan

No, I’m not kidding…My specialist has been struggling to find the right HRT (hormone replacement therapy) for me. I’ve tried over 10 different combinations of hormones – none of which have worked long term unfortunately.

So, you’d expect my health plan to have understood that I can’t simply take any old formula, right? Wrong! But it’s easy to figure out why my health plan chose to try to pressure me into using a particular HRT – again!

You may have heard of Premarin. That stand for pregnant mare’s urine (yes, that’s ...
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Posted by Linda B at 5/22/2007 1:29 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
More Successes from Results Reporting
Cardiac Surgery: "Cardiac surgeons pioneered the development and use of outcome measures more than three decades ago."The Veterans Administration started it off in 1972 with a ‘multihospital database’ of unadjusted mortality rates for cardiac surgery. Then there were other players, but in 1989, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS, www.sts.org) developed risk-adjusted measures and "began collecting voluntary adult cardiac surgery data and compiled a national risk-adjusted database." Then the New York Department of Health required similar risk-adjusted outcomes reporting for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures. Independent cardiothoracic surgeons came up with these measures. ...
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Posted by Linda B at 5/16/2007 3:17 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Knowing Past Results Improves Current and Future Results
More Examples of Results Improving Healthcare Pediatric Oncology demonstrates the incredible improvements results analysis can offer. "In the 1960s, childhood cancer was nearly always fatal within five years. Today the survival rate is over 75%..." Wow! According to the Book, "the tragedy of young children suffering and dying created a sense of urgency and a sense of community to improve treatments." A true feeling of cooperation, sharing data, ‘good communication and mutual support’ made this effort so successful. The Book goes on to say that it could be even better. Right now, ...
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Posted by Linda B at 5/8/2007 10:55 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Examples of Results Reporting Successes
Examples of Results Reporting Successes Founded in 1955, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) was the thrust behind collecting results data for this children’s disease. Since they began, the lifespan for patients have improved from 10 years in 1966 to 18 years in 1972 and to 33 years in 2003!
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Posted by Linda B at 5/1/2007 3:57 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Results Reporting -- A Baby Step for ICUs
Results Reporting -- A Baby Step for ICUs Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) For those who say no to results reporting -- you're too late! Healthcare professionals have begun to recognize the need to evaluate total information -- not waiting for costly, long-term clinical trials -- to improve healthcare delivery. APACHE is a first step for Intesive Care Units (ICUs)...
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Posted by Linda B at 4/24/2007 2:11 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
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