By Hope Ditto. Whether your weapon of choice was words or rubber bullets this past week, the theme across the globe seemed to be standing up and fighting for what you believe in. From the protestors in Egypt to the lawmakers on the Hill, everyone seems to putting it all on the table, with little regard for the consequences their actions might breed. Whether you’re an Egyptian citizen protesting, a District Court judge making a ruling or an advocate fighting to increase awareness of a deadly disease, this was not the week to be bashful or couch your words. In fact, there was so much speaking up all over the board that this roundup is quite long (my apologies). If there is one thing we can say to summarize the week, it’s that the headlines speak for themselves, so let’s dive in to all the health care news you can use!

Newly minted Obama Chief of Staff William Daley was certainly speaking his mind when he talked health care on the Sunday shows this weekend. He wanted his message made loud and clear – that the Administration has no intention of “reopening last year’s vitriolic health overhaul debate.” Full details here.

I’m glad that Daley is so steadfast in his conviction not to reopen the health care debate, but take one look at this morning’s headlines and it is clear this is not likely to happen. From Florida to New York, court battles to legislative infighting, debates over various aspects of the Affordable Care Act are dominating the news (and the roundup).

Before Daley’s assertion, though, President Obama told attendees at the Health Action 2011 conference exactly how he felt while defending his health care reform efforts last week. Full text of his remarks available here and analysis here and here.

And if that’s not enough Obama-care news for you, a special Health on the Hill this week, analyzing his State of the Union health care remarks, and what they mean for the Administration, Congress and, of course, for 2012.

Speaking of the State of the Union, I hope one of your drinking game words  wasn’t “innovation” because I think everyone can agree it came up a lot Tuesday night. But the Administration’s newfound love of all things innovate-able won’t be limited only to job creation and the technology sector. According to the National Journal Health Blog, 2011 will see the emergence of a “core part” of the health care law – focusing on innovation. [If you recall, this very blog did an entire series on innovation and health care – before Obama made innovation the “it” topic of 2011. Read our series here.]

So we all know how most stakeholders (be they politicians, insurance executives, doctors or anyone else in between affected professionally by health care reform) feel about the Affordable Care Act, but what do the majority of American citizens think these days? Check out the latest polling via Kaiser Health News here.

Keep an eye on Pensacola, Florida today – where U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson is “expected to rule on the health care lawsuit brought by governors and attorneys general from 26 U.S. states, almost all of whom are Republicans” (per Reuters). Not only does this have the potential to be the second unfavorable ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, but considering that the plantiffs in this particular case represent more than half the U.S. states, it has more prominence and significance than the some two dozen lawsuits filed in federal courts since the legislation’s passing in March 2010. Another point of note — “Since a full legislative repeal seems like a non-starter in the current Congress, legal experts all agree the real battle over reform is destined for the Supreme Court.” We expect Vinson to take his stand before COB today. (more…)

By Jane Sarasohn-Kahn. While 8 in 10 U.S. adults want a physician to have primary responsibility for the diagnosis and management of their health care, many people are not sure who’s a medical doctor. Surprisingly numbers of health consumers don’t think that orthopaedic surgeons, family practitioners, dermatologists, psychiatrists, and ophthalmologists are MDs.

The American Medical Association‘s survey, Truth in Advertising, published in January 2011, follows up the AMA’s 2008 survey which had similar results.  Data based on consumers answering the question, “Is this person a medical doctor,” are organized in the chart.

90% of people say that a physician’s additional years of medical education and training are ‘vital’ to optimal patient care. At the same time, only 51% of people say it’s easy to identify who is a licensed medical doctor and who is not by reading what services they offer, their title and other licensing credentials in ads and marketing materials.

In a related story, my colleague and friend Michael Millenson wrote in Kaiser Health News today about “Fixing the Failure at Physician Compare.” Physician Compare is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s (CMS’s) portal meant to assist the health citizens (whether enrolled in Medicare or not) in finding doctors in their local communities. Millenson writes,

“In reality, the site is confusing and unfriendly to consumers, painfully slow and, worst of all, factually unreliable. Put bluntly, the agency, whose leader famously called himself a ‘patient-centered … extremist’ in a 2009 Health Affairs article, has produced a consumer tool that practically shouts, ‘We couldn’t care less whether any consumer ever uses this.’”

