News From Around the Web
> In a recent blog post, Joseph Kvedar, director of the Center for Connected Health at Partners HealthCare, writes about making health addictive with subliminal messaging. "Making health addictive is really about harnessing the power of our fascination with mobile devices, particularly smartphones," Kvedar says. "We check these devices up to 150 times per day. What if we put a personalized, relevant, motivational and unobtrusive message in front of you some of those times?" Blog post
> Wearable tech is slated to be bigger than ever at this year's SXSW conference in Austin, Texas. A post from Rock Health says the total number of tweets mentioning "wearable tech" grew from 4,103 in January 2013 to 64,898 in September 2013. Post
Health Finance News
> Hospitals oppose proposed reductions in the Obama administration's budget request for fiscal 2015, which includes $414.3 billion in reductions to Medicare and Medicaid over the next 10 years. Article
> Hospital drug costs likely will rise between 3 and 5 percent this year, according to data from the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. The report, "National Trends in Prescription Drug Expenditures and Projections for 2014," projects drug expenditures in the healthcare settings also will increase 3 to 5 percent. Article
Health Provider News
> A Bloomberg News report describes what it calls a "heart surgery factory" at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. But the practice of scheduling emergency procedures in order to maximize reimbursement is widespread, according to Forbes. Article
And Finally... Let it simmer on low for 21 years. Article