Health Care Efficiency: Academic vs. Vendor Measures

Measuring efficiency in health care is extremely difficult.  If there was an accurate scientific measure of patient health (e.g., a 1-100 scale) before and after treatment.  That way, one could measure changes in health before and after treatment per every dollar spent.  However, measuring health outcomes is very difficult.  In the academic literature, hospital efficiency most commonly…

The newest Research Associate at Acumen, LLC

Tomorrow, I begin my first day of work at Acumen, LLC.  Founded by Stanford Economist Thomas MaCurdy, Acumen specializes in program evaluation for Medicare and Medicaid.  Here are some more details from the Acumen website: Acumen, LLC was established by scholars from Stanford University in 1996 to improve the information provided to policymakers who design and revise welfare,…

Wal-mart wants universal health care…why?

Some people believe Wal-mart supports universal healthcare because: Wal-Mart wants to change its image,  Wal-Mart wants to make its voice heard in the process, or  Wal-Mart is flummoxed by unpredictable health care costs. Megan McArdle believes that there is only one reason Wal-mart wants universal health care: profits.  If all employers are mandated to provide health insurance, Walmart will…

To Test or Not to Test…

Tests play an important role in modern medical care.  Is my leg broken?  Check the X-ray.  Do I have HIV?  Look at the blood tests. But when are tests appropriate?  In some cases, tests will not alter treatment.  For instance, let assume that a person is either healthy or has Disease X.  Disease X is…

Canadian Mental Health Care

In this blog, I have frequently discussed the merits of Canadian and American health care systems (see Health Care Grudge Match).  One thing most people can agree with is that mental health care is subpar in both countries.   The Vancouver Sun reports of a man committing suicide by jumping off the Granville Street Bridge.…