The AMA survey was conducted in November 2010 among 850 adults.

Health Populi’s Hot Points: The AMA poll and Millenson’s analysis point to the desperate need for greater health literacy, transparency and useful, usable tools for health citizens for becoming more engaged and empowered in their health and health care choices. Most health citizens don’t aspire to be couch potatoes when it comes to tapping into health information: in fact a majority of U.S. adults who have a primary care doctor would like more comprehensive information about their doctors online, learned in a survey conducted in November 2010.

AHRQ is soliciting comments for the Agency’s project, Understanding Development Methods from Other Industries to Improve the Design of Consumer Health IT.  This project will focus on consumer health information search and storage, and health monitoring. Health Populi readers involved in consumer-facing health IT innovation and design should tap into this site and get involved. As the Physician Compare early experiences point out, AHRQ — which is a ‘sister’ organization to CMS under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services — can benefit from your input.

Originally posted by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn on January 27th on Health Populi.

The following post is by guest blogger Helen Durkin, JD. Helen is the Executive Vice President of Public Policy for the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA)—a not-for-profit trade association representing health and fitness facilities, gyms, spas, sports clubs, and suppliers worldwide. She joined IHRSA in 1989 and developed the health club industry’s first government relations and legal service programs. She has served as the association’s director of public policy since 1999. In this leadership capacity, Durkin has succeeded in aligning IHRSA with the national effort to improve America’s health through healthy lifestyle choices and in promoting public policy that recognizes exercise as a key component of preventive health care. 

By Helen Durkin. “Uniquely positioned to make a difference.” That’s what Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. said about the company in a press release announcing a full-blown effort to offer its customers healthier, more affordable food options.

Certainly, with its $405 billion in fiscal year 2010 sales, and more than 140 million customer visits each week, Walmart is indeed positioned to make a difference. Now the question remains: Aren’t the rest of us too?

Walmart’s announcement, made at an event in Washington, DC, in the company of First Lady Michelle Obama, is in direct response to our country’s obesity epidemic. For Walmart customers, the announcement comes as great news. But for all of us, the announcement comes as great hope—hope that at last we have begun to act together, as a unified society, to address a problem that threatens both the physical and fiscal health of our entire country.

The truth is, each of us is uniquely positioned to make a difference—industry leaders, policy makers, the medical profession, educators, community advocates, parents, and all of us individually.

Each of us has a role to play. And like Walmart, each of us can take the lead from First Lady Michelle Obama and her “Let’s Move” campaign. For starters, parents can do their best to educate themselves on what constitutes good nutrition and exercise. They can instill healthy habits in their children early, not only by running and playing with their kids, but also by serving as role models for healthy eating and physically active lifestyles.

Large and small business leaders can create work environments that promote exercise and other healthy living practices. Lunchroom exercise classes, free nutrition seminars, and offering health club memberships to promote physical activity and stress management are good places to start. Schools can create greater opportunities for daily exercise both inside the classroom, with “stretch and move” breaks, and by offering low-cost afterschool intramural sports programs on their campuses. Parent associations can push their local schools to offer healthier fare and remove junk food from the cafeteria.

Doctors can begin to prescribe appropriate exercise for all their patients and make physical activity a patient vital sign. Congress can put the concept of primary prevention back into the healthcare dialogue and pass other pieces of health-promoting legislation that support Americans’ efforts to exercise and make healthy lifestyle choices. Removing financial barriers to exercise and other health-promoting habits with appropriate tax incentive legislation is just one way to do it. And the media can keep the drum roll going by providing information on the health and economic benefits of exercise, sound nutrition, and other healthy living habits.

So while Walmart is busy reformulating thousands of packaged food items and pushing its suppliers to make healthier products, each of us needs to get busy identifying how we can make a difference. With this latest announcement, it’s beginning to look certain that if we act together, we will succeed in turning around the health of our nation—one small victory at a time.

