by Jill Shuman, MS, ELS, Managing Editor, News Service

According to a study published in the January 2012 issue of Health Affairs, the United States could improve clinical outcomes and save money by adopting the use of more disease registries. Disease registries are online databases that incorporate clinical information on a specific condition from many different physicians and patient populations.

Researchers from the Boston Consulting Group and 3 Swedish hospitals analyzed data from 13 disease registries in 5 countries (Sweden, Australia, Denmark, United Kingdom, United States) and across 6 major medical conditions or procedures—cataracts, rheumatology, cancer, joint replacement, cystic fibrosis, and ischemia/heart disease. In addition, a number of healthcare professionals were interviewed to learn more about how registries work in various countries and to identify how they might influence clinical practice.

Compared with the other four countries, the complexity of the U.S. healthcare system has hindered the widespread development and use of such registries. This is unfortunate, as the researchers were able to calculate specific examples of how U.S. registries might improve clinical outcomes and lower healthcare costs.
For example, if the United States was to implement a hip replacement registry such as the one maintained in Sweden, we could lower the revision rate by 10% in 2015 and save $2 billion of the expected $24 billion in costs for revisions in that same year. In another case study, the researchers calculated that a national cataract registry could decrease the incidence of postoperative endophthalmitis—a complication of cataract removal—by 8500 cases. This translates to savings of approximately $25 million per year in direct medical costs and $125 million in medical and social costs.

Tags: disease registries
Posted in Hayes Blog, Healthcare Evidence | No Comments »

by Winifred S. Hayes, PhD, President and CEO, Hayes, Inc.

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you’ve heard me say before that one driver of the skyrocketing healthcare costs in the United States is our penchant for more of everything—more tests, more medications, and more treatments. Another contributor is the misperception that if a technology is new, high tech, and costs more, it must be better than an existing, cheaper one.

Nothing illustrates this better than the current rush to build expensive proton beam treatment facilities.

Tags: health technologies, proton beam treatment
Posted in Hayes Blog, Health Technologies | No Comments »

By Karen Matthias, MBA, RN, Vice President, Sales and Marketing

Botulinum toxin (BTX), commonly known as Botox, has been proposed as a treatment for certain types of chronic headaches. On October 15, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Botox injection to prevent headaches in adult patients with chronic migraine. After examining the new evidence, however, use of BTX for the treatment of migraine headaches received a low Hayes Rating.

Our recently updated health technology assessment on the use of BTX for the treatment of migraine headache examined these relevant questions:

Tags: botox, migraine
Posted in Hayes Blog, Health Technologies | No Comments »

by Winifred S. Hayes, PhD, President and CEO, Hayes, Inc.

Once a year, the healthcare leadership of all branches of our military services come together to learn, network, and interact with its vendors and suppliers. The conference provides an opportunity to discuss issues and problems, share potential solutions and best practices, affirm the mission, and gain clarity and plan for the Military Health System’s (MHS) vision and direction for the future. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard were all represented.

We found the many service members who stopped by our booth to be very interested in the value of evidence-based medicine. We are pleased to have had the opportunity to hear first hand from the military about their experiences, challenges, and commitment to provide world-class care to their patients.

We did notice that change was in the air! A number of themes dominated this year’s conference, which will impact the future of the MHS.

Tags: military health
Posted in Government, Hayes Blog | No Comments »

By Karen Matthias, MBA, RN, Vice President, Sales and Marketing

In nursing school, our instructors drilled us about the 5 patient rights for medication administration as applied to patient safety. The “5Rs,” as they are known, can be summarized as the following:

• Right dose
• Right time
• Right patient
• Right route
• Right drug

Tags: healthcare quality, patient care, PPACA
Posted in Hayes Blog, Hospitals | No Comments »

by Cici Collins, Vice President Government Services, Hayes, Inc.

If you’re attending the 2012 Military Health System (MHS) Conference on January 30 to February 2, 2012, stop by and visit us at Booth #424. We’ll be sharing our expertise and capabilities to support evidence-based, patient-centered initiatives that concentrate on ways to best serve the preventive and healthcare needs of the diverse beneficiary population served by the MHS.

