Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Hospital-acquired, or nosocomial, infections are often caused by poor hospital care. Patients arrive to the hospital and often leave with infections caused by unsanitary hospital conditions. Should Medicare pay for these hospital-induced health care costs? A knee jerk reaction would be to say no. If the hospital adversely influence patient health, Medicare or other payors should…
Paul Krugman won the Nobel Prize in Economics on Monday “for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity.” More coverage is available at the Nobel Prize homepage and The New York Times.
This afternoon I will by flying to Washington, D.C. for INFORMS 2008. This is a conference discussing topics related to operations research. Posting will resume on Wednesday.
One way to insure that you have a high quality doctor is that they have a medical license. In fact, no doctor can legally practice in the United States without one. Yet Shirley Svorney’s article claims that we can reduce cost any maybe even improve quality by eliminating licensing requirements. Many readers may pause here…
On Monday I attended the Applied Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Forum at UCSD. I will briefly summarize the presentations of the three speakers. Andreas Pleil, Senior Director Worldwide Medical & Outcomes Research, Pfizer. Dr. Pliel reviewed the findings of International Society For Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Task Force on Real World Data. “Real World” data…
N.Y. Times technology guru David Pogue has some neat computer tricks and shortcuts to make your time spent reading the Healthcare Economist easier. For instance: “You can tap the Space bar to scroll down on a Web page one screenful. Add the Shift key to scroll back up.“
The Wall Street Wipeout Edition of the Cavalcade of Risk is up at Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket.
While your wallet may be a little lighter and your 401(k) may have taken a beating, the economic downturn may actually improve your health. The N.Y. Times reports that “people tend not to take care of themselves in boom times — drinking too much (especially before driving), dining on fat-laden restaurant meals and skipping exercise…
Wall Street wasn’t the only group helped by the economic bailout bill. Also included in the bailout bill was a law that requires equal coverage of mental and physical illnesses. The law was the culmination of many years of work by mental health advocates such as Senator Pete V. Domenici and Senator Paul Wellstone. What will mental health…
The Economist magazine has a comparison of the two presidential candidates plans to reform the American health care system. For my take on the two candidates plans, see my post on the Obama vs. McCain health care policies.