Overheard at GMM HQ
"Marketing metrics are like teenage sex: everyone talks about it, but nobody really knows how to do it."
~ GMM Friend Colin Cook, commenting on DTC metrics
WHAT THE INDUSTRY IS BUZZING ABOUT
SENATE PASSES MEDICARE REFORM...ISH
In a shocking turn of events, the Senate recently approved a bipartisan bill. The bill changes the way Medicare reimburses doctors. At risk was a threat of an automatic 21% cut in Medicare fees to physicians set to take effect April 15th. Instead, doctors will see an increase in payments one-half of 1% every year through 2019. This action will help prevent the repeated scrambles Congress has undertaken since 1997 to override the mandated limits written into the Sustainable Growth Rate Formula, which itself was designed to control Medicare spending by limiting annual increases.
INTRODUCING STAGNATION LITE
The legislation will hopefully mark a milestone in the push to modernize Medicare. In addition to the increase in payments, the new system will focus on outcomes rather than the number of procedures performed. What could go wrong with our finest elected officials on the case? Stay tuned....
THE 411
Medicare reforms add stability to the system and hopefully open dialog for a very inefficient and costly system that experts predict will inevitably fail.
IBM JUST MADE BIG DATA BIGGER
Watson, the same computer that famously beat super-champ Ken Jennings on Jeopardy, will now be providing a secure and open platform for Big Data solutions enabled by information gathering tools like Apple’s HealthKit and ResearchKit.
THE SUPERCOMPUTER WILL SEE YOU NOW
This move could change the whole healthcare paradigm – touching individual care to provide the kind of sample data that researchers have only dreamed about. The level of monitoring for individuals’ health conditions will potentially go way up, and be far less intrusive. Treatment professionals also state that they will gain new avenues to create coaching systems for patient behavior and preoperative/postoperative patient care.
THE 411
Big data can mean big healthcare benefits and opportunities. With the Apple Watch expected to take off, 42% of Americans and 36% of EU consumers are open to wearable tech. We may have identified the new frontier for healthcare.
GOOD TO KNOW
This group wants to make sure you don't get #McDiabetes by banning fast-food in hospitals. They are clearly not loving’ it.
