If you want to influence user behavior, offering an incentive isn’t enough.  You also have to make the implementation of that incentive practical and efficient.
For example, let’s say that a health insurance company is willing to lower your premiums if you lose weight, or lower your cholesterol, or lower your blood pressure.  The incentive is a direct financial gain, but how does the insurance company verify that you are doing these things?  Maybe they could provide a form for your doctor to sign, but that is a process that could …

There are more innovations occurring in healthcare than anyone can count or keep track of, but I was particularly interested in these four – three that I’ve experienced personally and one that I’ve read about.  They include a new product, a new pricing philosophy, new a business model, and a new distribution model.
Getting closer to the famous “tricorder”. GE’s new portable ultrasound puts an ultrasound machine in a doctor’s pocket – about the size of a smartphone.  According to an early-trial doctor, “Having Vscan at my disposal at all times …

First an important disclaimer – this article is NOT for OR against healthcare reform!  I (and most reasonable minds) can agree that (1) having ~50 million people uninsured is terrible, (2) our government is not exactly the model of efficiency in almost anything it does, (3) healthcare costs are growing out of control, and (4) our economic problems (read: deficit) provide serious obstacles to paying for expensive initiatives.
I’m not opining on whether a plan will work or not and what it should look like.  What I am very interested in …