A blog covering the health/care ecosystem and people.

It is no surprise that sicker, poorer people in the U.S. have concerns about how they’ll access and pay for health care in the future. What stands out in the latest Commonwealth Fund Survey of Public Views of the U.S. Health System, published in an April 11, 2011, Issue Brief, is that most U.S. health citizens in the healthiest, wealthiest demographic groups worry about accessing and paying for health care in the future. The chart highlights these findings: overall, 7 in 10 people worry about not getting high-quality care when they will need it, or that they won’t be able to pay

“Life well shared” is the tagline for Reader’s Digest. The publication began in 1922 and was, until 2009, the #1 best-selling magazine in the U.S. (losing its position to Better Homes and Gardens). How does a magazine that’s over eight decades old stay relevant? More digital offerings appeared in 2010. And, in 2011, Reader’s Digest is collaborating with one of the most well-used and -respected online health social networks, OrganizedWisdom (OW). How did this collaboration come to be? I spent some quality time in February 2011 with Unity Stoakes, co-founder of OW with Steven Krein, in New York City, the geographic HQ of OW.

While 8 in 10 U.S. adults want a physician to have primary responsibility for the diagnosis and management of their health care, many people are not sure who’s a medical doctor. Surprisingly numbers of health consumers don’t think that orthopaedic surgeons, family practitioners, dermatologists, psychiatrists, and ophthalmologists are MDs. The American Medical Association‘s survey, Truth in Advertising, published in January 2011, follows up the AMA’s 2008 survey which had similar results.  Data based on consumers answering the question, “Is this person a medical doctor,” are organized in the chart. 90% of people say that a physician’s additional years of medical education

An Explanation of Benefits (EOB) came in the U.S. mail yesterday. A plain piece of white 8.5″ x 11″ printed in tiny font with black ink, the logo of my health insurance company in the upper left of the form, and several lines of words and numbers showing me names of providers and facilities, dollar amounts billed, dollar amounts discounted, dollar amounts paid to the providers, and dollar amounts that were the patient’s responsibility — that would be me. The procedure was for a colonoscopy, for preventive screening and base lining for future reference. The good news: my colon looks just fine, and I’ll be reminded

Now that the turkey, champagne, stuffing and other glorious carbs have been consumed. the real dessert is whipped cream on the pumpkin pie: the gift of a conversation about Life and Grace. We each have our stories about how a loved one’s life has ended. If we’re lucky, that beloved person had a good death: in sleep, perhaps, or of simply old age with no hospital events or trauma. Then there are the Rest-of-Us who have the stories of long and painful endings. When you’re already in the situation of making tough health decisions, it’s tough, it’s emotional, it’s irrational,

Their website now talks about it being the “Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company.” Most of us still think of it as the biggest food company in the world. It’s spending one-half billion dollars to expand in health. Nestlé, which brings baby food, bottled water, bars of chocolate and breakfast cereal to kitchen tables is now bringing us Health. The new group will be known as Nestlé Health Science. The company’s existing health business is already valued at about $1.6 billion.  “The combination of health economics, changing demographics and advances in health science show that our existing health care systems, which focus on treating

The usual questions a rational health citizen might ask when selecting a physician based on quality aren’t consistently yielding the best choices, according to a study funded by The Commonwealth Fund, Associations Between Physician Characteristics and Quality of Care. Researchers found that individual physician-comparative parameters such as malpractice claims and disciplinary actions, years in practice or medical school ranking had no significant association with better quality performance. Female physicians (vs. male) and Board certification had small significance, 1.6 points and 3.3 points, respectively. This study’s results demonstrate that the metrics consumers assume should be useful proxies for physician quality aren’t as useful

2 in 3 American adults use a broadband connection at home. Among those who don’t have high-speed access at home, most don’t go on the internet at home, and the others who do use dial-up connections (only 5% of adults). The Pew Internet & American Life Project knows more about Americans’ use of the internet than probably any other research organization, and their report, Home Broadband 2010, presents a comprehensive snapshot of how people in the U.S. are using the internet as of May 2010. The most striking statistic in Pew’s survey is that growth of broadband among African-Americans grew in double-digits

