Articles Read about the latest issues in the healthcare business: 1. Two Doctors Speak Out: Part One by Kami Troy, MPH Heller Healthcare Dr. RP contacted me a few months ago with an email which began, "Having suffered through 4 straight 14 hour nights on call, I've had a bit of time to...(more). 2. Series: After the Conventions, What do the Platforms Promise Regarding Health Care? by Kami Troy, MPH Part Five: Issues Emphasized in the Republican Platform Last time, I discussed what the Democratic Platform had to say on some issues that they uniquely emphasized (www.democrats.org).  This time, I'll...(more). 3. Series: After the Conventions, What do the Platforms Promise Regarding Health Care? by Kami Troy, MPH Part Four: Issues Emphasized in the Democratic Platform It's down to the wire.  Two of the three debates are over and it's just about dead even.  Last time, I discussed what...(more). 4. Series: After the Conventions, What do the Platforms Promise Regarding Health Care? by Kami Troy, MPH Part Three: Medicare In six days, we'll be voting for our new President and several Members of Congress.  Last time, I discussed what the two platforms (available on www.rnc.org and...(more). 5. Series: After the Conventions, What do the Platforms Promise Regarding Health Care? by Kami Troy, MPH Heller Healthcare Part Two: Quality It's just 17 days until the election and emotions are running high, polls show the Presidential hopefuls in a dead heat, and health care continues to be a...(more). 6. Series: After the Conventions, What do the Platforms Promise Regarding Health Care? by Kami Troy, MPH Heller Healthcare Part One: Access to Care The Conventions are over.  Philadelphia and LA are still basking in the afterglow of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.  There were few surprises at either...(more). 7. The Mainstreaming of Alternative Medicine: Part Two, The Business of CAM by Kami Troy, MPH Heller Healthcare In our last piece on complementary and alternative medicine (March 15, 2000), we discussed its growing popularity and the response of NIH, which is currently aiming to validate certain therapies...(more). 8. The Mainstreaming of Alternative Medicine: Part One, From Anecdotes to Science by Kami Troy, MPH Heller Healthcare It seems that everywhere you look these days, complementary/alternative medicine (herein referred to as CAM) is making its presence known.  It is estimated that in 1997, 42% of Americans used...(more). 9. Supreme Court To Decide: Do Physician Incentives Breach Fiduciary Duty Under ERISA? by Kami Troy, MPH, Heller Healthcare Last week, we talked about ERISA preemption and what is has meant in terms of protecting managed care organizations (MCOs) from liability.  Again, we will invoke Dr. Shawn West's assertion...(more). 10. Managed Care And ERISA, The Employee Retirement Income Security Act by Kami Troy, MPH, Heller Healthcare In Part 3 of our series on "The Changing Face of Physician Practice," family practice physician Shawn West told us that capitation "puts physicians in conflict of interest" in that...(more). 11. The Changing Face Of Physician Practice: Part Three, Other Options (The Road Less Travelled) by Kami Troy, MPH, Heller Healthcare Last week, we examined the issue of "the business of medicine" and how some MDs are coping with the changes in healthcare by pursuing MBA degrees.  This week, we examine...(more). 12. The Changing Face Of Physician Practice: Part Two, Physician MBA's by Kami Troy, MPH, Heller Healthcare Last week, we examined the issue of physician unions and other collective bargaining initiatives being used to enable doctors to gain control over their relationships with managed care companies and...(more). 13. The Changing Face of Physician Practice: Part One, Collective Bargaining by Kami Troy, MPH, Heller Healthcare The old adage "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" seems to apply more than ever to physicians-but not in the way you may think.  There is hardly a physician...(more).

Journal Reviews Read summaries of new healthcare research from top medical journals: 1. Payment Methods for Primary Care Physicians in Group Practices by Kami Troy, MPH Heller Healthcare In a study published in the Archives of Family Medicine, researchers reported the methods in which Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) in medical groups are paid in a managed care environment. ...(more). 2. The Relationship Between Physicians' Workload and Patient Satisfaction by Kami Troy, MPH Heller Healthcare   Increasingly, primary care physicians are being pressured to practice with more quality and less quantity.  That is, with a greater emphasis on quality of care coupled with reimbursement issues and...(more). 3. Longevity and Spending on Acute and Long-Term Care in the United States by Kami Troy, MPH Heller Healthcare The recent phenomenon of the "graying of America" has caused more attention to be paid to the economics of our aging population.  In this country, 13% of the population is...(more). 4. Disenrollment of Medicare Beneficiaries from Managed Care Organizations by Kami Troy, MPH Heller Healthcare A major issue for the Medicare population is access to and reimbursement for pharmaceuticals.  Many managed care organizations have been able to provide drug benefits by applying savings from delivery...(more). 5. Self-Reporting of Chronic Conditions by Kami Troy, MPH Heller Healthcare Telephone surveying is a popular method of collecting health information about populations.  The use of telephone surveys is efficient and low-cost, however, the validity of data collected from such surveys...(more). 6. Implementation of Advance Directives in Nursing Homes Leads to Fewer Hospitalizations, Lowers Costs by Kami Troy, MPH, Heller Healthcare In a study of six nursing homes, researchers found that hospitalizations were significantly fewer in homes with advance directives in place.  In this study, six nursing homes in Ontario, Canada...(more). 7. Physicians Find Many Cost-Control Arrangements Ethically Objectionable by Kami Troy, MPH, Heller Healthcare The majority of physicians surveyed in a recent study felt that personal financial incentives geared toward cost containment are not ethically acceptable.  A subset of physicians surveyed in a 1991...(more). 8. The Use of Blended Payment Methods in Independent Practice Associations by Kami Troy, MPH, Heller Healthcare In the past, physicians, practicing solo or in small groups were paid fee-for-service.  This means that they were paid based on how many patients they saw, procedures they did, and...(more). 9. Referral to High-Volume Hospitals Potentially Reduces Patient Deaths by Kami Troy, MPH, Heller Healthcare In a recent study, researchers found that referring patients for certain procedures and with certain diagnoses to high-volume hospitals (HVHs) rather than low-volume hospitals (LVHs) may reduce patient deaths.  The...(more). 10. Improving Preventive Care by Prompting Physicians by Kami Troy, MPH, Heller Healthcare With preventive care in the forefront of the consciousness of both the health consumers and the media, physicians are increasingly faced with expectations to perform tasks not related to their...(more).

Downloadable Reports:
1. Medical Devices
Emerging Technologies in the new Millennium (Spring 2000)

2. eHealth:
Where Healthcare Meets the Internet (Fall 1999)

3. Home Health Care:
Weathering the Storm (Spring 1999)

4. Physician Practice Management Company
the Alternative to the Solo Practice (Winter 1998)

5. For Profit Hospitals
Capitalizing on the Non-Urban Frontier (Summer 1998)

6. Assisted Living:
Opportunity and Uncertainty in a Growing Market (Spring 1998)