Microcapitation: A Case Study
Case Study (kās stŭd’ē) n. A detailed analysis of a person or group, especially as a model of medical, psychiatric, psychological, or social phenomena. An exemplary or cautionary model; an instructive example I have received a couple of off-line questions regarding the concept of micro-capitation, and having responding publicly to one, I sought perm
Taking a bite of the Apple: OK, I finally get it . . .
Grok (grŏk) To understand profoundly through intuition or empathy. To have a thorough understanding of a subject. To take something in so thoroughly that it becomes a part of you. I finally took the plunge. After dropping my laptop at the airport and having my screen die, I finally determined to get a Mac. I […]
Health 2.0: The Long Tail of Health Care
Long Tail (lông tāl) New business phenomenon in which low distribution and storage cost enable significant profits to be realized by selling small volumes of niche items instead of large numbers of popular items. The potential for online retailers to make more money than their bricks and mortar counterparts because there is virtually unlimited “shelf
Health 2.0: Communications Reactor Panel – Introducing David Sobel, MD, MPH
Provider (prə-vī’dər) n. 1. One who supplies a means of subsistence. 2. One that makes something, such as a service, available. This is part 2 of a 4 part interview series (see previous here) in anticipation of the upcoming Health 2.0 Conference. This second interview is with David S. Sobel, MD, MPH physician extraordinaire from […]
The New Network – Hello, Carol!
Medical Network (mĕd’ĭ-kəl nĕt’wûrk‘) 1. A group of health care providers who have organized themselves to provide care 2. Provider organizations who voluntarily group together and are utilized by insurance companies to seek discounted pricing in exchange for additional volume of patients for the provider. I am pleased to comment on th
Overtreated and Underinformed: Too Much Medicine, Not Enough Evidence
Overtreated (ō’vər trēt ĭd) n. The act, manner, or method of handling or dealing with someone or something. Administration or application of remedies to a patient or for a disease or injury; medicinal or surgical management; therapy The substance or remedy so applied. Over the holidays, I was able to read a raft of some […]
Dyscoordinated: Healthcare’s Line Item Problem
Dyscoordinated (dĭs-kō-ôr‘dn-āt‘ĭd) n. To purposefully prevent harmoniously working together To purposefully prevent pleasing combinations; or matches of form and function To purposefully prevent harmony of common actions or efforts In addition to doing a little Health 2.0 Experiment in my last post, I have to followup with the actual delive
Reality Check: From Headlines to Prime Time
Reality Check (rē-ăl’ĭ-tē chĕk) n. 1. An assessment to determine if one’s circumstances or expectations conform to reality. 2. The act of letting a real user try out prototype software. 3. Conversationally, saying “sanity check” means you are requesting a check of your assumptions. My wife recently notified me that one of my sons was [&h
Employer-Based Insurance: “Hasta La Vista, Baby!”
Hasta La Vista (äs′tä lä vēs′tä) n. 1. Spanish for “See you later” or “So Long” 2. Healthcare for the provision of “Employer Based Insurance” I can distinctly recall the moment I first heard these now famous words in the 1991 Summer Blockbuster, Terminator II. John Conner was trying to teach the outdated Terminato
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