By Hope Ditto. Social service programs have never been more important than in the past few years. Stuck in a recession we can’t seem to rebound from, people across the country have found themselves in situations they never imagined – many needing to rely on resources they never expected. And all things considered — the foreclosures, the layoffs, the stock market crashes and the big business bankruptcies – it’s no surprise that people need a little extra help these days. Luckily for them, our country has several social service programs in place to lend a helping hand and ease a burden or two when you need it most. Even luckier for them, nonprofit organizations like the Community Action Partnership (CAP) exist to help you navigate this world, which for many was a foreign concept only weeks or months before.

As their website puts it, “The Community Action Partnership is the nonprofit, national membership organization representing the interests of the 1,100 Community Action Agencies (CAAs) across the country that annually help 17 million low-income Americans achieve economic security.” They accomplish this through their CAAs, which offer those in need opportunities to receive job training, housing, food, energy assistance, financial training, daycare and much more, all with the goal of “making America a better place to live.”

Don Mathis

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with our January Man of the Month Don Mathis, the President & CEO of CAP and ask him about some of the issues and campaigns CAP is focusing on in 2011 – particularly those with a health care angle. This is what he had to say.

Question (Q): As you know, our blog focuses primarily on health care issues. So, I was wondering, what is CAP doing to combat the nutrition disparity that exists between the general population and the low-income population?

Don Mathis (DM): CAP is working with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to promote their programs to the approximately 1,100 CAAs across the country. These programs deal with all sorts of issues – everything from food deserts (defined by the USDA as an area with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly such an area composed predominantly of lower income neighborhoods and communities) to summer feeding (for students who, during the school year, receive reduced or free lunches) to the ever-popular fight against childhood obesity.

We are focused on combatting the food desert problem especially. The issue of food deserts has given way to President Obama’s Healthy Foods Initiative, which you may have heard about. Basically, the idea is that we can promote economic development act and farms/farmer coalitions while simultaneously getting rid of food deserts by getting healthy food into areas without it. There is actually a lot of interest in this from all across the board. How it works is we identify areas where food deserts exist – especially areas where it seems like stores are hesitant to open, for whatever reason – and then get federal partners, venture capitalists, co-ops, etc. together to take the risk and open the store. We supplement this with programs that aim at teaching the community to make better choices. The program is in its early phases, but we have already seen a lot of success around the country.

Q: I know you mentioned childhood obesity too – I understand that the Partnership is involved in First Lady Michelle Obama’s childhood obesity initiative. Can you provide some more details about your role in the campaign?

DM: This was another exciting experience for all of us here at CAP. We actually were able to attend Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign kickoff ceremonies, and since then, we have been working to educate people about the dangers of childhood obesity and measures people can take to prevent it. We now have fact sheets and other information about obesity and exercise featured in our CAP monthly newsletters and we have been encouraging our CAAs to distribute additional information and notices to their participants. Also, in the works for 2011 – we put together a presentations with the Cal Ripken Foundation that centers around exercise and sports as a means of obesity prevention so we are currently in the process of trying to get that funded.

Beyond the First Lady’s campaign, our CAAs take ample measure to provide participants – especially children – with healthy food options. Many even operate their own feeding programs. In San Bernadino County, CA, an area approximately the size of Vermont, we have a whopping 900 feeding sites that provide not only food but also information about nutrition and obesity prevention.

Note: Don Mathis participated in the Disruptive Women Breakfast on childhood obesity in May 2010.

(more…)

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a Healthcare-Associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) Infection (HAI). Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers.

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.
• A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report published in March-April 2007 estimated the number of U.S. deaths from healthcare associated infections in 2002 at 98,987.
• The risk of acquiring Healthcare-Associated Infections in developing countries is 2-20 times higher than in developed countries.

Afflicting thousands of patients every year, HAI often leads to lengthened hospital stays, increasing the likelihood of readmission, and adding sizably to the cost of care per patient.  Financially, HAIs represent an estimated annual impact of $6.7 billion to healthcare facilities, but the human cost is even higher.

About “Not on My Watch” Prevention Campaign:

To protect patients by reducing the risk of HAI, healthcare professionals must continually update their knowledge of infection management.

