North Carolina Health Link Weekly – March 13, 2015
March 13, 2015
The health care industry is one that begs discussion — it’s personal, it’s social, and it impacts us all. Every week we come across hundreds of articles, tweets, updates, and briefs. We thought you’d like to read some of what we’re seeing right now, and start a conversation. Tune in Fridays for your weekly dose of all things North Carolina health care news related.
Got a link to share? Tweet us at @bcbsnc with #NCHealthLinkWeekly, and we could feature your story in an upcoming Friday edition.
Innovation and Trends
- Behavioral health remote monitoring cuts hospital admissions (Fierce Health IT, 03-06-15)
Patient engagement through a remote behavioral health intervention following a cardio vascular event has the ability to reduce hospital admissions and length of hospital stays.
Healthcare Technology
- New Rules Are Issued for Testing of Medical Devices (New York Times, 03-12-15)
The Food and Drug Administration is toughening testing procedures for manufacturers of reusable medical devices. - How digital health is changing the planet (Triangle Business Journal, 03-13-15)
The world is abuzz with the changes occurring in health and wellness. - In Forecasting Health Costs, Let Technology Be Your Guide (New York Times, 03-09-15)
The expansion of health care insurance can drive the development of new technologies that can drive up health care spending.
Health and Fitness
- Efforts To Instill Empathy Among Doctors Is Paying Dividends (Kaiser Health News, 03-12-15)
The patient was dying and she knew it. In her mid-50s, she had been battling breast cancer for years, but it had spread to her bones, causing unrelenting pain that required hospitalization. - 7 scary facts about antibiotic-resistant superbugs (Vox.com, 03-10-15)
Scientists and public-health officials are a careful bunch who don’t often paint doomsday scenarios.
Industry News
- Drug researchers still aren’t sharing study results, despite federal mandates (Vox, 03-12-15)
Imagine making a decision about whether to buy a new home based on seeing only half the property. - North Carolinians qualify for Obamacare subsidies at a high rate: 93% (Triad Business Journal, 03-11-15)
In North Carolina, 93 percent of those who signed up for an Affordable Care Act insurance plan qualified for financial assistance, a figure well above the national average. - Special enrollment opened for those who face ACA fine (Burlington Times-News, 03-11-15)
There’s now a tax-filing special enrollment period available for health insurance through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace. - 4 hospitals, 12 healthcare companies total dubbed ‘most ethical‘ (Healthcare Finance, 03-10-15)
A new list released Monday highlighting the most ethical companies in the world featured four well-known U.S. hospitals and 12 healthcare companies in total.
Video
Answer Spot
Watch this video to learn more about accessing health care, managing your health insurance plan and staying healthy.More info at
