- ConsumerReports.org – Self-test kits: Ratings, How to choose – The Good and Not So Good about this report – GOOD: Consumer Reports publishes an article looking at the accuracy of blood pressure monitors, testing them against medical technicians using a mercury sphygmomanometer. Also, nice quote from an MD representing the American Heart Association about the empowering effect of self-monitoring. NOT SO GOOD: A vague recommendation that "patients home monitor" – they did not cite the AHA recommendations about frequency and duration (just twice a day, for 7 days at a time, don’t bring the monitor to work, don’t do it more than twice per day), which may lead to excess or inaccurate monitoring of the condition. I think this is reflective of the fact that the medical profession still has not bought into the value of self-monitoring, and the industry hasn’t bought into reimbursing for it. In the future, reimbursement would be in the form of clinician time to assess and manage conditions, rather than patient time to come into the office, where the readings will be less predictive of a patient’s condition anyway. It could be as simple as a slight change to a pre-existing CPT code for Ambulatory BP Monitoring, which almost no one uses, because 24-hour around the clock blood pressure monitoring is a procedure that has not been state of the art for a long time.
Archive for September 18th, 2008
ConsumerReports.org – Self-test kits: Ratings, How to choose : The Good and Not So Good
September 18th, 2008 | Popularity: 24% 0 comments | Leave a replyIBM Health Care Executives Receive Highest Honor from American Academy of Family Physician — Media Center — American Academy of Family Physicians
September 18th, 2008 | Popularity: 17% 0 comments | Leave a replyFrom the AAFP press release:
“Comprehensive, continuous, patient-centered, personal and holistic primary care which is based on strong relationships between patients and their physician — this is foundational to good health. Practice and payment reform are the prescriptions for achieving it,” Grundy recently told health care blogger, Ted Eytan, M.D.
I am happy to be told anything, anytime by Paul Grundy – his energy and interest in doing the right things for patients everywhere make him a fine addition to the community of America’s Family Physicians. Welcome, Paul!
Revolution Health: Heralding the Demise of "Health 2.0"? | Trusted.MD Network
September 18th, 2008 | Popularity: 29% 7 commentsRevolution Health: Heralding the Demise of “Health 2.0″? | Trusted.MD Network
Is Health 2.0 in demise or not?
This is an opinion column followed by a lively discussion, including a comment from Matthew Holt.
My comment: I don’t think it is .
Why? Because Health 2.0 is not a company. It’s not a person. It’s a different way of thinking about health, and it’s a way that’s being thought of by many people who are disappointed in Health 1.0. As Susannah Fox said, “When over 80 % of people are online, the horse is out of the barn.”
People are interested in Health 2.0 (me included) because they want patients to win, where they are not winning in Health 1.0 (look at the data around hypertension management).
The challenge of commentary that is of the demise-prediction variety in the case of the Internet/Web2.0/Health2.0 is that it reads as anti-patient, and I don’t think our profession is anti-patient or wants to be perceived as anti-patient.
As I have mentioned previously, I think it’s a better place for us to listen to what people are actually doing, do it with them, and help them leverage it for their health. Companies will come and go; people’s desire to achieve their life goals will be a constant.
First Responders Fail To Check Cell Phones for Medical Information – iHealthBeat
September 18th, 2008 | Popularity: 9% 0 comments | Leave a reply- First Responders Fail To Check Cell Phones for Medical Information – iHealthBeat – Points to the challenges faces by first responders.
