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New York State's attorney general has taken a firm position on a hot-button issue--whether insurance companies are doing a fair and reasonable job in ranking their physicians. In a new statement, AG... Read more...

While hospital CEOs have traditionally looked inward at operations, focusing on financial metrics and employee performance, it's increasingly important for them to improve customer experiences as well. To make such improvements, CEOs should consider hiring a chief experience officer whose job it is to find weaknesses in the patient experience and close service gaps, suggests consultant Anthony Cirillo. Otherwise, given the many silos in a hospital, customer experience management may fall through the cracks, he suggests. Column

Physicians like money as much as anyone else, but that's not enough to keep them on the job, a recent survey suggests. Researchers found that a lack of cultural fit, rather than pay or hours, is the most important factor when physicians leave a practice. With 40 percent of medical groups reporting that turnover is too high, it's time to tackle this issue, practice leaders say. Article

Virtually all Americans are in favor of reforming the U.S. healthcare system, but they're deeply divided as to how the job should be done, according to a new UPI/Zogby poll. About 45 percent favor major reforms, and another 45 minor reforms, but they disagreed strongly as to whether a market-based or government-driven solution made more sense. And they don't believe any of the current political leaders in place are likely to get the job done right, either; less than one-third …

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When patients get a call from an anonymous disease management staff nurse, they don't have a lot of incentive to participate in the management program. But there's other ways to get the job done. A new program developed by tire maker Goodyear found that if disease management programs bring a trusted clinician on site, enrollment in such programs jumped dramatically. Enrollment was particularly high if patients were invited to participate during a scheduled visit with a familiar clinician, according to research by CHD Meridian Healthcare. Release

A California surgeon specializing in breast cancer talks about her practical experience with a problem that won't go away. She describes her average case, laying out the complex human process that it is, and notes that she's getting paid virtually nothing for critical parts of the job such as reassuring frightened patients, counseling families and doing case management. This is an interesting real-life case study in how payors skimp on reimbursement for patient interaction time. Column

> At Managed Care Matters, Joseph Paduda asks a loaded question: Why are we spending so much on healthcare, and what are we getting for it? Blog

> Obesity is becoming a epidemic among children, and the health problems that accompany it are quite serious. But should schools be monitoring children's BMIs? …

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When treatments don't work, whose problem is it?
At an FDA hearing last week, panel members soberly discussed the evidence as to whether drug-coated stents were responsible for an increased risk of future blood clots. Such safety reviews are obviously a good thing, but sometimes they sidestep other issues, says writer David Leonhardt. In this case, the FDA didn't even take on the issue of whether the stents--and preceding angioplasties--should be done in the first …

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Spending precious time struggling with patients' drug formularies. Fitting in same-day appointments for sick patients, even on crazy days. This kind of flexibility can make a huge financial difference for patients, says Dr. Benjamin Brewer, a physician in primary care practice. While insurance doesn't pay for the time he spends helping patients avoid extra medication expenses or costly ER visits, it's just part of his job, Brewer contends. Column (WSJ sub. req.)

It's common, if not universal, for states to make drivers buy auto insurance, and most people are used to doing so. But forcing citizens to buy health insurance is much more controversial. That hasn't stopped Maryland regulators from floating a proposal to do just that, however, taking aim at the state's approximately 740,000 uninsured residents--a group which currently costs the state about $1.8 billion per year in direct costs. The Maryland Health Care Commission has drafted a plan …

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