The signal to noise...

amprog:

Healthcare costs are growing slower now than any point in past 5 decades. via The Washington Post

Interesting data on healthcare spending. I’m betting there will be an uptick though in the next 3-5 years though as the economy stabilizes and consumer confidence increases.

-cch

jayparkinsonmd:

Moves is disrupting Fitbit, the Fuelband, and all those other nonsensical gadgets. 

I’ve been using Moves for about 2 weeks now and I really, really love it. It’s an app that essentially functions as a pedometer and runs in the background tracing where you’ve been throughout the day and measuring your steps. 

It is not some goofy thing I have to wear on my wrist or on your bra. It’s not something I have to remember to charge. Fire it up once, and it’s on for as long as you have an iPhone. It may not be as “good” as a Fitbit or Fuelband, but it works just fine, it’s available to everyone with an iPhone for free, and it runs in the background of your life. And, most importantly, I haven’t noticed an impact on my iPhone’s battery. 

It’s a classic disruptive innovation. 

I bought a Fuelband a few months ago, synced it with my iPhone, and connected it to Facebook. Facebook said “You have 37 friends with a Fuelband. Click here to see how many people have live data in the past week.” I clicked and saw 2 people. I immediately returned it to the Nike Store. I knew that goofy thing would be in some drawer in a month after the novelty wore off. And I don’t like to throw away money for gimmicks.

My iPhone is not a novelty. And Moves now runs in the background of my life letting me know how active or inactive I’ve been that day. Interesting, motivating, and exciting stuff. Congrats to the Moves team. Y’all are killin’ it.

Disruptive innovation in #mhealth quantified self tracking? Definitely will check it out since Jay is one sharp guy in technology and health, but I’m not 100% certain the sector is mature enough at this point to declare entrenched dominant winners who are at risk of disruptive innovation (see HBS Prof Clay Christensen’s work on disruptive innovation at his site: www.claytonchristensen.com). In another 3-5 years? Perhaps. But onward and upward for available and affordable technology to improve health and fitness.

-cch

US #healthcare - broken down into dollars & (non) cents.

Needless to say, our costs and outcomes per dollar spent are not sustainable.

-cch

jayparkinsonmd:

theweekmagazine:

Our newest infographic features some pretty shocking facts about our plastic surgery obsession. For example, teenage plastic surgery is on the rise. There were 14,000 procedures performed on teens in 1996, compared to 77,000 in 2011.

More…

Super interesting on many levels, especially regarding the cost of these procedures. For example, an appendectomy at an outpatient surgical center costs $47,000 and takes 45 minutes or so to do by a general surgeon. The cost of a facelift, done by a highly skilled plastic surgeon, can take hours. 

This is what happens when competition and paying for something with your own money, not an insurance company’s money, infiltrates healthcare. Costs decrease significantly and they mimic the actual cost of a procedure, not some arbitrary, highly inflated number.

* * *

This is evidence that US healthcare costs (prices alone) aren’t spiraling out of control when there isn’t a financial intermediary (health insurance or employer coverage) between the consumer and the provider.   The same trend on healthcare prices for lasik eye surgery has been well documented.  Unfortunately, total healthcare costs are a function of price times volume.  And holistically speaking, plastic surgery costs are increasing markedly in the US due to increased utilization.

-cch

(Source: theweek.com)

Thank goodness, exercise and fitness equipment has advanced rapidly through the years so we don’t have to work out on things like this!  For those who know me, I’m a health/fitness buff and definitely enjoy a good workout (through sports like soccer or basketball) or at the gym.

I’m thrilled there are lots of new devices and gadgets out there to get other folks interested in health and fitness, be it current or ex-athletes or elderly folks.  Like many electronic gadgets though, there is a balance between marketing and actual results. 

As this article shows, while technology is improving, the technology behind many of these fitness tracking consumer electronics devices isn’t perfected yet and are variable. 

So before you tweet that next count of steps or calories burned… just know that any movement is better than no movement.

To your health,

-cch

Want to maximize your health? Fight inflammation with a healthy diet including these foods in the picture above.  For more about this major factor (inflammation) in debilitating diseases such like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer… check out this article from the WSJ.  You’ll find that these diseases don’t need to be so deadly or widespread, but it takes discipline to be dedicated to healthy food choices and living. 

To your health,

-cch

A new report released today on healthcare costs indicates prices are mainly to blame for the increase in healthcare spending.  Interestingly enough, the report used data from the largest health insurance companies in America who participated in the effort.  You can download the free report from the Health Care Cost Institute here.

-cch