Google, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and Salesforce came together to pledge for greater interoperability in healthcare. To achieve it, they’ll have to simultaneously move against and with the grain of the healthcare industry.
Category: Modern Healthcare
Blue Cross Michigan signs deal with Express Scripts
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has approved a plan to contract with St. Louis-based Express Scripts Inc. for its retail commercial business in Michigan. The contract is effective Jan. 1.
Health insurers look for ways to cut costs with back surgery
Back surgery is one of the most overused types of surgery as well as the most common ailment that sends patients to doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists. More than $90 billion a year is spent on low-back pain alone.
In Depth: Hospitals tackling social determinants are setting industry course
More hospitals are addressing the role of social determinants of health as a way to improve patients’ overall well-being. But there’s little evidence of the returns hospitals get from their investments.
Q&A with Health Leads’ Jennifer Valenzuela on health systems’ focus on population health
Health Leads started as a project that sent volunteers to connect patients with social resources. Founded in 1996, the program is now available in six cities. Health Leads recently promoted Jennifer Valenzuela to the new position of managing…
Commentary: To improve U.S. health, move beyond the boundaries of medical care
Making significant progress in how America thinks about health and defines expected outcomes will require a broader, more collaborative approach to improve the health of our nation.
Health system execs, critics clash over Beth Israel Deaconess, Lahey deal
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health argue that their combining is necessary to heal a dysfunctional Massachusetts healthcare market, while critics contend the costs outweigh the benefits.
Data Points: Cracking down on Medicaid fraud
CMS Administrator Seema Verma last week said that her agency is working closely with states, the Government Accountability Office and HHS’ Office of Inspector General to root out fraud in Medicaid.
In Depth: OhioHealth address social determinants by combating food insecurity, diabetes
OhioHealth’s Riverside Family Medicine Center in Columbus addresses social determinants of health in the community by providing free fresh food to food-insecure patients to help manage diabetes.
Week Ahead: Senate committee to examine use of ‘cutting-edge’ science at FDA
The FDA’s Dr. Scott Gottlieb is set to tell the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee how the agency is protecting public health while spurring medical innovation.