Now showing in a 60-second spot during the 6 o’clock news: Andy Griffith’s got the starring role in promoting the peoples’ use of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). Here is the announcement of the ad in The White House blog of July 30 2010. In the ad, Andy, now 84, recalls the signing of Medicare by President Johnson and moves into some details about the good things PPACA brings to seniors in the U.S. The Christian Science Monitor covers the story and shows the video here. This has caused quite a stir among Republicans who say

Without trust, health consumers won’t engage with organizations who want to cure them, sell to them, promote to them, help them. Here’s what I told a group of  pharmaceutical marketers at The DTC Annual Conference in Washington , DC, on April 9, 2010. Let’s start with the World Health Organization’s definition of health: that is, the state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not just the absence of disease. This definition is being embraced by health citizens long before the silos in the health industry – including pharma – get it. That’s an important mindset to take on as

Being younger demographically doesn’t mean you’re younger, digitally-speaking. Your Real Age isn’t your Digital Age, according to Wells Fargo‘s survey into Americans’ use of advanced tools for daily tasks. The categories of peoples’ digital maturity include: – Digital teens, who are people who are online but don’t use all tools at a ‘high level’ – Digital novices are those people who manage basic tasks online but aren’t yet connecting with others online or managing more complex tasks – Digital adults have the highest digital age, as demonstrated by their using online tools for daily tasks, interacting with others online, and

Poverty is a problem for all of us…and it reaches across the generations. The health effects of poverty begin in early childhood and persist through a person’s lifetime. Poor children have a higher rate of asthma and lower rates of cognitive development. By middle age, diabetes and heart disease hit the poor harder than more affluent Americans. Among older Americans, those living below the poverty line are far more likely to have three or more chronic conditions than those whose incomes are four times greater than the poverty line. Poverty costs not only the poor, but the overall U.S. economy

  This is open enrollment season for those workers fortunate enough to (1) still be employed and (2) still be offered a health benefit. It’s also the season of economic decline. According to Watson Wyatt, these workers are making different health and benefit decisions in this fiscally-constrained era. Watson Wyatt has released its 2008 version of the report, Employee Perspective on Health Care. Some of the most dramatic health behavior changes this year include: Only 19% of employees are willing to pay higher premiums to keep deductibles and copayments lower. In 2007, 38% were willing to do so. 66% of

  Most employees covered by health insurance favor health plans that provide access to and cover alternative medicine services.   Yet only one-half of these employees feel it’s important for a health plan to require employees to eat properly and exercise, and to provide evidence of such healthy behavior. There’s a disconnect in consumers’ minds between actual lifestyle behaviors and understanding how to use health benefits. I’ve talked about health plan literacy in Health Populi before. Guardian’s survey demonstrates a facet of that phenomenon. According to the 2008 Benefits & Behavior: Spotlight on Medical survey from Guardian Life Insurance Company,

Most Americans believe there are fair and reliable ways to gauge the quality of health care. 9 in 10 Americans are interested in their health plans having a website where you can rate doctors on issues like trust, communications, medical knowledge, availability and office environment – and participating on such social networks (THINK: The Health CAre Scoop or Zagat/WellPoint). The latest Wall Street Journal/HarrisInteractive survey published March 25 finds that 3 in 4 consumers favor patient satisfaction surveys – once again asserting they value opinions from peers (aka “people like me”) even more than those coming from institutions, whether private

U.S. News and World Report is well-known for its Top 100 “best” lists assessing hospitals, doctors, and health plans. Watch for it to further build its position as consumer health information provider for Americans by expanding into a comprehensive health portal online. U.S. News published this cover in November 2004. So the magazine is no newcomer to this role. However, the publication and its editors (and savvy financial management) recognize the opportunity to exploit their brand position in the consumer health information space. This isn’t just about arming Americans with health information to be ‘smart.’ This is a smart move