The Economist: Is Health 2.0 Good Medicine?
Economist (ĭ-kŏn’ə-mĭst) n. 1. A specialist in economics 2. An economical person. My father has been a subscriber to the Economist magazine for as long as I can remember. He continually sings its praises and regularly feeds me a steady stream of relevant articles. I have come to appreciate the Economist as the pinnacle of […]
Section I: The American Health Care Crisis and the Emergence of Health 2.0
Health 2.0 (helth tū dŏt ō) n. 1. The defining technology of Web 2.0 (search, wiki/blogs, mash-ups, etc) applied in the health care setting2. New concept of healthcare wherein constituents focus on healthcare value, compete based on outcomes, and provide new delivery methods that enable universal access to high quality care I. The American HealthCare [&he
White Paper: The Many Colors of Health 2.0
White Paper (hwit pā’pər) n. 1. A government report. 2. An authoritative report on a major issue, as by a team of journalists. Congratulations to Matthew and Indu regarding the Health 2.0 Conference officially selling out yesterday (this is the good kind of selling out, as opposed to the bad kind of selling out). […]
Pay for Confusion: Current State of P4P
Confusion (kən-fyū‘zhən) n. Impaired orientation with respect to time, place, or person; The act of confusing or the state of being confused; an instance of being confused A disturbed mental state. There have been several recent articles over the past week regarding Pay for Performance (P4P). I have previously been critical of the current incantatio
DNA Hucksters – The Future of Snake Oil Salesmanship
(snāk oil) n. 1. A worthless preparation fraudulently peddled as a cure for everything that ails a person.2. A product that has been proven to not live up to the vendor’s marketing hype.3. Speech or writing intended to deceive; humbug. I am a big fan of Direct to Consumer (DTC) testing*, believing that allowing consumers […]
Ginormous: Going Gaga over Google
Gaga (gä’gä’) adj. 1. Afflicted with or exhibiting irrationality and mental unsoundness 2. Completely absorbed, infatuated, or excited OK, it was bound to happen. After more than a year of dithering, whispering, false (advertising) missteps, and hinting, it looks like we are going to get our first glimpse of “Google Health” (will th
High Deductible? Try Low Premium!
Deductible (dĭ-dŭk’tə-bəl) n. 1. Something, such as an expense, that can be deducted, as for income-tax purposes. 2. A clause in an insurance policy that exempts the insurer from paying an initial specified amount in the event that the insured sustains a loss. I didn’t really realize that I was such a stickler for words […]
How to Ruin a Quality Pie
Quality (kwŏl’ĭ-tē) n. 1. An inherent or distinguishing characteristic; a property 2. Essential character; nature 3. Degree or grade of excellence I recently had the privilege to be in San Angelo, Texas. While there, I had the occasion to eat at a famous local eatery called Mr. T’s. The restaurant has been in continuous operation […]
The Comeback
Comeback (kŭm’băk‘) n. 1. A return to formerly enjoyed status or prosperity2. A return to popularity3. A Reply, especially a quick witty one; a retort. As a kid, I used to love to listen to LL Cool J. I can still rattle off the rhymes from those summer jam sessions of long ago. One of […]
Open Source 2.0: Return of the Jedi
Jedi (jed ī) n. 1. Keepers of the peace of an ancient and noble monastic organization2. Possess an innate ability to tap into the “force”, an incorporeal energy field generated by all living organisms and permeating the universe and all things within.3. Members of the Jedi order fight for peace, justice, and open sourceA few […]