Patients in the Czech Republic can now see a doctor for about $1.85, and a day in the hospital can verge on $4. This is not cause for celebration. Czechs visit their doctors more often than anyone else in Europe, and the prices have led to great outrage. All countries struggle with how best to provide affordable healthcare to their citizens without breaking the bank, and in places like the Czech Republic the state long took care of them. Now, there is a sense of betrayal due to the fees because many Czechs see it as a matter of principle that healthcare should be free.
The National Nurses Organizing Committee has joined forces with Concerned Citizens of Broadlands in fighting the HCA proposal to construct the proposed Broadlands Regional Medical Center in Virginia. The Concerned Citizens of Broadlands and the nurses union said they would prefer to see a hospital built in another location, where it would have less impact on residents. The union has also formed the HCA RN Network to protect HCA nurses from what representatives said are poor working conditions.
Texas-based JPS Health Network has appointed Senior Vice President Robert Earley, a former state representative and healthcare consultant as interim chief executive. Earley said he will listen to JPS board members, the medical staff and taxpayers in determining how to move the public hospital forward. Recent revelations have roiled the taxpayer-financed healthcare system, particularly concerning scathing reports by Houston-based consultant InSight Advantage.
This week Google released the much-touted Google Health, an online resource for organizing personal healthcare information. As a healthcare journalist, I've eagerly awaited the unveiling, but as a patient and healthcare consumer, I'm skeptical.
In theory, online health records like this are supposed to help my doctors coordinate care, improve communication between caregivers, eliminate risk of medical errors, and ultimately reduce the cost of care, but I'm just not sold.
How can I really be sure my information is safe? I know this is the most basic of questions, and Google has attempted to answer it in a privacy policy. But if history is any indication, online information isn't safe.
In March, a Maryland dental group accidentally posted the names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of 75,000 members on its Web site.
In April, WellPoint announced that protected health information for about 130,000 members had somehow become publicly available on the Internet.
And, earlier this year here in Massachusetts, 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen from Hannaford Brothers, our local grocery chain. Now everybody knows about my box-a-week Grape-Nuts habit.
I'm sure all these companies had privacy policies, too. So, if the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service can't protect me, sorry, Google, I don't have much faith in you.
Who will enter all that data and update it going forward? Entering 30+ years of medical history into a format that I'm not sure my doctor will use seems an arduous task. Google hopes to ease that burden by partnering with labs and physicians, who, I guess, will enter my information for me (at least going forward).
I can't get a complete copy of my paper records from my doctor's office without a lot of phone calls and a $15 fee for photocopying. So I'm not confident that they'll be diligent about updating my record. That said, I married almost two years ago and half of my credit cards are still in my maiden name. I'm not sure I'll be very good at updating my records either.
Who will ensure the integrity of my health record? Forget entering the data; who will double-check that it's right? What if I mistakenly say I take a medication only once a day when I actually take it twice? Will anyone correct that? And does it even matter?
How do I know I'm not just playing into Google's corporate hands? I know, I know, Google would never sell my private information to a third-party vendor. But, how do I know three years from now they won't sell my e-mail address? And Google's privacy policy does leave room for interpretation if, for example, Google Health is sold in five years (in which case, they will "provide notice before personal information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy").
Will this really help the people who need it? While I'm not eager to enter three decades of health history into a Web site, I'm confident that I can tell you every detail, year by year. The people who can't do that—my parents and grandparents, for example—may not be willing or able to update it on a Web site. Just today I called my father to ask if he'd ever had an endoscopy (long story). He couldn't remember. But he also can't get his new laptop to print and he doesn't know how to reply to e-mails. Something tells me he won't be on Google Health this week, entering his health data.
Before you e-mail me, explaining why all of these concerns are baseless and naïve, let me clearly say that I am not a techie. But neither is most of America.
Online health records, for all their potential, can create a lot of problems for healthcare leaders. Although they're supposed to save money for hospitals, insurers, and employers, they also create new challenges and a lot of questions. So, before you blindly embrace Google Health (and other online resources), make sure you're prepared to answer all the questions—from patients, physicians, the board, and your staff.
Molly Rowe is leadership editor with HealthLeaders magazine. She can be reached at mrowe@healthleadersmedia.com.
Note: You can sign up to receive HealthLeaders Media Corner Office, a free weekly e-newsletter that reports on key management trends and strategies that affect healthcare CEOs and senior leaders.
A survey by United Benefits Advisors LLC has found that Wisconsin employers want to see more pricing information from physicians, hospitals and insurance companies. According to the findings, of the southeastern Wisconsin employers surveyed 90.3% felt the government should require physicians and hospitals to publicly disclose pricing; 83.9% said insurers should be required to publicly disclose actual discounted prices to paid providers; and 80.6% said the government should mandate healthcare provider quality reporting.
Geisinger Health System representatives say construction is nearly complete on its new $35 million Grays Woods facility in Centre County, PA. An Aug. 4 opening is being planned for the building, which includes 70 exam rooms, 16 procedure rooms and six imaging suites. Services will include pediatric care, women's health and family medicine as well as cardiology, pulmonary medicine and urology.