Cancer Patients Are Skipping Treatments Due To Cost

The journal Cancer reports that a growing number of cancer patients are skipping or foregoing life-saving, expensive treatments because of concerns about putting their families at financial risk. According to the June issue of Cancer, one in five cancer patients have delayed or missed at least one treatment because of cost. A 2005 Medco Drug Trend report shows that the prices of cancer drugs — many of which are expensive biotechnology products — increased 22 percent in 2005, compared with three percent for other drugs.

Case Managers, as advocates, can assist patients with funding challenges. Many drug companies offer financial assistance to patients so that they can comply with treatment. Case In Point will have information on community resources in a new column entitled Connection, which will be authored by Nancy Skinner, RN, CCM. The column will roll out in the October 2006 issue.

Source: USA Today, July 25, 2006.

WellPoint to Get Every Member A Personal Health Record (PHR) Within Two Years

WellPoint Inc. announced a nationwide initiative to bring electronic personal health records to all 34 million of its members within two years’ time. The PHR program, known as 360 Health, would be accessible online and contain insurance claims, lab tests and similar information. It would also contain educational and advisory tools on wellness, diseases and conditions, and self-management. The patient will own the record of their medical history and can share it with physicians when seeking service, with the goal of using information to improve accuracy of care and avoid duplication of services. 360 Health was developed initially by the New York insurer WellChoice, which WellPoint bought last year. More details about the program will become available as it is rolled out in each market. This is an important step that will have implications for case managers. Patients will have more questions and will need a reliable source to get clarification and guidance regarding treatment.

Source: The Indianapolis Star.

Marijuana Found In Gumballs at Howard High School

As you get ready to send your children back to school, take note of the latest craze hitting High Schools across the country. Click here to read an article and watch a short video on this troubling subject.

The State of the Managed Care Industry

If you work in managed care or invest in managed care organizations, take a few minutes to read this report. Shattuck Hammond Partners LLC, a leading healthcare investment bank, is pleased to make available a report on the Managed Care Industry. The report focuses on trends, financial performance, valuation, finance activity and industry highlights primarily among the publicly-traded managed care companies. Click here to read the report.

New Video Outlines Techniques for Effective Patient Self-Management

Health care professionals play a critical role in supporting patient self-management. This can be difficult for primary care practices, particularly for providers who are unfamiliar with behavior change strategies. To support health care providers in promoting patient self-management, the California Health Care Foundation has produced a short training video called “Techniques for Effective Patient Self-Management.” The 33-minute presentation provides strategies and tools that busy clinicians can use to help patients adopt healthy behaviors. Click here to preview a short clip and find out how you can obtain the video.

The Vegan Diet May be Worth a Try

A new study from George Washington University, the University of Toronto and the University of North Carolina found that people who ate a low-fat vegan diet, cutting out all meat and dairy, lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight than people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet. Click here to learn more

Entrapuneral Case Managers Get Your Business Cards Ready!

More U.S. companies are bringing aboard geriatric care management to help seniors who have no one to assist them in a health emergency. Such managers can help supervise the caregiving of an elderly patient and companies are adding the services to their “family friendly” benefits. Click here to read the article.

Microsoft Announces Plan to Offer Healthcare-tailored Software

Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced a plan to buy doctor- and researcher-developed clinical health care software from a nonprofit hospital in Washington, D.C., which is the company’s first step toward offering the health care industry its own tailored software. Doctors, hospitals and policy-makers hope adapting digital software to electronically track treatments and handle patient records will improve health care quality and save money. Case Mangers can be key to ensuring that these programs are user friendly and meet the needs of the industry. As most case managers are seasoned healthcare professionals, Health IT is an excellent career option! Click here to learn more.