Environmental Scan

Note, to comply with intellectual property laws, news stories below will be summarized and when appropriate, include a web link that may require either a paid subscription or free registration for access.

SPECIAL UPDATE: New England Journal of Medicine: Redesigning Primary Care:
http://www.nejm.org/perspective/primary-care-video/

AAFP NEWS NOW

Family Practice Management (FPM)

ACCESS TO CARE

Can Midlevels Save Primary Care?
HealthLeaders Media, November 20, 2008
“When workforce shortages reach a certain threshold, they often begin to feed on themselves, creating a self-reinforcing cycle that is difficult to break.”
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/223789/topic/WS_HLM2_PHY/Can-Midlevels-Save-Primary-Care.html

MEDICAL TOURISM

Insurer Offers Option for Surgery in India
NY Times, November 21, 2008
“The health insurer Wellpoint is testing a new program that gives covered patients the option of going to India for elective surgery, with no out-of-pocket medical costs and free travel for both the patient and a companion.
The program is being tested at Serigraph, a printing company in Wisconsin whose managers have been looking for ways to curb rising health care costs.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/health/21abroad.html?ref=health

Media highlights from the Medical Tourism Association
(There was interest from some chapter executives on learning more about medical tourism and this site has some good information.)

CMS

Obama Appoints Former Sen. Daschle As HHS Secretary, Democratic Officials Say
New York Times, November 20, 2008
“Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) has accepted an offer from President-elect Barack Obama to become the new HHS secretary, according to Democratic officials, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/us/politics/20transition.html?_r=1&ref=politics

E-HEALTH

E-Prescribing
Few doctors sign off on online prescribing
Washington Post, November 25, 2008
“In an effort to nudge more physicians to use technology that transmits prescription orders from a computer to the pharmacy, the federal government will begin offering bonuses in January to Medicare physicians who write electronic prescriptions. Patients say e-prescribing systems are much more convenient, and proponents say it offers the hope of sharply reducing dangerous and costly medication errors. But overall, just 2% of eligible prescriptions written in the United States are transmitted electronically, according to the eHealth Initiative.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/21/AR2008112102939.html

EMPLOYERS

Shows Incentives And Employee Communications Linked In Driving Health Promotion Programs, Study Indicates
Medical News, November 25, 2008
“Employers now have empirical evidence to guide them as they determine the best ways to drive participation in their health promotion programs. A recent study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and titled "Incentives and Other Factors Associated with Employee Participation in Health Risk Assessments," examines the various factors that influence employee participation in health risk assessments (HRAs).”
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/130772.php

Health Insurance Deductible Of $1,000 Becomes The Norm In 2008, From $500 In 2007, Mercer Survey Finds
Mercer, November, 25, 2008
“The median deductible required by employers for individual coverage in PPO health plans jumped to $1,000 in 2008, up from $500 last year, according to the National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, conducted annually by Mercer and released today. In 2000, only about half of employers imposed a deductible for PPO coverage (compared to about four-fifths today), and when they did the median amount was just $250. PPOs are the most popular type of health plan, enrolling 69 percent of all covered employees.
http://www.mercer.com/summary.htm?idContent=1328445

HEALTH PLANS

Health Plans Propose Guaranteed Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions And Individual Coverage Mandate
AHIP, November 19, 2008
“Health plans today proposed guaranteed coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions in conjunction with an enforceable individual coverage mandate. Under the new proposal, health plans participating in the individual health insurance market would be required to offer coverage to all applicants as part of a universal participation plan in which all individuals were required to maintain health insurance.”
http://ahip.org/content/pressrelease.aspx?docid=25068

Studies say private Medicare plans have added costs, for little gain
New York Times, November 24, 2008
“Private health insurance plans have increased the cost and complexity of the program without any evidence of improving care, researchers say in studies. The studies, questioning the value of some private plans for Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers, were issued as President-elect Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats take aim at the plans and consider cutting the payments they receive. Enrollment in private Medicare plans has nearly doubled in five years, to 10.1 million.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/business/24medicare.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1227528126-JgXUUAwtsL3YM9hYQPVTSQ

A Fee Change by Blue Cross/Blue Shield Cuts Deep
WSJ, November 26, 2008
“Federal employees are upset because under the BleuCross and BlueShield’s standard health benefits plan, patients will pay 100 percent for an operation by an out-of-network physician, up to a maximum of $7,500, "per surgeon, per surgical day," according to the Service Benefit Plan. Currently, the rate is 25 percent of what the company sets for a procedure, plus any difference between that and the billed amount.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/25/AR2008112502576.html?sub=AR

Free Online Health Record Launched for BlueCross Medicare Advantage Members
BCBS Tennessee, November 24, 2008
“You've just received a reminder to refill your prescription or a helpful tip about managing your high blood pressure. But it's not the doctor or a family member who's assisting you; instead, it's your online personal health manager.”
http://www.bcbs.com/news/plans/free-online-health-record.html

HOSPITAL

NH hospitals to adopt same color-coded wristbands
Boston Globe, November 11, 2008
“Hospitals often use color-coded wristbands to identify patients who have allergies, Do Not Resuscitate orders or who are at risk of falling. But those colors vary among facilities, creating the potential for confusion when doctors and nurses work at more than one hospital or patients are transferred.
To eliminate that confusion, the Foundation for Health Communities helped get hospitals to agree to standardize the colors they use
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/...

QUALITY CARE

Coalition Of National Organizations Urges Steps To Reduce Health Care Costs, Improve Quality
National Priorities Partnership, November
“A coalition of 28 national organizations, such as AFL-CIO, Consumers Union and CDC, has formed the National Priorities Partnership, a group that seeks to reduce health care costs and improve quality of care.”
http://www.nationalprioritiespartnership.org/