As part of an ongoing commitment to quality care and infection prevention, nationwide doctors and hospitals are partnering with Kimberly-Clark to deliver continuing education programs on Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) prevention to staff and management. As simple as education sounds, busy doctors and nurses on the front lines of delivering care can find it difficult to find the time to take advantage of scheduled programs within their hospitals.

The HAI Education Program is part of a national infection awareness campaign for healthcare professionals called “Not on My Watch” and will provide the facility with a toolkit that contains informational flyers, patient safety tips and posters.

The “Not on My Watch” campaign provides accredited continuing education (CE) programs based on best practices and guidelines as well as research available on reducing the incidence of Healthcare-Associated Infections.

Join the community of healthcare professionals concerned with preventing Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), which at any given moment seriously affect 1.4 million hospitalized patients worldwide. The HAI WATCHDOG* Community forums are intended to provide a place for healthcare providers to discuss issues and best practices related to Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs).  Kimberly-Clark is committed to helping win the battle to prevent HAIs. As part of that effort, we are pleased to sponsor this community site for healthcare providers to discuss HAIs without mention of product-specific information.

For details about the “Not On My Watch” campaign, and the HAI Education Bus please visit www.HAIwatch.com.

By Stephanie Mensh. Watching the progress of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords brings back memories. My husband Paul Berger was a few years younger than Giffords when he had a massive stroke from a ruptured, bleeding aneurysm on the left side of his brain, leaving him severely disabled.

I still vividly remember cheering for every small sign of recovery, like his giving a thumbs up when the doctor asked how he felt and the day he first sat in a chair.

Paul’s brain surgery was performed in a downtown hospital.  This was 25 years ago. He was in intensive care, then in a neurosurgery room for almost a month before being transferred to the rehabilitation floor of the hospital for two months of intensive physical, occupational and speech therapy. During that time, many of his co-workers and friends visited often during lunch or right after work, since the hospital was in a central location and near a subway stop.  I would come in most mornings before work, then later in the day on my way home.

When Paul’s rehab benefits ran out, we had a big decision to make. We clearly wanted to continue a full schedule of rehab. Fortunately his parents were able to help with the cost. Our choices were:  stay as an inpatient in the downtown hospital, go to another inpatient rehab hospital in the suburbs or out-of-town, or live at home and have outpatient rehab.  I did all the leg work on this, with the idea that I would take Paul to see the final choices.

I was trying to figure how much rehab we could afford, and if one more month of inpatient rehab would be the “cure,” since I was both inexperienced with the recovery process, and too young to believe that it would take more than a few weeks to heal. When I met with Paul’s rehab team, they told me to expect many more months of rehab, and even so, that we needed to learn how to live with Paul’s disabilities now. This helped clarify the need to bring Paul home and arrange outpatient rehab, which was the best use of our money, not to mention the fact that Paul himself was tired of being away from home.

Looking back, I believe that a vital part of Paul’s rehab and recovery was the easy access for his co-workers and friends during his inpatient time, and the ability to visit familiar places once he came home. His link to the community remained unbroken.

Therefore, I am a little concerned about Rep. Giffords’ family moving her to Houston for rehab. Even though it may be a world-class center, it’s missing a very key element: the co-workers, neighbors, friends, and Tucson community who will do anything to help. Did you see the little boy who donated $2.47 because he thought she might need it? Certainly Tucson has very capable rehab professionals, not to mention a leading center for speech-language pathology.

The decision is difficult, complicated by Rep. Giffords’ lifestyle, living in three cities: Tucson, Washington, DC, and Houston. Her husband’s job and support system is in Houston, and as one caregiver to another, I certainly recognize his need to have his people around him and return to his routine (if being an astronaut is “routine” in any way).

To promote Rep. Giffords’ return to independence and to keep her links to her home town and her DC life, I believe that regular trips to Tucson and to DC should be part of her rehab plan.

I have learned that you make the best decision you can at the time, keep your sights on the future, and don’t look back.

Blogger Concetta Tomaino who participated in the December 1st Event is truly a disruptive woman as described in the post below. 

By Hope Ditto. We’re used to our Disruptive Women bloggers being on the cutting edge in their fields and doing amazing things every day. We’re used to them saving lives, fighting for those without a voice and revolutionizing the world around us. Still, it’s not every day that a major motion picture being featured at the world-famous Sundance Film Festival is directly connected to their work.

