Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Do You Have A Pet? How Much Do You Earn? Health Insurers Cull Personal Data To Enhance Medical Picture Of Patients
The Wall Street Journal: Health Firms Are Looking At Personal Data
Health plans are gathering more than just medical data on members. With the help of data-analytics companies, they are now making use of information such as how much people earn, how often they travel and even if they have a pet. These efforts are the result of a confluence of two trends: first, the rising recognition that social factors have a significant impact on health, and, second, a shift toward value-based care in medicine, where providers are rewarded for keeping patients healthy. By integrating medical data with personal information and applying analytics to it, insurers and health providers are hoping to identify patients at high risk of an illness or hospitalization and intervene to prevent it. (Gormley, 4/29)
The Wall Street Journal: When Parents Divorce, Apps Can Reduce The Child-Custody Acrimony
Divorce can bring out the worst in parents who are already accustomed to bickering with each other. Even an argument about whether a kid should join a soccer team—and who will pay—can end up in a courtroom. To minimize discord and unnecessary court time, family-law judges increasingly order warring parents to use co-parenting apps. The new tools may not solve every problem, but experts say they can ease the stress on children caught in the crossfire. (Jargon, 4/30)
