Featured Report: Most states earn 'F' in price transparency

This Week's Healthcare News
HealthDataManagement
Payers Work to Ease Coordination of Benefits Determinations
Mar,13,2013
by+Joseph Goedert

All 12 health insurer members of CAQH have pledged to adopt the new COB process when it’s complete, which should happen later this year. Covering a combined 165 million members, the members are Aetna, AultCare, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Cigna, Health Net, Horizon Healthcare Services, Kaiser Permanente, UnitedHealth Group, and WellPoint and its affiliated plans.
The payers are building a shared repository of patient demographic data to match and compare records from different health plans to identify patients with overlapping coverage from more than one insurer. The goal is to electronically identify and assess payer responsibilities, a primarily manual and often inaccurate process, when a patient has coverage from more than one insurer.
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Fierce EMR
IRS unlawfully seized 60M medical records
Mar,
by:+Susan D. Hall18,2013
An unnamed HIPAA-covered entity in Southern California is suing the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, alleging that agents executing a warrant stole medical records for 10 million Americans. Those affected could include every state judge in California, as well as "prominent citizens in the world of entertainment, business and government, from all walks of life," according to the complaint.
Fifteen IRS agents executed a search warrant on March 11, 2011, for financial data pertaining to a former employee of the company, however, "it did not authorize any seizure of any healthcare or medical record of any persons, least of all third parties completely unrelated to the matter."
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Fierce Health Payer
73% of consumers likely to use health exchanges
Mar,15,2013
By:+Dina Overland
Awareness of and interest in health insurance exchanges has been increasing, especially among consumers who purchase coverage on their own, according to a survey from J.D. Power and Associates.
In its 2013 Member Health Plan Study, J.D. Power analyzed responses from 33,000 members of 136 commercial health plans and found that 73 percent of consumers who don't have employer-based insurance say they "definitely will" or "probably will" shop for coverage using a state exchange.
That's well above J.D. Power's survey results from 2012 showing that 55 percent of health plan members with individual coverage likely would use a state-run exchange, Fierce Health Payer previously reported.
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Modern Healthcare.com
Featured Report:Most states earn 'F' in price transparency
Mar,18,2013
by:+Melanie Evans
Most states have limited laws or no laws at all to guarantee patient access to information on hospital and clinic prices, according a newly released report that found poor disclosure and incomplete information in three dozen states.
The report, released by the Catalyst for Payment Reform and the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute, awarded an F to 29 states—including seven without any price laws whatsoever—and gave another seven states a D. State laws were graded on how easily disclosed prices could be seen by the public; whether laws required disclosure of prices or discounts paid by insurers; and how many providers and procedures were included.
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licensed, board-certified physicians. Healthcare when you need it, where you need it. We provide individuals unlimited real-time, immediate interaction with a national network of physicians via web-cam. phone or secure e-mail. Access 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

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Featured Report:The 6 stages of social media dominance (that actually makes money)

This Week's Home/Small Business News



Med City News
Mar,13,2013
by+Brian Solis
In business, social media is becoming a lot like email: every company has it. But, unlike email, organizations haven’t mastered how to effectively communicate through the likes of Facebook or the tweets of Twitter.
Over the last several years, businesses have increased the pace of adopting social media strategies for use in marketing, service, and other related capacities.
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Small Business Trends
M-Commerce: Why Your Website Needs to Be Mobile
Mar,13,2013
by:+Sramana Mitra
Mobile commerce, also known as m-commerce, is evolving – and small businesses must evolve with it.
A 2010 survey by Internet Retailer of 149 chain sellers, chain retailers, web-only merchants, catalog companies and consumer brand manufacturers found only 8.8 percent of these companies operated an m-commerce site.
However, the same survey suggested 75.9 percent of these retailers already had plans to launch a mobile site with 31.9 percent expecting to be selling through mobile devices in the next six months.
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Inside Facebook
Facebook ‘focused on basics’ for News Feed and mobile ads
Mar,11,2013
By:+Brittany Darwell
There’s a vision many people have when they think about mobile advertising. Hyperlocal, real-time, something that incorporates features like text, push notifications, QR codes and GPS.
Facebook News Feed product manager Jeff Kanter says that idea is interesting, but for now, mobile ads can be much simpler and still be effective.
“A lot of people will talk about the holy grail of advertising where you’re walking down the street and your phone is buzzing with alerts about deals around you and a movie’s playing nearby,” he says. “I think it’s an awesome vision and the world will get there, but at this point in time, mobile advertising is working really well because it’s where people are spending their time and it can achieve the same brand objectives that advertisers are trying to do elsewhere.”
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Small Business Newz
Nobody Talks About Boring Businesses
Mar,14,2013
by:+John Jantsch
Perhaps one of the most primary objectives of marketing is to get people talking about your business. Sure, you actually want them to buy from you, but when there’s buzz, when people think what you’re doing matters, there will be sales.
To me there is no more important job than building your business in a way that allows you to stand out from everyone else.
But, how do you create something that will get people talking? How do you build a story that people want to share and become a part of? How do you not be boring?
Not being boring doesn’t mean you have to create controversy or fanfare, it means you have to do something in a way that others don’t. It means you have to do something better, faster or with more soul.
There are two parts to beating the boring equation – first you need a value proposition that allows you to both stand out and deliver something that no one else is. And then you need a story to carry your value proposition.
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WebDocsNetwork

