Why Your Doctor May Still Have Paper Records
The federal government is paying doctors go to digital. But many practices are daunted by the expense and other obstacles as they struggle to take the leap from paper to electronic records.
Health Exchange Pitch To Sports Fans Started In Fenway
The Red Sox helped get the word out about Massachusetts’ health reform in 2007, and in Colorado at least, the state is marketing its new insurance exchange to fans of the Rockies.
Entrepreneurs At Health ‘Datapalooza’ Ask Feds For More Data
The White House is trying to spur innovation by releasing more of its data from Medicare, Medicaid and other sources. But technology business leaders gathered in Washington, D.C. this week said the federal government could be a lot more forthcoming with information.
Colorado Exchange Board Spars Over Federal Funding
Statehouse Republicans say the board has asked for too much money for Colorado’s online insurance marketplace.
Colorado Weighs Reopening A Psychiatric Hospital To Serve The Homeless
A proposal by Gov. John Hickenlooper would bring mentally ill and addicted homeless people to Fort Lyon, a one-time mental hospital, then prison, that’s been shuttered for two years. The patients would voluntarily come to the institution. And the tiny town of Las Animas would welcome the jobs that reopening the facility would create.
In The Emergency Department, Gunshot Fatalities Often ‘Hard To Forget’
While some emergency department doctors take strong positions against guns, others maintain that the first defense is keeping firearms out of the hands of people who are mentally ill.
Grieving Doctor Regrets He Didn’t Ask Depressed Patient About Gun
Physicians are urged to discuss access to firearms with patients who might be suicidal.
TurboTax, Not Travelocity, May Be Better Analogy For Health Exchanges
Consumers in Colorado focus groups said they know very little about insurance and will need a lot of customer support to purchase coverage online.
Despite Incentives, Doctors’ Offices Lag On Digital Records
A recent study found that the health care industry isn’t benefiting from computer networks that have transformed other fields. But the federal coordinator for health IT says there has been a lot of progress that will result in better care and cost savings in the future.
Electronic Health Records Breed Digital Discontent For Some Docs
Two years and $8.4 billion into the government’s effort to get doctors to take their practices digital, some unintended consequences are starting to emerge. One is a lot of unhappy doctors.
Online Access To Docs Increases Office Visits, Study Finds
New research suggests that doctors who communicate online with their patients may not see a drop in office visits.
Colorado’s New Element In Exchange Plan: Certainty
The outcome of last week’s election means Colorado’s home-grown insurance exchange is green-lighted.
Hospitals Need Networks To Prevent Readmissions
The federal government wants many hospitals to adopt a model like Denver Health, which keeps readmissions low through its own network of neighborhood clinics.
Colorado Gets Closer To Essential Health Benefit Benchmark
Colorado is moving forward with broad consensus among the state’s decision makers on the minimum level of health coverage people will be required to carry beginning in 2014.
Colorado Pursues Insurance Exchange-But Keeps Fighting About It
A special legislative committee gave Colorado the green light on Thursday to continue working on its health insurance exchange by allowing it to apply for a $43 million federal grant. But first the lawmakers had to fight about it.
Firefighters Prevail In Fight for Health Insurance
President Obama has told federal agencies to start offering seasonal firefighters the same health benefits year-round federal employees get. The order came as legislation to make the change was introduced in Congress.
Psychiatric Patients Languish In Emergency Rooms
Competition to reduce ER wait times has spurred one Denver hospital chain to add a 40-bed psychiatric ward.
Attention Health Care Shoppers: Colorado’s New Price List For Procedures
Colorado is one of 14 states that have or are setting up searchable databases designed to help people shop and compare health care options based on price and quality.
Poor, Sick And Expensive: Colorado’s Scaled-Down Medicaid Expansion
The state is one of just a few that is expanding Medicaid ahead of a major expansion called for in 2014 by the federal health law. Though the state estimates that 50,000 people meet the income bar, Colorado will only be able to offer coverage to 10,000 people.