As a TRICARE Management Activity (TMA) contractor since 1997, we are proud to provide information to meet the ever-increasing need for unbiased healthcare research that will improve healthcare delivery, enhance value, and optimize health outcomes for those who serve our country and their dependents.

See you at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in Maryland!

Tags: military health
Posted in Government, Hayes Blog | No Comments »

By Karen Matthias, MBA, RN, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Hayes, Inc.

Making decisions about which medical technologies to acquire isn’t easy. When considering new technologies, especially those associated with cardiology, bariatrics, orthopedics, and the operating room, navigating the myriad of information needed to drive a decision can be difficult. Choosing technologies that will optimize patient outcomes, control costs, and satisfy all of the internal stakeholders is a complex process. Attempting to satisfy competing requirements of a host of internal stakeholders can be tricky.

The impact of a decision may not come to light for months and often is exposed on the hospital’s profit and loss line. A decision may be deemed wrong by one or more stakeholders because of erroneous projections of uptake of a new technology, disappointing reimbursement from payers, or overestimation of improvement to patient outcomes over currently available technologies. Whatever the reason, poor decisions of the past drive the choices of the future.

Posted in Hayes Blog, Health Technologies | No Comments »

by Karen Matthias, MBA, RN, Vice President, Sales and Marketing

Hayes is pleased to have served as a resource for the article The New Face of Value Analysis just published in the December 2011 issue of the Journal of Healthcare Contracting. We agree with the experts that value analysis processes are changing in response to demands from government and private payers to examine the total cost of care. One way that hospitals and healthcare systems can enhance value analysis is to develop a framework from which to evaluate technologies that are not well supported with evidence. Our 10 questions provide a good place to start.

Read the complete article here.

Tags: health technologies, value analysis
Posted in Hayes Blog, Health Technologies, Hospitals | No Comments »

by Winifred S. Hayes, PhD, President and CEO, Hayes, Inc.

A Prescription for Fear, which appeared in the New York Times Magazine on February 6, 2011, and also online, points out the bias and pseudoinformation that result when consumer health-content websites such as WebMD allow health technology manufacturers to pay for content that may subtly promote their products. It’s not uncommon for bias and inaccuracies to infiltrate consumer health information and influence patients’ opinions about the healthcare they might receive, especially when companies create the perception of offering consumers “the latest and greatest” health technology. Unfortunately, consumers often can’t distinguish between hype and high-quality evidence. Consequently, they may wrongly seek out treatments or medications that have limited value or are unsafe—and demand that payers cover the costs.

With the array of new health technologies clamoring for attention from consumers and providers, the impact on healthcare payers can be significant as the costs associated with making wrong decisions continue to escalate. New and emerging technologies, even those approved for marketing, often have a limited evidence base with regard to their relative effectiveness and impact on clinical outcomes. Some are no more effective than competing technologies already in widespread clinical use; many are more expensive than existing options. Likewise, since serious and life-threatening safety issues often don’t emerge until after a new technology has been used by large numbers of patients over a long period of time, early adoption of such technologies could put patients at risk.

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by Karen Matthias, MBA, RN, Vice President, Sales and Marketing

We’re kicking off 2012 by providing copies of real reports on current topics in healthcare so that prospective clients can learn about the type of information that we provide. We’re offering these reports as free downloads. Simply complete the online registration form to view:

• Genetic Tests: HLA-B27 Testing for Ankylosing Spondylitis
• Genetic Tests: Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Insertion/Deletion (I/D) Polymorphism Testing for Hypertension
• Migraines: Botulinum Toxin Treatment for Migraine Headache
• Back Pain: Cooled Radiofrequency Denervation of the Sacroiliac Joint (Pain Management Sinergy System, Baylis Medical Co. Inc.) for Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain
• Breast Cancer: Intraoperative Radiation Therapy (IORT) for the Treatment of Breast Cancer
• Technologies in Development: Watchman® Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) Closure Technology

Posted in Hayes Blog | No Comments »