We provide unlimited access to U.S. licensed physicians via web-cam, phone, or secure e-mail. Immediate access available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Being healthy should be a natural right that everyone is entitled to. Lack of access and information or financial limitations should never be allowed to further fuel the fear and uncertainty that prevents one from achieving their highest levels of health.
WebDocsNetwork was created to make life easier, better, and most importantly, healthier. To re-distribute healthcare and improve quality and access for everyone. Our vision and mission is to provide people from all over the globe, access to U.S.
licensed, board-certified physicians. Healthcare when you need it, where you need it. We provide individuals unlimited real-time, immediate interaction with a national network of physicians via web-cam. phone or secure e-mail. Access 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Affiliate Program
How would you like to save money on you and your family's Doctor's visit while helping other and make extra income. Then become a Web Docs Network Affiliate.
As an affiliate once you sign up three people your services are FREE
Contact:
Keith Berggren
Tel: 773-758-0007
http://www.webdocsnetwork.com/chicago

Who manages social media at hospitals? Survey says it’s still a part-time effort for most

This Week's Healthcare Online News



Med City News
Who manages social media at hospitals? Survey says it’s still a part-time effort for most (infographic)
Mar,11,2013
by:+Deanna Pogorelc
While as many as 90 percent of hospitals use social media, it’s still a part-time effort for most of them, according to a survey of small and large hospitals, and health systems in Ohio. The Ohio Hospital Association and social media agency Mindset Digital conducted an email survey among OHA-member organizations last fall. Of the 84 hospitals that responded, only 15 percent said they had full-time personnel to manage their social media channels, and those tended to be large health systems. The Cleveland Clinic, for one, last year made some of its part-time social media staff full time. But most of the people doing this job at other hospitals are full-time employees with other duties. Six percent of hospitals said their social media manager was an intern and 4 percent said it was a part-time employee.
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Modern Healthcare.com
Half of states have chosen benchmark insurance plan: report
Mar, 13,2013
by+ Jessica Zigmond
A little more than six months before open enrollment begins, 24 states and Washington, D.C., have chosen a benchmark plan that will determine what health insurers must cover in health plans sold in the state exchanges and individual and small-group markets, according to a new study from the Commonwealth Fund.
In the rest of the country, the snapshot suggests, the federal government will model the minimum benefits on the largest small-group plan sold in the state.
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, individual and small-group plans must offer an “essential health benefits” package. The core set of benefits must cover 10 broad categories, such as emergency services, maternity and pediatric care, prescription drugs, and mental health and substance-abuse services. HHS issued a final rule in February on essential benefits for 2014 and 2015 and will revisit the provisions for the 2016 benefit year.
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Government Health IT
Patient engagement pilots find success, face challenges
Mar,11,2013
by:+Anthony Brino
Expanding Americans’ access to their health information in digital form is one of the Office of the National Coordinator’s main goals, and last year, HIE cooperative programs in Georgia, Indiana, Montana and Nebraska began pilot projects aimed at finding successful patient engagement models.
In a report on the pilots, the ONC has found some success and potential for expansion and improvement, amid several legal, technical and financial challenges.
In southeastern Georgia, the HIE ChathamHealthLink developed Chatham Connect to bring personal health records to mostly low-income or uninsured patients served at two federally qualified health clinics and three Volunteers in Medicine clinics.
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Med City News
The mobile phone as the ultimate medical tool: Hacked iPhone saves lives in Africa
Mar,
By:+John Koetsier
Scientists have hacked together a microscope out of an iPhone, a piece of glass, double-sided tape, and a cheap flashlight that is good enough to detect intestinal worm infections with 70 percent accuracy.
MacGyver, you’re out of a job. According to a study published today in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, scientists used the hacked-together microscope to examine almost 200 stool samples taken from children in Pemba Island in Tanzania. Each glass slide with the sample was covered in cellophane, taped to the iPhone, and lit from behind with the flashlight. Then the researchers took a picture with the phone’s camera, and examined the image on the iPhone’s screen.
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Featured Healthcare Program: Web Docs NetWork.com



