March 19th, Brian Klepper
A class action legal ruling this month found that United Behavioral Health, UnitedHealthCare’s mental health subsidiary, established internal policies that discriminated against patients with behavioral health or substance abuse conditions. In a health system fraught with low value and dishonest performance reporting, how do we punish violators and how do we encourage value and honesty?
March 12th, Michael L. Millenson
For those who are sick and scared, posting health care price tags isn’t good enough—the glaring information gap about the quality of care must be eliminated. But how can we go about doing that? A good place to begin would be supporting the research needed to generate the detailed outcomes information patients urgently need for what can be life-and-death choices.
March 11th, Peter Yellowlees
Telepsychiatry has become an established form of mental health care and has improved patient satisfaction, making care more convenient and helping patients to be more comfortable with their providers. But the impact of telemedicine on mental health providers has been examined in less detail. It turns out that this may be a significant way to tackle the massive problem of physician burnout, making providers both more efficient and clinically effective.