Not that we’re bragging, but we feel pretty fortunate to call Dr. Concetta Tomaino, D.A., MT-BC, LCAT, one of our own these days. Besides having her work featured in The Music Never Stopped (and having Julia Ormond, the actress playing the music therapist in the movie, consult her on the role), Tomaino is internationally known for her research in the clinical applications of music and neurologic rehabilitation. The Executive Director and co-founder of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and Senior Vice President for Music Therapy at Beth Abraham Family of Health Services, Tomaino works tirelessly to bring new understanding to the field of music therapy by working with neuroscientists to determine the effects of music on the brain.

Tomaino and her colleagues use music to treat a myriad of illnesses, injuries and conditions – from Alzheimer’s to Autism, brain injury to mental retardation. At the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function – which she co-founded – music therapists work to treat all of these things and more, using the power of music in different ways and to different effects.

As Connie explained, “For someone suffering from Parkinson’s or recovering from a brain injury, music can be a gateway to speech. They may not be able to speak words, but they often can sing lyrics to familiar songs. Whereas, for a child in the pre-language stage of development, who suffers from say autism or has a mental retardation, we can use music to help them gain an understanding of communication.”

The Music Never Stops is one such success story of music therapy. Based on the essay “The Last Hippie Standing” by neurologist and Beth Abraham colleague Dr. Oliver Sacks, the movie portrays a family coping with their estranged adult son’s grim prognosis following surgery to remove a large brain tumor. Without an ability to discern past from present from future and with little hope for improvement, the father discovers music therapy and seeks out a leading music therapist (a character inspired by Dr. Tomaino’s own work with the patient who inspired the film) known for her success with similar cases. Together, the father and son reconcile through music and memories, and with the help of music therapy. Set in the 1960s and 1970s, against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the tumultuous protests, the film is culturally, intellectually and emotionally resonant. And apparently quite good, as it was purchased by Roadside Attractions almost a month before its Sundance premiere (full story here). (more…)

By Audrey Sheppard. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, if the Affordable Care Act is repealed, as the Republican House has voted to do, it would have negative consequences on the economy, and on the tens of millions of citizens who would remain uninsured. While communicating the measure’s good points left Democrats and advocates with a heavy lift in 2010, national polling is beginning to show Americans understanding and better appreciating the law.  Prospects are for increased popularity in 2011 and beyond. 

This is understandable, as provisions that benefit our friends, family, neighbors – ourselves – begin to kick in, and forthcoming provisions are better understood. Are you a parent who has worried that your son or daughters, a young adult, stay well because he/she is uninsured? Now, you breathe easier as she remains on your insurance until age 26, finishing grad school and landing her first real job.

In the past, you or a loved one could fall into the “donut hole” of steep prescription drug expenses. Under the measure, help is on the way.

You or someone you care about deeply might be one of the millions of Americans who can not get insurance, is dropped just when you need the coverage, or is placed in a high risk pool due to a preexisting condition. There are few things worse than being told you are no longer insurable; estimates are that 100 million Americans have pre-existing conditions. Already, the new law requires children with these conditions to be insured, and when the law is in full force, this will apply to adults as well. As long as the law is not repealed, help is truly on the way!   

The strong pro-consumer provisions above, and some others, are beginning to win popular favor, and also grudging support from some in Congress who just voted for repeal. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) is quoted in the January 20^th edition of the Washington Post as telling his GOP colleagues “Why don’t we just settle down and we can make some amendments to this bill? I’m sure there are some things you’d like. But throwing it away is a political farce.”

We all know that repeal was not the real deal, as it lacks support in the Senate, not to mention with the public. Backstopping that certainty is the President’s veto pen. As physician/psychiatrist Jim McDermott diagnosed accurately, let’s stop this farce – and get real, people.  No law is perfect, and some tweaking may be in order.

Memo to the new Congress: we are watching. Your time is needed on economic priorities, not pointless grandstanding – and not undoing important progress toward America’s better health.

