Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
According to an article on TheHill.com, Medicare denies more claims than commercial insurers. “Medicare was the most likely to deny any part of a claim, with a 6.9 percent rate. Aetna was a close second at 6.8 percent while the others ranged from 2.7 percent to 4.6 percent. Coventry Health had the fastest median turnaround…
The Telegraph reports that Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) has enacted a constitution. “[The constitution] will set out the rights and responsibilities for patients and what they can expect from the NHS in the 21st century. It is being seen by ministers as a chance to reiterate the founding principles of the health service, emphasising…
An estimated 1.6% of Ethiopia’s the population is blind, with approximately 12% of this blindness caused by trachoma. Trachoma is a highly infectious disease; it is spread through contact with an infected person’s hands or clothing, or by flies that have come in contact with the discharge from an infected eye or nose. One good…
I will be in Thailand with my lovely fiancée for the next 2 weeks. Posting will resume June 30th.
There is much evidence that has shown that over time for most developed countries, people have been getting fatter. Obesity rates are especially high in the U.S., but a trend towards increased obesity is similar in most developed countries. Are obesity rates “too high?” In a recent NBER working paper, Philipson and Posner argue that…
Which hospitals in your areas are considered high quality hospitals? The NetDoc.com website integrates hospital ratings metrics and Google Maps in a very user friendly way. Here is a sample for the San Diego. Hat tip to the HealthCare Management Blog. The blog also has an interesting post on physician rankings.
A recent paper by Wesiz et al. (Eur J Pub Health 2008) attempts to compare mortality rates and avoidable mortality rates in the urban core of 3 world cities: London (Inner London); New York (Manhattan) and Paris. Mortality The authors find that Paris has the lowest mortality rates and New York has the highest mortality…
The Kaiser Fast Facts website is a useful tool for any health researchers who need basic statistical information regarding medical care in the U.S. The numerous slides filled with information-filled charts and graphs.
According to a report by the The Colorado Health Institute, 68 percent of rural and 74 percent of urban dentists do not accept Medicaid patients. Even for those dentists who do accept Medicaid, many are not accepting new Medicaid patients. The full report is available here.
The latest edition of the Health Wonk Review has been posted at the Health Affairs Blog. This edition of the HWR focuses on the healthcare reform, and mentions the annual research meeting of AcademyHealth, of which I am a member.