Mike Sherry

Disparities also reflected in mental health cost data

Post date: October 29, 2013 11:14 AM
Submitted by natasha on October 29, 2013 11:14 AM

By Mike Sherry, HCF guest blogger and KHI News Service journalist

Though they share a border, Johnson and Wyandotte counties often occupy different ends of the spectrum when it comes to health rankings.

Wealthy Johnson County typically outshines its working class neighbor to the north, as is the case with the annual report issued by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

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Organizers seeking lively discussion of mental health issues at KC event

Post date: September 17, 2013 10:16 PM
Submitted by natasha on September 17, 2013 10:16 PM

By Mike Sherry, HCF guest blogger and KHI News Service journalist

Mental illness is no laughing matter, of course, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy talking about it.

That’s especially true when you are going to be talking about the subject all day, which is the plan for a conference on tap for Saturday in downtown Kansas City, Mo. Click here for more details about the time, place and schedule.

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Improving a region’s health and economy ‘one family at a time’

Post date: September 11, 2013 2:54 PM
Submitted by natasha on September 11, 2013 2:54 PM

By Mike Sherry, HCF guest blogger and KHI News Service journalist

As an executive with the family telecomm business in La Harpe, Kan., David Lee doesn’t have much contact with recovering addicts or petty criminals.

That was the case, at least, until a few months ago. He now spends time in nearby Iola, Kan., with folks who are trying turn to overcome bad choices.

They meet through the Circles program run by Thrive Allen County, a nonprofit working to improve the health and wellness of county residents.

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Dare I say it, ACA doesn’t go far enough

Post date: August 29, 2013 10:20 AM
Submitted by natasha on August 29, 2013 10:20 AM

By Mike Sherry, HCF guest blogger and KHI News Service journalist

Just like education and defense, health should be a core function of government.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my share of frustrations dealing with government bureaucracies at the local, state and federal levels.

But our patchwork public-private system is a big reason health care in this country is so opaque, confusing, and expensive.

Worst of all, our employer-based model stifles entrepreneurism and, no doubt, erodes productivity.

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Patients, doctors should work together to harness data from health apps

Post date: August 7, 2013 10:25 AM
Submitted by natasha on August 7, 2013 10:25 AM

By Mike Sherry, HCF guest blogger and KHI News Service journalist

Headlines about the national security apparatus have served as a reminder that our digital lives say a lot about who we are as individuals.

Some may view this dimly when it involves government workers sifting through cell phone records. But people who study the science of data have coined a new phrase to describe how our electronic footprints can drive positive health outcomes.

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A futurist’s take on tracking improvements in the health system

Post date: July 24, 2013 2:06 PM
Submitted by natasha on July 24, 2013 2:06 PM

By Mike Sherry, HCF guest blogger and KHI News Service journalist

In the end, isn’t the safety net all about helping people lead productive lives?

If so, then why measure results with lab tests, such as cheering reduced blood sugar levels in a chronically ill diabetic? Wouldn’t it be better to track how many hard-to-serve patients stay healthy enough to get and maintain jobs?

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Stop paying for procedures, start rewarding outcomes

Post date: July 18, 2013 10:38 AM
Submitted by natasha on July 18, 2013 10:38 AM

By Mike Sherry, HCF guest blogger and KHI News Service journalist

Outside of the fact that both are located in the Kansas City area, it’s hard to imagine two businesses more dissimilar than Cerner Corp. and Truman Medical Centers.

The former is an entrepreneurial, international health care IT company founded a little more than 30 years ago. The latter is a two-hospital, urban safety-net system that traces its roots back to the middle of the 19th century.

That’s what made a 24-hour span last week all the more fascinating.

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