The following was originally posted by Disruptive Women Mary Grealy on the Prognosis Blog last Friday. Even though it was written prior to yesterday’s vote to repeal health care reform by the House the message is still relevant, if not more so.

By Mary Grealy. Next Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on legislation repealing the Affordable Care Act that the 111th Congress passed just last year.  Presuming that the U.S. Senate will not follow the House’s lead, next week’s vote begins what could be a very difficult and contentious process to determine the future of health reform.

As lawmakers, as well as those of us who advocate various policies and points of view, start down this road, we would all do well to take David Brooks’ column in today’s New York Times to heart.

Brooks writes, as so many have in recent days, on the need for greater civility in our political discourse, but he takes it a step further and says that civility won’t come unless we each begin to recognize our own fallibility and that we achieve more through collaboration and cooperation than by going it alone.

He writes, “…even if you are at your best, your efforts will still be laced with failure. The truth is fragmentary and it’s impossible to capture all of it. There are competing goods that can never be fully reconciled. The world is more complicated than any human intelligence can comprehend.

“But every sensible person in public life also feels redeemed by others. You may write a mediocre column or make a mediocre speech or propose a mediocre piece of legislation, but others argue with you, correct you and introduce elements you never thought of. Each of these efforts may also be flawed, but together, if the system is working well, they move things gradually forward.”

It’s unfortunate that the health reform process from the beginning turned into a rhetorical battle of absolutes.  To this day, among politicians and pundits alike, either you’re for the Affordable Care Act or you’re against it.  The debate has always been framed in terms of all-or-nothing stakes.  Yet, who can reasonably argue that a measure this complex wouldn’t have both flaws that need correcting and positives worth preserving?

When Congress finishes its action on repeal legislation, it would be a positive step to see a broad acknowledgement that health reform can be made better if it incorporates the best ideas from both parties, that we need to expand coverage, achieve greater affordability and promote a vibrant role for private sector innovation.

A Rasmussen survey released today shows that only 18 percent of the American public wants to see the health reform law left in place as it is.  Yet, surveys also show that voters don’t want to see reform scrapped completely.  It’s not healthy to have the public so bitterly divided on an issue of such vast importance.  I’m no pollster, but I suspect there would be widespread public approval if all sides decided to, as Brooks wrote, acknowledge their fallibility and work together to craft genuinely bipartisan, effective solutions for our nation’s healthcare system.

By Glenna Crooks. I learned an expression last week: “A whole lot of dirt flying, but no holes bein’ dug.”  It comes to mind when I watch attempts to repeal health reform.

Let’s get real about what the law is and isn’t.

Health reform…isn’t. To ‘reform’ means to ‘return to a former good state.’ What ideal state are we trying to reclaim? Did we ever have one? When was care idyllic? Was it when people believed the evil spirit Febris sent fevers? Or when as a child my Mother saw her Dad die, a victim of infectious disease in the pre-antibiotic era? When Marcus Welby practiced with great bedside manner but without today’s diagnostic and therapeutic armamentarium? Or more recently when my Mother saw her son die, a victim of infectious disease in the antibiotic-resistant era?  

We don’t need to reform the health care system. We need to transform it. Unfortunately, the law…doesn’t…transform, either.

It does not address how we will meet the unmet medical needs for new therapies. It does not address all – or even the most important – components of health.

The law fails to address the biggest determinants of health, which according to my friends Mike McGinnis and Bill Foege are what we do for ourselves each day (40%) and the quality of our social and physical environments (20%). According to Bill and Mike, only 10% of our health is determined by the health care we receive – the primary focus of the current law. Is that focus a bad thing? Is it so limited and flawed as to merit repeal?

The law does not transform health or health care, but it does transform the financing of care. We needed a wise dose of that. We needed some wise doses of other things as well, but financing is a step in the right direction to address issues that – however difficult – must be accomplished in order to move forward.

Repeal would be a giant step backwards towards a past no one argues was ideal.

I’ll admit to being disappointed initially that the law was so limited, but no longer. I’ve come to terms with my frustration, believing that those involved probably did the best they could at that time and we won’t get anything better for a long time to come.

Now, we need to stick with it and make it work. Tinker at the margins? Yes. But repeal? No.

