Trying to Measure the Quality of Health Information on the Internet: Is It Time to Move On?

August 11, 2009 · Filed Under net-friendly docs, policy issues, positive patterns, pt/doc co-care, trends & principles · 6 Comments

Patient safety is important, and the safety of internet health data has been an ongoing concern for ages. We now have a great addition to the literature: “Trying to Measure the Quality of Health Information on the Internet: Is It Time to Move On?”

It’s an editorial in the new issue of the Journal of Rheumatology. Citing a JAMA article all the way back in 2002, Amol Deshpande, MD, MBA and Alejandro Jadad, MD, DPhil, FRCPC, FCAHS, say:
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Tags: Alejandro Jadad, Amol, Contrasts, Dphil, Editorial Writers, Health Data, Health Information On The Internet, Health Professionals, Health System, Internet Health, Jama Article, Journal Of Rheumatology, Patient Information, Patient Safety, Peer Review, Predecessors, Quality Assessment Tools, Reliability And Validity, Traditional Criteria, World Groups

X PRIZE Blog Rally:
$10M for Health Care Innovators

May 26, 2009 · Filed Under general · 3 Comments

Scott Shreeve, MD, Senior Health Advisor at The X Prize Foundation and frequent THCB contributor, has asked the health care blogosphere to take part in this blog rally in order to raise awareness about the Healthcare X Prize Foundation competition and encourage public participation in the prize design. Pass the word around and feel free to post this to your own blog if possible.

We are entering an unprecedented season of change for the United States health care system. Americans are united by their desire to fundamentally reform our current system into one that delivers on the promise of freedom, equity, and best outcomes for best value. In this season of reform, we will see all kinds of ideas presented from all across the political spectrum. Many of these ideas will be prescriptive, and don’t harness the power of innovation to create the dramatic breakthroughs required to create a next generation health system.

We believe there is a better way. Read more

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Meaningful Use: The Elephant IS In The Room

May 18, 2009 · Filed Under general, medical records, policy issues, reforming hc, trends & principles · 12 Comments

Comparative Effectiveness: a comparison of the impact of different options that are available for treating a given medical condition for a particular set of patients. Such studies may compare similar treatments, such as competing drugs, or they may analyze very different approaches, such as surgery and drug therapy. The analysis may focus only on the relative medical benefits and risks of each option, or it may go on to weigh both the costs and the benefits of those options.

I am afraid that by focusing so much on HITECH and on the definition of Meaningful Use and Certification on this blog we have been missing on the most important part of the “ARRA” stimulus package , the initial $1.1 bn. funding of Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) to be spent by Sep. 2010. Specifically some of the $400 millions to be used at the discretion of the DHHS Secretary that must be allocated to encourage the development and use of clinical registries, clinical data networks, and other forms of electronic health data that can be used to generate or obtain outcomes data. It certainly looks like the national implementation of EHRs may become fully intertwined with CER.

The minimum definition of “Meaningful Use” as defined in ARRA includes e-prescribing, electronic exchange of medical information and interoperability. These are also the necessary elements to start implementing a national CER strategy. There is just too much at stake this time to think it won’t happen.

e-Patients should become informed about the potential impact of CER for future care. Please read the summary of the “Listening Session of the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research” from April 14, 2009 to get a better understanding why we, the patients & patient groups, must get directly involved in helping to develop the CER private/public infrastructure & activities.

Tags: Adverse Effects, April 14, Arra, Array, Baby Boom Generation, Benef, Benefi, Budget Director, Comparative Effectiveness, Congressional Budget, Congressional Budget Office, Continuous Involvement, Controlled Trial, Coordinating Care, Current Health, Current Position, Data Networks, David Kibbe, Determinant, Dhhs, E Prescribing, Effectiveness Research, EHR, Ehrs, Electronic Exchange, Electronic Health Data, Elephant, Federal Coordinating Council, Federal Health Insurance, Fiscal Balance, Forceful Advocate, Future Care, Hard Evidence, Health Care Costs, Health Care Spending, Health Insurance, Health Insurance Programs, Health Policy, Health System, Hitech, Incoming Head, Informatio, Medical Benefits, Medical Care, Medical Condition, Medical Evidence, Medical Information, medical records, Medical Treatments, Meeting That Took Place, Minimum Elements, National Implementation, Necessary Elements, npr, Obama, Omb, patient groups, Performance Metrics, Peter Orszag, Private Payers, Public Infrastructure, Reinvestment Act, Relative Effectiveness, Researc, Rigorous Assessments, Rising Health Care, Rising Health Care Costs, Secretary Of Hhs, Stimulus Package, Treatment Options, Yeste