Vacation!
I will be in Thailand with my lovely fiancée for the next 2 weeks. Posting will resume June 30th.
Author: Jason Shafrin
Is Obesity a Problem?
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…
High Quality Hospitals Near You
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.
Aviodable Mortality in 3 world cities: London vs. New York vs. Paris
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…
Kaiser Fast Facts
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.
Few Dentists are accepting Medicaid
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 Health Wonk Review is up
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.
Are wet babies healthy babies?
Does rainfall improve health for children in developing countries? Sharon L. Maccini and Dean Yang (2008) hypothesize that higher rainfall will lead to higher incomes for rural household and higher incomes allows increased food purchases and more disposable income to be made available for health care purchases. The authors find that in Indonesia, “[w]omen with…
Congress Pushes Curbs on Doctor-Owned Hospitals
The N.Y. Times reports (“Concerned about costs…“) that Congress is trying to impose new restrictions on physician-owned, for-profit hospitals. The legislators fear that these hospitals 1) drive up costs and 2) provide poor quality. Legislators worry that when physicians own the hospital, they may have more of an incentive to order more procedures to increase…
Poverty and Health in Developing Countries
Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo find that for rural households, the probability that the mother is alive is 36 percentage points higher if the family has a daily per capita expenditures (DPCE) of $6 to $10 versus a DCPE of $1 to $2. Using a panel data set specification, the authors also find that adults…