It’s going to take years to figure out how to make the current financing components work. It’s going to take decades to figure out how to get more therapies developed for those who need them, how to change our communities to make them healthier places to live and how to change our own behaviors to control the components of health – and drivers of cost – we can.

Now is the time for digging that lays that foundation for the future. Plenty of people in patient groups, among employers, insurers and especially in the states are hard at work figuring out how to do that.

They could use some help. The efforts to repeal the law don’t qualify.

By Hope Ditto. Well hello again and my apologies for the recent hibernation! Between our Innovation series, the holidays and everything else that has been going on, the weekly roundups took a not-quite-so-brief hiatus. Though I was sorry to leave you without your one-stop dose of all the health care news you can use, I do hope you had the opportunity to check out what ran in its place, especially our December series on Innovation (if you missed it, you can check out the series here).

Enough of the housekeeping, now to get down to business. Not even the deepest hibernation in the most remote cave – or even the most recent bout of ice and snow — could keep me from hearing the news – the GOP is going to try and repeal health care reform (or what they refer to as Obamacare). And with health care the number one issue in the news right now I thought, what could be better than a special Health Care News Roundup: Repeal Edition?

In fact, all week I, along with our esteemed Disruptive Women, will be posting news, information and especially reactions and analysis to what’s going on on the Hill – though no one knows quite yet just what that will turn out to be. Whatever this week brings with the Repeal Act and subsequently proposed bills, rest assured that we will have all the health care news you can use (and then some!).

The day has finally arrived, just a week or so later than expected. Delayed by, of course, the tragedy in Tuscon, but also by sleet and snow and ice, bureaucracy and decorum and all those other factors that prevent much if anything from ever getting done in Washington, the day we have all been waiting for is finally upon us. Only the start of the day was delayed until 2 pm (thanks DC ice storm). What day, you ask? Why, the day that the House will begin hearings on “Repealing The Job-Killing Health Care Law Act” (and if you, like me, are thinking that that is the dumbest name for a bill ever in the history of our republic, you will probably also, like me, get a kick out of this article ).

Hearings have been underway for a little while now, though the final vote is not expected until sometime late tomorrow, per CSPAN. And if you just can’t get enough of the repeal hearings, you can watch them and/or read a liveblog here.

Certainly if you have enough time to watch CSPAN, you have enough time for a little extra reading, and if that’s the case I would strongly recommend this piece from Kaiser Health News, explaining one of the most common health care mystery terms, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).

Now, this repeal business may seem at face value to be bad (read: very, very, very) bad news for the Democrats, but not everyone on the Left is looking at the glass as half empty. Per Politico, some Dems – HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius chief among them – see the beginning of the repeal hearings as a good thing (no, you didn’t read that wrong, I did type a good, g-o-o-d good thing). As Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) explained, “‘We welcome, in a certain sense, their attempt to repeal it because it gives us a second chance to make a first impression.’” Whether this is true, we shall see… (more…)

* In true disruptive fashion (we like to keep our readers on their toes) Lance Armstrong was October 2010′s Man of the Month. We are sorry this did not get posted then, but know you will still find the information interesting and relevant!

By Hope Ditto. No matter where you look in October – from the football field to the supermarket, the National Mall to the shopping mall – everyone’s attention is on Breast Cancer Awareness. Of course, considering that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this is hardly surprising, and in fact it is commendable how much attention from people of all genders, races and socioeconomic classes take pause for one month a year to recognize and redirect energy towards combating breast cancer. But, the Disruptive Women, focused though we are on women’s health issues, thought that the ta-tas had gotten more than their share of the limelight and that it was time to give some attention to a certain OTHER body part.

So, rather than choose someone particularly active in breast cancer awareness or research to be our October Man of the Month (MotM), we took our choice south – literally – and selected seven-time Tour De France champion and relentless TESTICULAR cancer advocate Lance Armstrong for this highly coveted honor.

Why Armstrong? Because not only has he made a steadfast commitment to a health issue affecting a significant portion of the population, but because he also embodies so many qualities we look for in a MotM. He has, against all odds, succeeded in his chosen area of expertise, he has been and continues to be his own best health advocate and he uses his professional fame to direct attention towards a significant medical issue facing the wider populace.

