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13Sep, 2016
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U.S. Health Spending Reaches A New High: 18.2% of U.S. GDP (Part I)

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Recently, the United States crossed yet another major milestone in healthcare spending.  National healthcare expenditures topped $3.2 trillion USD.  This magic number was reached in part by anemic U.S. growth over the last seven years.  That new spending represents 18.2% of gross domestic product (GDP).  Even the most casual reader of this blog should realize that is a staggering number, and we have been tracking healthcare spending fast approaching 20% of GDP (officially).  Candidly, we anticipate much higher numbers for the 14th year mark.  Many of these increases are in […]
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5Aug, 2016
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Brexit and the U.S. Healthcare Space – Any Implications?

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We have been watching with the same amazement that many others worldwide have been regarding the referendum to remain or leave the European Union by voters in the United Kingdom. As someone who left a communist controlled country as a child, I will loudly admit I have a fascination with democracy and free elections. The vote last Thursday was captivating to watch live, and clearly I had a long night here on the East Coast of the U.S. watching the results. We had a gut feeling that the public polls […]
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5Aug, 2016
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Medicare Trust Fund, 20 Years and Counting

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Recently, we published a blog about the finding of the U.S. Federal Reserve on healthcare cost and the impact on inflation. In that blog, we discussed the impending and tectonic shift that is now part of a permanent U.S. law that will transform both fee-for-service medicine in the U.S., and more directly, the government’s Medicare program. This mandate by the Medicare Access and CHIPP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) is bound to change everything in a more dramatic way. First, it limits Medicare increases to providers at 0.5% per year until 2019. […]
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5Aug, 2016
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The United Kingdom

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We read a great deal of information for business, education, and pleasure, concentrating on U.S. healthcare and demographics, as well as the use of technology in healthcare. Although we read many U.S. sources, I will freely admit, we seldom notice the European perspective and only pay attention after one of our friends “across the pond” brings up the old world issues. **Productivity and electronic healthcare record that appeared in the international edition of the International Edition of the New York Times on June 14, 2016. We published a follow-up blog on […]
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5Aug, 2016
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Transformation with Independent Physician: Back to the Future?

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Once again, something crossed my computer screen yesterday that made me change my focus as the basis for the next PWeR News blog. The contributor to our distraction was a report from The Commonwealth Fund – I find their research amazing and always of great value. The report stated: “The mission of The Commonwealth Fund is to promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults.”  Who doesn’t […]
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5Aug, 2016
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More Healthcare is Not Always Better Healthcare: A Conversation With a Friend

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Recently, a friend asked me why I was so strong on managed care, pay-for-performance (in most cases, however, clearly not all), outcomes measurements, capitated payments, or a combination of these. The presumption my friend has is that effectively anything that reduces cost, reduces care and options for the doctor-patient relationship. The assumption that many have is that for an insurance company or managed-care company, it is in their best interest to deny care and reduce costs. This clearly does not place the patient’s wellness first. However, I explained to my […]
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23Jun, 2016
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The FED Speaks on Medical Cost

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On May 9, 2016, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco released an Economic Letter titled, “Medicare Payment Cuts Continue to Restrain Inflation.” This got our attention. From our perspective, the good news was wrapped around a disturbing problem. The Summary read: A steady downward trend in healthcare services price inflation over the past decade has been a major factor holding down core inflation. Much of this downward trend reflects lower payments from public insurance programs. Looking ahead, current legislative guidelines imply considerable restraint on future public insurance payment growth. […]
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14Jun, 2016
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The Technology S-Curve and EHRs

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We received an email this week from a friend who posed some very good comments about the U.S. health information industry, and in particular, the U.S. EHR market. In the email, I was referred to key parts of an article that was published recently (discussed below). His comments: “There was an interesting article in the International New York Times yesterday, which examined why the economic payoff from technology is so elusive, and it focused on electronic medical records. A Tennessee doctor found that switching to digital medical records lowered his productivity, as […]
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1Jun, 2016
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Digital Transformation and Payors – What to Expect by 2020

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We have spent a great deal on the PWeR News blog discussing how the digital transformation is affecting our nation with a clear focus on healthcare. Thousands of words were written on how the digital age can change the quantity, quality and cost of healthcare. We have written extensively on how little technology has actually transformed healthcare, particularly at the medical office, the MSO or the ACO and the consumer. For the most part, I have bypassed the hospitals, as they are their own animal, and the data they collect […]
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26May, 2016
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Digital Revolution Part 4 – AAPL?

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Once again, I find myself delaying other blogs to address what a friend, mentor, and supporter had sent me. I received a news article on Tim Cook, the President of Apple, Inc. (AAPL) First, I will admit that even though I have an iPhone 6S, I am not a fan of Apple, so this is not a glass-eyed adoration. I was a first generation IBM-PC guy from the start; in part, because the PC was at first a locally engineered product based in Boca Raton, Florida. I will also admit […]
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