Front-Line Staff Perspectives

As an economist, I conduct most of my analysis based on the quantitative data.  However, qualitative data should not be overlooked.  A paper by Tucker et al. (2008) looks at how the front-line hospital staff evaluates quality issues.  Some examples of their findings are: The largest number of operational failures occurred in the equipment/supply category.…

Think Aloud: A tool for experimental economists

Are people irrational?  Many economic experiments have shown that people often make seemingly irrational or paradoxical choices.  An article by Ryan, Watson, and Entwistle (Health Econ 2009) probes whether or not people really are irrational using discrete choice experiments (i.e., pick option A or option B).  What they found is that some of the “irrational” behavior is often…

Comparison of Pharmacists and Primary Care Providers as Immunizers

This week my paper on Pharmacists as vaccinators was accepted for publication by the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Benefits.  Co-authored with John Fontanesi, Jan Hirsch, Sarah Lorentz, and Debra Bowers, “Comparison of Pharmacists and Primary Care Providers as Immunizers” examines whether pharmacists are productive and efficient vaccinators.  The abstract of the paper is below.  The…

Can Health Care Reform Save the Economy?

In the run-up of real estate and stock market prices, demand for labor in the construction, real estate, finance industry was high.  With the drastic drop in real estate and stock market prices, the demand for loan officers, construction workers and investment bankers has dropped.  Individuals who have been laid must find a new job.…

Cuban Exports: Sugar, Cigars…and Cancer drugs?

Cuba is well known for its high quality cigars and sugar production, but is less well-known for its production of high quality pharmaceuticals.  According to MSNBC, “With more than 7,000 scientists dedicated to researching new drugs, Cuba has one of the most sophisticated biotech industries in the developing world. Last year the country earned $350…