The Cost of Inconvenience and Discomfort

In his book Crisis of Abundance: Rethinking how we pay for health care, Arnold Kling gives an example of how economists view non-monetary costs in medical care setting. “Most people do not like to go to a doctor, undergo medical procedures, or stay in a hospital.  However, economists do not see this as offsetting the…

China and AIDS

The New York Times has an interesting article (“China’s Muslims…“) of how AIDS is affecting Muslims in western China. The newspaper reports that there is a “sea change by the Chinese public health establishment” in which intravenous drug users are now being sent to treatment instead of jail. The major impetus for this change was…

Mass immunizations

What is the most efficient procedure to immunize large groups of people? This is an interesting question, especially considering the potential need to distribute vast amounts of medicine in the case of a terrorist attack. Since the CDC’s Vaccinations for Children (VFC) program recommended flu shots for that all children age six months and to…

Weekend Reading

Some interesting readings for your weekend… The Health Affairs blog gives a succinct explanation comparing the U.S. health care system to the typical European model. (“U.S. Pluralism vs. International ‘Systemness‘”) On Wednesday, the Health Business Blog reported that Toyota is starting its own medical clinic to provide primary and outpatient care for its employees at…

How good is your PCP?

In an interesting article, the Gooznews website asks “How good is your primary care physician?” The answer, at least for the U.S., is not so good. Referencing a 2006 Health Affairs survey of primary care physicians in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Gooznews cites the slow…

Getting water to China’s north

Having a safe and reliable water supply is a prerequisite for longevity. In China’s arid northern region, procuring water has always been a problem. In this week’s Economist, the magazine reports (“A modest proposal“) on some of China’s latest efforts to bring water to this region. The Chinese have already been hard at work diverting…

Medicare prescription drug co-author loses race

Nancy Johnson, a co-author of the Medicare prescription drug, has lost in her bid for re-election.  According to Fox News (“GOP Rep. Johnson loses…“), the 12-term Republican representative has lost to Democrat Chris Murphy in the Connecticut house race.  The Boston Herald (“Johnson loses…“) reports: “Murphy, 33, has slammed Johnson for her support of the…