Deloitte Poll: Consumers Express Mixed Views About Health Reform

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Nov 16,2010

A new consumer poll by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions found that 41 percent of consumers believe health reform will have a positive impact on fostering economic recovery in the United States, while one out of four (25 percent) believe it will have a negative impact.

Additionally, 38 percent of consumers are not at all knowledgeable about the components of the new health reform law; 64 percent give the current health care system a grade of “C” or below; and 67 percent think fraud has a major influence on driving up the overall cost of health care.

“Since 2008, we have surveyed consumers about their assessment of the U.S. health care system,” said Paul Keckley, Ph.D., executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.  ”Consumers remain mixed in their assessment of the system’s performance, concerned about costs, and supportive of changes that improve its value.”

Demonstrating the difference in opinions based on the age of respondents, nearly 80 percent of younger adults, 18-24 years old, think health reform will actually have a positive impact on economic recovery.  In contrast, only 30 percent of adults 55-64 years old and 34 percent of adults 65 years old and older think it will have a positive impact.

“Our survey findings indicate that the views of respondents are dramatically different based on age,” added Keckley.  ”Younger adults tend to be more optimistic about the impact of health reform, while older adults tend to be more skeptical.” Read the rest of this entry »


Thomson Reuters Announces Top U.S. Hospitals for Heart Care

  • Author: Health Informer
  • Filed under: Health News
  • Date: Nov 15,2010

Thomson Reuters released its annual study identifying the top U.S. hospitals for inpatient cardiovascular services.

The study, now in its twelfth year, for the first time singled out 50 hospitals rather than the traditional practice of naming 100 winners.

“We’ve chosen a more elite group of winners this year. These hospitals have raised the bar significantly,” said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals® program at Thomson Reuters. “They deliver higher survival rates, shorter hospital stays, fewer readmissions, and lower costs — which adds up to enormous value for the communities they serve. As a result, everyone benefits: patients, families, employers, insurers and the hospital itself.”

The study examined the performance of 1,022 hospitals by analyzing outcomes for patients with heart failure and heart attacks and for those who received coronary bypass surgery and percutaneous coronary interventions such as angioplasties.

The 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals are listed below.

The study shows that 96 percent of cardiovascular inpatients survive and approximately 93 percent remain complication-free, indicative of improved cardiovascular care across-the-board over the past decade. The 50 top hospitals’ performance surpasses these high-water marks as indicated by: Read the rest of this entry »


If detected early, nonmelanoma skin cancers (primarily basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, the two most common forms of skin cancer) can be easily treated.

But when left untreated, these skin cancers can grow and even spread, causing considerably more harm than if they were treated upon initial detection. Now, a new study finds that denial is the top reason why patients delay seeking treatment for skin cancer and shows that this delay results in larger, more serious, skin cancers.

In the article entitled, “Delayed treatment and continued growth of nonmelanoma skin cancer,” published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, dermatologist Murad Alam, MD, MSCI, FAAD, chief of cutaneous and aesthetic surgery, and associate professor of dermatology, otolaryngology, and surgery at Northwestern University, Chicago, presented results of a study examining why patients delay seeking medical attention for suspicious growths and the consequences of their procrastination.

“Studies show that various patient-specific factors appear to be responsible for the delay in the treatment of cancers in general, and skin cancer in particular,” said Dr. Alam. “The purpose of this study was to determine the patient- and physician-specific reasons, including physical, financial, social, intellectual, and psychological factors, to which patients attribute delays in the diagnosis and treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancers.”

Patients reported that denial was the most frequent reason for waiting to see a doctor about a suspicious lesion – accounting for 71 percent of all cases. Specifically, the two most commonly listed reasons why patients waited to see their doctor were “thought it would go away” (36 percent), and “thought it wasn’t important” (24 percent). Read the rest of this entry »


Legacy applauds HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the leadership at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its bold new effort announced to dramatically reduce the number of American lives lost annually to tobacco-related disease. Still the number one preventable cause of death, tobacco continues to claim more than 400,000 lives each year in the United States.

The announcement included a proposed rule, Required Warnings for Cigarette Packages and Advertisements, requiring more prominent warnings to better communicate the deadly effects of tobacco. As Secretary Sebelius shared with us today, anyone who picks up a pack of cigarettes will soon clearly understand the risk that comes with smoking. Placing prominent color photos and warning statements will hopefully help young smokers make more informed decisions about lighting up, and give current smokers a renewed commitment to quit their addiction for good.

The proposed graphic warnings would significantly cover the front of cigarette packs, replacing the current warnings on the narrow side of cigarette packs, and would be required as part of the new proposed rule. The proposed warnings include images of tobacco-related cancers and even the corpse of an individual who has passed away from lung cancer. Read the rest of this entry »


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