We recently came across an interesting article that discusses the challenges of locating the right information to help select a primary care physician.  Some interesting points:

• Determine if your insurance is compatible with the doctor’s practice.
• What is the doctor’s hospital affiliation? Is the doctor affiliated with a reputable, nearby hospital?
• How convenient is the doctor’s office to your home?

In the coming weeks, DocAsap will be launching with primary care, allowing you to find this information, and more, with ease.

An interesting NYT poll indicates that America’s growing frustration with the rising cost of care is driving them to support government-based solutions rather than those from private insurers.  Many prominent voices in healthcare seem to agree that the existing pay-per-procedure insurance model does not promote efficiency, providing proverbial wind to the Obama administration’s reformist sails until the Congressional Budget Office released costly estimates on the universal health plan.

HealthBeat argues that the government can provide universal access to care in way that does not jeopardize the country’s financial health or raise overall health care costs.  If the Obama administration can get doctors and insurance companies at the same table to emphasize efficiency-based rather than volume-based compensation, maybe the cost of care in the U.S. can decrease over time.  Still, major efficiencies will take time to materialize, necessitating tax increases to pay for the plan.

The NYT poll shows that Americans’ willingness to shoulder higher taxes is largely partisan, with Democrats supporting them and Republicans more mixed.  If tax increases are indeed necessary to bankroll universal health access in the short-term, we are likely in store for a long battle in Washington on this issue.  Stay tuned.

Health Affairs made available an article entitled “Take Two Aspirin and Tweet Me In the Morning”, which concerns patient empowerment via social media technologies.  It’ll be interesting to see how social media uniquely evolves in healthcare, as privacy issues loom and doctors might not buy in to it unless economic and clinical value is clearly evident.  Firms like Kaiser and Hello Health that are giving patients better access to care and more information are ones to watch, though the article also alludes to the nascent nature of such endeavors.   Furthermore, pure online treatment will likely only ever be an add-on to traditional offline doctor relationships, as you can’t take a shot, get a root canal or perform surgery via the internet (at least not now!).  Still, getting more information about and communication with doctors might radically improve access to care, something DocAsap is passionate about.