The High Cost Of Being Overweight
Being out of shape doesn't just cost Mainers their health. Every year, more than $2 billion is spent on related medical fees and workers' compensation or lost in workplace productivity, according to a study set for release this week by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Maine Health hospital system...
Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine via RedOrbit (free)
April 2, 2006
Computerized Records Can Benefit Medical Care
Maine, like the rest of the nation, is seeing increasing demands on its health care system as the vast majority of baby boomers are passing middle age and entering the period where more visits to the doctor are inevitable. It's no surprise that medical experts in the state are looking to technology to provide greater efficiency in the system...
Portland Press Herald, Portland, Maine via RedOrbit (free):
August 21, 2005
Medical Histories at Click of a Mouse?
Janice Cooper totes a pages-long list of her mother's prescriptions every time she takes her to see the doctor. With five doctors taking care of the 85-year-old, Cooper wants to make sure the physicians, including a neurologist and pulmonologist, have up-to-date information. "I often get the feeling they don't know what the other one is doing," said Cooper, who lives in Yarmouth. "I think it would help if they could coordinate more." Under a system that's in the early stages of development, Cooper wouldn't have to worry...
Portland Press Herald, Portland, Maine via RedOrbit (free)
August 18, 2005
In Maine, Plan Shows Promise
The idea for the New Hampshire's insurance claim database came from Maine, where a group of large employers banded together in the mid 1990s to create a private database of their claims... In 2001, Maine passed legislation enabling the Maine Health Information Center and the state to create a similar database for the state as a whole...
Concord Monitor, Concord, New Hampshire (fee)
October 16, 2003
Brand Drugs Costing Mainers
A shift away from less-expensive generic drugs to newer and costlier brand names helped push up the cost of prescription medication in Maine from 1999 to 2000, according to a new study of 10 large businesses by the Maine Health Information Center. The study showed that while the use of all prescription drugs increased only 6 percent, the overall cost increased at twice that rate...
Portland Press Herald, Portland, Maine via HighBeam (fee)
April 4, 2002
Insured And Informed
Employer costs for prescription drugs, based on a survey of 10 Maine employers, rose 30 percent here from 1998 to 2000; for employees and their dependents, the increase was more than double that. The cost went up so sharply because Mainers are using more prescription drugs, they are using more of the new, more expensive drugs and they are slightly less often using generic drugs... A study offered last week by the Maine Health Information Center shows at least one area where those buying insurance can act to reduce costs...
Bangor Daily News, Bangor, Maine (fee)
April 12, 2002
Businesses Team Up To Study Workers' Health Care
A diverse group of businesses employing 100,000 Maine residents has formed to take an unprecedented look at the way workers use medical services. The group will share and analyze a broad range of statewide health information, with an eye toward influencing the way care is delivered and insurance dollars are spent... The data will be analyzed by the Maine Health Information Center, an independent data group in Augusta...
Portland Press Herald, Portland, Maine (fee)
April 9, 1994
