Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:
Is Cisco’s tablet an “iPad killer” for healthcare? Aiming for the business market while the iPad seems more of a consumer device, Cisco unveiled its Cius tablet, which is scheduled for release early next year. The always-insightful mobihealth news speculates that the Cius, with its supposed enhanced security and emphasis on enterprise applications, could be an iPad killer. “Many contend that tablets will require greater integration with a [hospital’s] IT infrastructure, a task many believe will crush a lot of hopeful iPad physician enthusiasts once they bring it to their IT department,” writes Brian Dolan.
Disappointed by Bilski: Venture capitalist Fred Wilson is disappointed that the Supreme Court, in the much-discussed Bilski case, “punted” on business method patents. “While patents are often thought of as protection for ‘the little guy,’ the truth is most patents are owned by large companies and increasingly by patent trolls.”
Massachusetts consumers gaming the system: This doesn’t bode well for advocates of universal coverage. The number of people who appear to be gaming Massachusetts’ health insurance system by purchasing coverage only when they are sick quadrupled from 2006 to 2008.
Dogma not data: Medicine is often based on habit, not hard data, according to a study of endrocrine surgeons’ prescription habits. The study found that about 90 percent either always or never prescribe antibiotics in advance of removing a patient’s thyroid gland, and only 11 percent base their decisions on the unique health needs of each patient.
The July effect: There’s much debate in medical circles over the “July effect,” the idea that errors spike in hospitals during the month as new residents begin their training. A new report, however, says it’s very real. Over nearly a 30-year period, fatal medication errors appear to jump 10 percent solely in that summer month in U.S. counties with teaching hospitals.
Berwick’s trouble: Donald Berwick, President Obama’s nominee to head up Medicare and Medicaid, may or may not be in trouble, depending on whom you ask, but one thing’s for sure: Health insurers don’t support him.
