Survival Analysis

If we start with 1000 people and 10% of the population dies each year, how many people will be left in 10 years?  One could figure this out using manually.  However, for more complicated models, involving covariate predictors of survival, using survival analysis is helpful. Survival analysis starts with a hazard function, λ(t), which gives the…

Assorted Links

Waiting: 70 days to see an ob-gyn in Massachusetts. Why Obama’s health reform efforts will succeed where the Clinton’s failed. Government auto inspections do not affect car accident rates. Wellcare’s Bill: $80 million for Medicare/Medicaid fraud, $10 million for SEC violations. McKinsey: Regulation drives complexity. Using prices to ration water. On the table: Removing the tax exemption on…

Medical procedures: What proportion met quality standards?

According the a 2008 Leapfrog Hospital Survey, below are the proportion of each type of medical procedure that met quality standards: Coronary artery bypass graft: 43% Percutaneous coronary interventions: 35% High-risk deliveries: 32% Pancreatic resection: 23% Bariatric surgery: 16% Esophagectomy: 15% Aortic valve replacement: 7% Aortic abdominal aneurysm repair: 5% Source: Binder and Rudolph (HSR…

Overuse in Healthcare: 5 Examples

23 percent of tympanostomy tubes placed for middle ear infection are inappropriate (Kleinman et al. 1994); 5–35 percent of adult asthma care are inappropriate (Starfield et al. 1994); 16 percent of hysterectomies are inappropriate (Bernstein et al. 1993); 9.4 percent of hospital admissions for pneumonia are considered inappropriate (Payne et al. 1995); and 20 percent…

AHA: Maybe $2 Trillion’s a little high

Last week a consortium of health insurers, health providers, hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers claimed that they could save the country $2 trillion in health care costs.  I was skeptical of this claim. It turns out now that the American Hospital Association (AHA)–one of the signees of the letter–is also skeptical.  Fierce Healthcare reports that AHA president…

Half a billion: UC Budget Gap

The state of California is in serious fiscal trouble.  Those troubles extend the state’s flagship university system.   “The scenario that assumes failure of the May 19 state ballot propositions would leave the UC system with a net budget reduction of $322 million, or 10 percent, in the 2009-10 year. Taken together with the state’s…

Quotations on Intellectual Hazard

Econ Journal Watch has a swath of quotations concerning intellectual pursuits. “[The economist’s] response [to his impotence to influence opinion] may be to retire from that field of intellectual activity in which he could be of direct service to the community and… concentrate on the development of an intricate technique of analysis. he may then find himself the possessor…

A Health Wonk Review Smorgasbord

The Workers Comp Insider hosts this week’s edition of the Health Wonk Review.  My favorite posts include: Skepticism on private health providers pledge to cut $2 trillion in costs: here, here and here. Wellcare is a publicly-help company whose revenues come from government contracts and who pumped $2.4-million into the Florida political system in the ’04…

More Google Innovations

Google now has a website in Beta called Knol.  Knol basically has a bunch of user responses to ‘how-to’ questions.  The winner of a Google contest for the best knol was how to “Talk to Your Doctor” by Dr. Jennifer Frank.  The article gives a list of things to bring to a doctor’s visit, such…