I realize it's been quite a while since I taught - or was in school myself - but I'm distressed…
Morning Headlines 7/14/17
Opioids in Medicare Part D: Concerns about Extreme Use and Questionable Prescribing
An HHS OIG report finds that one in three Medicare Part D beneficiaries received a prescription opioid in 2016, while 90,000 beneficiaries were given extreme amounts of opioids, and 400 prescribers had questionable prescribing patterns.
HGP Releases its Mid-Year Health IT Market Review
Healthcare Growth Partners releases its midyear health IT market review.
Elizzbeth Holmes Just Put Theranos’s Palo Alto Headquarters Up For Rent
Theranos puts its 116,000 square foot Palo Alto headquarters office up for rent.
Mayo launches new $1.5 billion records system
Mayo Clinic brings its first facilities live on its $1.5 billion Epic installation.
RE: Mayo
I imagine a gas pump with the price just going up and up….hundreds of millions is now 1.5 billion…ouch…
• 1/21/2015 – Mayo and Epic will work together at a cost of “hundreds of millions” http://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/answer-man-hundreds-of-millions-is-safe-guess-for-epic/article_b60546ef-8061-5401-9882-016dfa39fb67.html
• 12/31/2016 – As reported in Mayo’s consolidated financials “operating and capital expenditures are estimated to exceed $1 billion.”
• 7/13/2017 – $1.5B “Mayo Clinic officially hit a milestone in its $1.5 billion system-wide Epic implementation over the weekend: The first 24 sites went live on July 8.” http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/mayo-clinic-kicks-massive-epic-ehr-go-live
That’s cute how you decided to just ignore the facts. The first link that you posted states several times that hundreds of millions is a GUESS. Your second sentence says costs are to exceed $1 billion (last I checked, $1.5B does indeed exceed $1B). There is nothing in what you posted to suggest that costs have increased.
I recently just paid about $1,200 for a follow-up visit for a hip replacement at Mayo I had 10 years ago. Being on a high deductible healthcare plan I didn’t get the best discount for my care there. Although the quality of care seemed OK, a $1,200 bill for one simple series of xrays, one lab test, and one 30 minute office visit seemed excessive. Given a $1.5 billion investment in Epic will make me think twice going forward whether I can afford to continue to use Mayo as my provider. Looks like I’ll have to try to find a lower cost provider with equal quality, that is if I can find someone who is even willing to share the cost of care with me before I make the decision to use that provider. Is healthcare in trouble in this country or not? What a mess.