Armstrong, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996, did not take his diagnosis lying down. Not only did he and his doctor work to devise an alternative and ultimately highly successful treatment plan for his advanced cancer, but he also almost immediately used his fame as a professional athlete to the advantage of cancer patients everywhere. Seeking a greater platform through which to reach people, Armstrong established the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) in 1997 with the mission of inspiring and empowering cancer sufferers and their families. Shortly thereafter, the Foundation launched the highly successful LIVESTRONG yellow band campaign.

Since its establishment, LAF has continued to achieve and surpass goals, to the benefit of survivors of all types of cancer around the world. Not only has LAF continued to advocate and to raise money, but the Foundation has, every year, taken new and greater steps to gain awareness and monetary support for cancer research initiatives – including hosting the first ever LIVESTRONG Presidential Cancer Forum in 2008 and the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit in 2009.

Armstrong, who has now been in remission for over a decade, continues to defy the odds on the racetrack and off it. He continues to be active in the professional cycle racing world, as well as taking LIVESTRONG global and serving on the President’s Cancer Panel. Anyone, healthy or otherwise, would be lucky to achieve even a fraction of what Armstrong has in his life, and for the fact alone that he survived it while suffering from testicular cancer, we are pleased to call him our October Man of the Month.

By Archelle Georgiou. Ever have a deconstructed cupcake? It was our favorite dessert in QSine, the specialty restaurant aboard our cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse. Plain cupcakes were served with chocolate, vanilla, and caramel icing along with four types of sprinkles. While we all had the same ingredients, we each created our own (almost) perfect concoction.

And, during a long and relaxing sea day, I started reading The 5 People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom’s fictional story about Eddie, an amusement park maintenance man who dies and goes to heaven.  When Eddie arrives in the afterlife, he encounters five strangers, but then he realizes how each one of them had significantly influenced his life on earth as they taught him about sacrifice, forgiveness, love, and interconnectedness.

Who knows what happens when we transcend from this existence to the next. But, why wait for heaven? There are individuals who have stepped into your life and forever shaped who you are and how you think. They are the heavenly people you have met on earth.  

Rich

At 16, I left home for the first time to attend an 8-week summer camp. During the day, I was part of a small group of students selected to work in a biological warfare laboratory in Fort Detrick, Maryland. At night, we integrated with a larger group of kids enjoying traditional summer camp activities. Too shy to participate,  I sat by myself writing letters to my parents. Tired of coaxing me to get involved, all the counselors decided to leave me alone—- except Rich who thought I needed some individual attention. During his time off, he took me swimming and running and taught me to dance—all firsts for me and the first time I realized that love exists.  While Rich and I may have had a different future had our lives intersected at another time, he is still my dear friend 33 years later.

Stephen

My first surgery rotation in med school was with Dr. Stephen Kopits,  a pediatric orthopedic surgeon specializing in the treatment of dwarfs.  Voted “Baltimore’s Best Doctor” I was most excited about scrubbing in with him during his famous 12-hour surgeries where he untwisted, de-coiled and re-built the skeletons of his very small patients. But, it wasn’t his technical excellence in the operating room that made an indelible mark on my career. It was the relationship he had with his patients.

Most of his “little people,” as they prefer to be called, ranged in height from 24 to 36 inches. At 6’2”, Kopits towered over them, even while sitting in a chair. So, in clinic, he’d sit on the floor, legs crossed Indian style,  and made direct eye contact with his patients as he spent hours answering questions, drying their tears, and reassuring them that they could live a full and productive life.  “Archondoula, always remember” he said in his thick Hungarian accent, “you have to love your patients.”  I never saw Dr. Kopits after my rotation but when I learned that he died of a brain tumor in 2002, I sobbed.  He taught me what it really means to be physician. (more…)

We are not just talking about human or even animal names, but as articulated in a recent Kaiser Health News article Rebranding ‘Obamacare’  on January 3^rd they matter for legislation as well.

This article discusses the various names the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has taken in the last couple of months. The insights are enlightening, take a look and let us know…What name do you think best encapsulates health care reform?