Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
What causes regional variation in spending and outcomes? Previous research claimed that physician treatment norms in different areas account for much of these differences. Recent research, however, claims that most of these regional differences are caused by geographic differences in health status. Reschovsky et al (2011) find the following when examining a sample of Medicare…
“Our imaging and diagnostic tests are so good, we can see things we couldn’t see before. But our ability to understand what we’re seeing and to know if we should intervene hasn’t kept up.” Michael Lauer, National Heart Lung, and Blood Institute via Newsweek.
One of the goals of health reform was to expand coverage to poor childless adults who previously did not qualify for Medicaid. One unintended (or perhaps intended) consequence of this expansion is that a large number of individuals formerly convicted of crimes will be eligible for the this coverage. Policymakers face a number of questions. …
The latest edition of the Health Wonk Review has been posted at David Williams’ Health Business Blog.
On my recent vacation, I visited Stockholm Sweden. In addition to walking the beautiful streets of a city made up of 14 islands and eating lots of pastries, I also had my Healthcare Economist glasses on as well. One thing I noted was the large number of fathers who were walking their babies in a…
Can ecstasy beat cancer? Smugling drugs into Mexico. Spotlight on… Julie Taymor. Bacteria stops dengue fever. Source of cholera?
One stop on my vacation was Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona is well known for amazing architecture, in particular by Antoni Gaudí. One other modernist site I visited was El Hospital de Sant Pau. Designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, the hospital is a World Heritage Site. Altough part of the hositpal is being converted into a museum, other parts…
The New Jersey Star-Ledger reports: “Since the dust settled and dispersed a decade ago, thousands of first responders have been diagnosed with pulmonary, respiratory, skin and blood disorders, as well as cancer. Hundreds have died, according to New York City officials and other groups, although not all of the deaths have been linked directly to…
Emily Holbrook of Risk Management Monitor hosts this week’s lean and mean roundup of the Cavalcade of Risk.