Here’s a New York Times Health Blog entry about an initiative in Minneapolis aimed at better understanding why patients don’t always take an active role in their care—and to test strategies for helping them become more involved. It’s too early to know if any of the strategies is working, but what we do know (blog writer Pauline Chen points to this survey) is that more involved patients tend to be in better health than their less involved peers. Read More

In an opinion piece at NJ.com, Richard Popiel (President and COO of Horizon Healthcare Innovations) reports that up to 30% of healthcare spending in the U.S. does nothing to improve patient health—and that “poor care coordination” is one of the three culprits.  Here’s a quote: Read More

CNN Money has a piece revealing what many of you may already know: Many doctors are having a hard time with their finances. Cardiologists in particular are suffering from deep cuts in Medicare reimbursements, which in turn have led private insurers to reduce reimbursements. Read More

Here’s an inspiring piece in The New York Times about Eric Lander, a charismatic and whip-smart leader in medical research who is fostering collaboration on a massive scale. His main goal in founding The Broad Institute of Harvard and M.I.T., which he heads, was to create a permanent environment where scientists and researchers could do the collaborative work that many of them were already doing informally. The Institute’s (mind-blowing) goals, according to Lander: Read More