Know Your Obamacare – More Prescribed Reading from the Blogosphere

Here is my second round-up of the most intriguing and informative blog posts and stories from around the Internet to help Field Clinic readers keep on top of a wide range of developments.

Visit your doctor without getting off the couch: Direct-to-consumer telemedicine – has its time come? (mHealthNews)

As other industries embrace mobile technology, can healthcare make use of innovation to increase access and promote efficiency?  Dr. Kvedar reviews some of the obstacles to telemedicine.

Death by any other name still needs to be discussed: The Changing Legal Climate for Physician Aid in Dying (JAMA)

Physician assisted suicide has been replaced with the phrase "aid in dying" as a more accurate description for end of life choices.  As public support increases for physician aid in dying, states are reconsidering their legal position on the practice.

Also see: It's Always Too Soon Until It's Too Late: Advanced Care Planning with Alzheimer's (Health Affairs Blog)

Ellen Goodman reflects on her sister's struggle with Alzheimer's to highlight the importance of advanced care planning.  If patients don't plan ahead while healthy, it may be too late once a diagnosis is made.

Medicaid expansion as an exercise in state sovereignty: Virginia Should Take the Obamacare Medicaid Expansion Money and So Should All Republican States (Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review)

The Supreme Court empowered states to decide whether to expand Medicaid, and many Republican governors have declined to increase eligibility.  However, the Department of Health and Human Services provides flexible options for states that wish to design their own expansion models—an idea that should appeal to opponents of federally designed plans.

Meeting in the middle to improve the ACA: Travels in Hyperreality: What if Bipartisan ACA Fixes Were Possible? (Healthcare Lighthouse)

Both sides of the political aisle want to see changes to the ACA, but a bipartisan approach can result in mutually desired changes that will improve the law for patients and providers.