Healthcare consumers are not happy. Unlike other industries, healthcare has not had the need to be consumer friendly. Consumers didn’t have a choice before, but now that they are paying more for their care because of high deductibles, they are sitting up and taking notice of where they are spending their hard-earned dollars. In the [...]
April 12 San Francisco event. Cancer might be in your DNA. Cancer-causing mutations in the BRCA gene came roaring into our collective consciousness when Angelina Jolie candidly shared her decision to undergo a double mastectomy to prevent inherited cancer. How does a BRCA mutation affect the risk of cancer for both men and women? How [...]
I’ve been a volunteer for health organizations such as the Red Cross, hospitals, and community non-profits that served women and children since I was 12. Traditionally, the Y is associated with physical fitness and health activities for children. Their mission is to strengthen communities through development of youth, healthy living, and social responsibility. Recently, I visited [...]
Photo Credit: Jacqueline Sinclair Flickr via Compfight cc The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) mandate that everyone have healthcare insurance is one item targeted for repeal. The reason for the requirement is that insurance premiums are based on the people who purchase it, the probability that they will use it, and the cost of [...]
It's flu season again and the push is on to convince people to get flu shots so they don't get sick, and they don't make other people sick. That is what makes it a public health issue--the need to prevent a flu epidemic or pandemic like the one in 1938. My teen daughter and I went [...]
The same loyalty score. Net promoter scores* (NPS) are widely recognized across a variety of industries as a measure of customer loyalty. It is a simple way of summarizing customer experiences and satisfaction by asking the question: How likely is it that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague? The average NPS [...]
There are hundreds of painters in San Francisco and thousands in the Bay Area. You see their trucks on the freeways, streets, and in front of houses. They are everywhere. But what do you do when you want to hire a painter? Call a number on the side of the truck? Maybe. But you’re probably [...]
It seems that if a health plan is regulated by the Department of Managed Health Care instead of the Department of Insurance, it is not an insurance company and does not need to pay taxes on the premiums. The article below describes the case against Kaiser, Anthem, Blue Shield and Health Net. California's Largest Health [...]
A couple of weeks ago, a very popular restaurant in the Bay Area initially caused over 80 people to become very ill from food they ate at the restaurant. Over half were hospitalized and a dozen required intensive care. Worse than that, the type of bacteria, Shigella, spread from the initial wave of infected people to secondary [...]
We just returned from the Galapagos, home of Darwin’s observations on the origin of species. We went loaded with camera and video paraphernalia and memory cards so we would not miss a single shot of wildlife in the wild. The trip was so enjoyable that we looked at the photos and videos soon after coming [...]
