So Dr. Jacobs began making video e-mails, giving patients the results himself, and explaining them in more detail. If the news is bad, Dr. Jacobs sends a video requesting that the patient make an appointment.

Dr. Jacobs has been sending video e-mails for about seven months. He said he does it because his patients like it, not only because they can see him talk about their test results, but also because they like how tech-savvy the video e-mail makes him appear.

"They say, 'Thanks,' and then, 'How did you do that?' " Dr. Jacobs said.

That "how" question is one a small but growing number of physicians are trying to figure out, as they incorporate the use of Internet video into their practices.

Doctors are creating video blogs, or posting video of lectures or procedures, or as Dr. Jacobs is doing, adding video to e-mail. Some are posting video to their own Web sites, to YouTube or to doctor- or health-specific sites.

Creating Web video doesn't have to be expensive. Dr. Jacobs pays $9 per month for his video e-mail system and made a one-time purchase of a webcam, which can sit atop or near the computer and feed video straight into it. A webcam can cost as little as $25.

Nina Sossamon-Pogue, with BenefitFocus, a Charleston, S.C.-based health IT company that recently launched the open-source video site icyou.com, said video is a way to make things easier for patients to understand what the physician wants to convey.

December 31st, 2007 | Uncategorized | Comments Off Former United CEO settles in case charging stock backdating UnitedHealth Group's former CEO and board chair has settled with the company and the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that he benefited from an illegal scheme to maximize what he earned in stock options. But legal troubles remain for both William McGuire, MD, and United. On Dec. 5, 2007, Dr. McGuire settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission and with pension funds that had brought a lawsuit against him over backdating of stock options, which was alleged to have occurred from 1994 to 2005. The SEC settlement totaled $468 million, the largest ever resulting from options backdating. Though Dr. McGuire admitted no wrongdoing, the size of the settlement "reflects the magnitude and scope of Dr. McGuire's misconduct," Linda Chatman Thomsen, director of the SEC's enforcement division, said in a prepared statement. Of that total, $7 million was a civil fine paid to the SEC, another $12.7 million was a return of what the SEC called "ill-gotten gains," and the remainder was a forfeiture of options already issued. The SEC settlement also bars Dr. McGuire from serving as an officer or director in a public company for 10 years. In the lawsuit settlement, Dr. McGuire agreed to reimburse United for $448 million in options and cash, on top of $200 million in options he gave back upon resigning from United in November 2006, after 15 years with the company. The SEC said the lawsuit settlement, which needs to be reviewed and approved by a U.S. District Court judge in Minnesota, was sufficient to cover the forfeiture it had ordered. [...] Copyright 2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. RELATED CONTENT  You may also be interested in reading: Health plan earnings up, but United's woes continue  Feb. 26, 2007 SEC takes closer look at United's stock-option grants  Jan. 15, 2007 Stock option problems magnifying financial troubles for United  Nov. 27, 2006 December 31st, 2007 | Uncategorized | Comments Off Culture shock: Consumer-directed health care slow to catch on Family physician Don Gibson, MD, isn't too keen on talking about bills with patients. Usually, he said, if a patient asks about the price of a visit or a test, he refers them to "the people at the front desk," who manage the billing for his solo practice in Richland, Miss. His hesitance to talk about the cost of care or a patient's bill is just the way he was trained, Dr. Gibson said. "I do have to talk about money more. I personally don't like to be a part of it, but at times I have to be a part of it." The discussion about money is happening more often, in part because some patients now have high-deductible health plans paired with health spending or flexible spending accounts -- also known as consumer-directed health plans. Advocates of such plans say that giving patients first-dollar coverage will get them more involved in their health care, and more involved in discussing the costs. But analysts say those plans are growing more slowly than expected because of a perceived taboo about patients and doctors discussing the cost of care. "There's no question that there will be certain individuals who just don't feel comfortable having this discussion related to their financial situation, period," said Jacque Sokolov, MD, chair and senior partner at health care consulting firm SSB Solutions. It appears many patients and physicians are having a difficult time turning health care into a consumer-retailer discussion. "I'm only concerned about their medical problem," Dr. Gibson said. "I don't like that term, 'consumer,' even though I guess there's some truth to it. I've always considered them my patients, not consumers." [...] Copyright 2007 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. RELATED CONTENT  You may also be interested in reading: HSA enrollment growth slows but is still high  May 14 High-deductible plans seen as risky for kids  March 19 Congress adopts measures to boost health savings accounts  Jan. 1/8 Insurers offer expansions to consumer-driven health care  Sept. 11, 2006 December 17th, 2007 | Uncategorized | Comments Off Fight over physician quality ratings moves to Massachusetts Despite deals in New York that insurers pledge will improve their tiered networks nationwide, physicians are not assured that networks based on quality ratings will be to their liking. One of the hottest battles over tiered networks is going on in Massachusetts. It involves the tiered network system mandated by the Massachusetts state employees health insurance program, the Group Insurance Commission. In November, the GIC started accepting proposals from health plans that would set up networks covering not only 250,000 state employees, but also potentially another 330,000 municipal employees as the program expands to cover any state and local public employee. The commission and its insurers actually released their first networks based on quality ratings in April, but the expansion of its networks, and physicians' dislike of how ratings are established, has the Massachusetts Medical Society speaking out against the commission's tiered networks. In this fight, allies include legislators pushing House and Senate bills governing standards for tiered networks, and, in a case of strange bedfellows, BlueCross BlueShield of Massachusetts, which said it would refuse to submit a proposal. Katherine Atkinson, MD, a family physician in Amherst, Mass., said GIC health plans have sent notices to physicians informing them that they are in low tiers without offering an explanation, and without any chance to appeal their ranking. Worse, she said, the rankings are based largely on cost, but patients don't know that -- they assume the doctor must be incompetent or have committed malpractice. [...] Copyright 2007 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. RELATED CONTENT  You may also be interested in reading: More health plans agree to New York model for physician rankings  Dec. 10 Insurers agree to more transparent physician ratings  Dec. 3 New York agreement refines doctor-rating criteria  Nov. 19 Resistance builds against insurers' tiered networks  Sept. 17 December 17th, 2007 | Uncategorized | Comments Off Strong Link Between Obesity And Colorectal Cancer Strong Link Between Obesity And Colorectal Cancer Science Daily - Dec 14 8:06 AM A clear, direct link between obesity and colorectal cancer has been shown in a new analysis. The report shows that obese individuals have a 20% greater risk of developing colorectal cancer compared with those of normal weight. The analyses also indicated that obese men are at 30% greater risk of developing the cancer compared with obese women. Findings from the study also showed that carrying … December 14th, 2007 | Obesity | Comments Off « Previous Entries High Fiber Health is powered by WordPress and Minimalist Fever theme. Phone Card Instant