WebDocsNetwork

We provide unlimited access to U.S. licensed physicians via web-cam, phone, or secure e-mail. Immediate access available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Being healthy should be a natural right that everyone is entitled to. Lack of access and information or financial limitations should never be allowed to further fuel the fear and uncertainty that prevents one from achieving their highest levels of health.
WebDocsNetwork was created to make life easier, better, and most importantly, healthier. To re-distribute healthcare and improve quality and access for everyone. Our vision and mission is to provide people from all over the globe, access to U.S.
licensed, board-certified physicians. Healthcare when you need it, where you need it. We provide individuals unlimited real-time, immediate interaction with a national network of physicians via web-cam. phone or secure e-mail. Access 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Affiliate Program
How would you like to save money on you and your family's Doctor's visit while helping other and make extra income. Then become a Web Docs Network Affiliate.
As an affiliate once you sign up three people your services are FREE
Contact:
Keith Berggren
Tel: 773-758-0007
http://www.webdocsnetwork.com/chicago

Only 2% of insurers cover mandated essential health benefits

This Week's Healthcare-Online News



Fierce Health Payer
Only 2% of insurers cover mandated essential health benefits
Mar,9,2013
by+ Dina Overland
Very few insurers--only 2 percent--offer all the benefits they will be required to provide next year under the reform law, according to a new analysis from technology company HealthPocket.
Based on an analysis of 11,100 private health insurance plans available for individuals and families, HealthPocket determined insurers will need to to bridge a "significant gap" between now and January to ensure they're providing all the reform law's mandated essential health benefits.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services outlined the specific essential health benefits insurers must cover in the file rule issued last month.
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Modern Healthcare.com
As D.C. waits for a new panel to explore how to pay for long-term care, Medicaid is bearing the brunt
Mar,9,2013
by:+Jessica Zigmond
As a former investment banker, Henry Purchase was no stranger to paperwork. But even with that professional background, Purchase said, he was not prepared for—nor did he fully understand—the mounds of forms and myriad regulations he sorted through when he moved his mother, Dorothy, into a nursing home nearly a decade ago.
And the administrative headaches were just one small part of what Purchase experienced during that process. For years, he and his wife paid someone to care for his aging mother so she could live with them. In the beginning, the service was for four to five hours a day. Then, as Dorothy's dementia worsened, her caregiver's hours increased to 12 hours a day, seven days a week, at a rate of $15 an hour.
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Med City News
3 ways for brands to create groundbreaking mobile experiences
Mar,9,2013
By:+Carin van Vuuren
It’s no secret that smartphones are overwhelmingly the most popular and fastest growing mobile access point to the Internet today. Just recently we learned that by the end of this year, mobile devices will outnumber the amount of people on earth, and by 2017, there will be over 10 billion mobile-connected devices. So how does this influence the future of mobile development?
As consumer behavior continues to trend towards mobile as the primary channel for customer engagement, the stakes have clearly been raised for brands. Increasingly, brands need to offer tailored mobile experiences that are relevant, add tangible value, and meet users goals in the journey.
The early evolution of mobile was centered around optimizing a desktop site for mobile, but with rising consumer expectations, a fresh approach is needed. Here are three ways brands can ensure a compelling mobile experience.
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Fierce Health IT
The idea of virtual doctor visits is growing on us
mar,7,2013
by:+Susan D. Hall
Consumers are growing more comfortable with virtual doctor visits, with 70 percent of U.S. patients open to the idea, according a global survey by technology vendor Cisco.
The survey compared the views of consumers and healthcare decision-makers in 10 countries on sharing personal health data, in-person medical consultation versus remote care and using technology to make recommendations on personal health. The views of 1,547 consumers and 403 practitioners in the United States are broken out in an infographic.
Overall, healthcare practitioners were more willing to share personal and private information than consumers.
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Featured Healthcare Program: Web Docs NetWork.com



WebDocsNetwork

We provide unlimited access to U.S. licensed physicians via web-cam, phone, or secure e-mail. Immediate access available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Being healthy should be a natural right that everyone is entitled to. Lack of access and information or financial limitations should never be allowed to further fuel the fear and uncertainty that prevents one from achieving their highest levels of health.
WebDocsNetwork was created to make life easier, better, and most importantly, healthier. To re-distribute healthcare and improve quality and access for everyone. Our vision and mission is to provide people from all over the globe, access to U.S.
licensed, board-certified physicians. Healthcare when you need it, where you need it. We provide individuals unlimited real-time, immediate interaction with a national network of physicians via web-cam. phone or secure e-mail. Access 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Affiliate Program
How would you like to save money on you and your family's Doctor's visit while helping other and make extra income. Then become a Web Docs Network Affiliate.
As an affiliate once you sign up three people your services are FREE
Contact:
Keith Berggren
Tel: 773-758-0007
http://www.webdocsnetwork.com/chicago