Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
“Cancer cured with soothing balmy oils.” Appeal to Reason “According to this repeated nationwide survey, more doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.” – TV ad Regarding patent medicine sold at the end of the nineteenth century: “…the medicines were ineffectual. Some of the syrups contained as much as 80 per cent alcohol; many of…
A push towards more accurate evaluation of health care quality has become a major public policy goal in recent years. The Department of Health and Human Services now has a website ranking hospital quality and California has a Healthcare Quality Report Card. One problem with simple quality measures such as mortality or morbidity rates are…
The Center for Global Development has an interesting measure of how much twenty one first world countries are helping their counterparts in the developing world. The measure is named the Commitment to Development Index (CDI). The index ranks each country the basis of seven categories: aid, trade, investment, migration, the environment, security and technology. More…
The New York Times reports today (“…Guidelines…“) that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidelines on how to prevent or mitigate an influenza pandemic. Some of the major non-pharmaceutical interventions are: Asking ill persons to remain at home or not go to work until they are no longer contagious (seven…
An interesting article in the New York Times’ Sunday Magazine (“Unhappy Meals“) tells readers not to worry about fat levels, getting your daily protein or carb counting. Michael Pollan, the author, claims that nutritionism in American has lead to less healthy, more obese Americans; instead we should simplify our eating habits. Most nutritionist studies examine…
The future of Social Security is in question. Even Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warns of the rapidly approaching Social Security “fiscal crisis.”. Individuals at the beginning or middle of their prime working years are unsure of how large (or small) their Social Security benefits will be when they retire. An NBER working paper by…
The Cavalcade of Risk #18 is up at one of my favorite websites: Joe Paduda’s Managed Care Matters blog.
For researchers who are planning on presenting research posters in the near future, Jane Miller (2007) has an excellent capacity-building article in this month’s edition of the Health Services Research (HSR) journal. Miller’s advice covers all the major facets of the poster presentation: poster design, concise phrasing of statistical methodologies, the narrative to accompany the…
The Reason magazine makes an compelling argument in favor of mandatory private health insurance (“Mandatory Health Insurance Now!“). A subsidy could help all individuals to afford the insurance. Some of the funds for this subsidy could be raised by eliminating the tax-deductibility of health insurance. This program funnels more than $140 billion a year in…
In 2005, approximately 114 million visits were made by Americans to the hospital emergency departments. Of these, more than eighty percent concluded with a discharge and a recommendation for follow-up care. Receiving prompt and adequate post-ER care is imperative for the resolution of many illnesses and temporary disabilities. Is timely care available for these patients?…