Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
According to Thompson, et al. (2003), approximately 51,000 people per year died annually due to influenza related diseases between 1990 and 1999. Mortality rates are appreciably higher for those over 65 years of age. In order to reduce mortality and morbidity from influenza in the U.S., the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) released…
According to the Economist magazine (“Bit by bit“), firms such as Wal-Mart, Pitney Bowes, and Intel are announcing plans to launch an online patient-information service next year with the non-profit firm Omnimedix Institute. The consortium aims to develop Dossia, which—according to the institute—is “a secure, private, independent network for capturing medical information and delivering it…
Which treatment is more effective: placebo one or placebo two? This is the test researchers Ted Kaptchuk and colleagues investigated in their study published in the British Medical Journal and summarized in an April 2006 issue of Discover (“Placebo vs. Placebo“). Kaptchuk looked at 266 volunteers with chronic arm pain and randomly assigned each of…
The United Health Foundation has established a methodology of ranking each state by various health factors. The methodology examines health determinant measures such as: the prevalence of smoking, motor vehicle deaths, obesity rates, rates of high school graduation, health insurance coverage, and measures of violent crime and poverty. Health outcome measures are also employed. These…
The Cavalcade of Risk (#14) is now posted by Micheal Cannon on the Cato-at-Liberty website.
Getting more done in less time is the key to a productive day. Working efficiently is important for not just graduate students, but anyone who has to manage many tasks at once. The “All-but-dissertation Survival Guide” gives a few good pointers. Five Secrets to Add More Time to your Day, by Carrie Silver-Stock, MSW, LCSW…
Today, the New York City Board of Health has decided to ban artificial trans fats at city restaurants. The New York Times (“…Trans Fats“) reports that “Trans fats are believed to be harmful because they contribute to heart disease by raising bad cholesterol and lowering good cholesterol at the same time. Some experts say that…
An interesting quotation from A.V. Dicey‘s Law and Public Opinion in England regarding the role of the State in society. “The beneficial effect of State intervention, especially in the form of legislation, is direct, immediate, and so to speak, visible, whilst its evil effects are gradual and indirect, and lie out of sight…Nor…do most people…
Today I will be briefly be reviewing four recent articles which examine how physician payment methods affect the amount of medical service provision. GP reimbursement in Ireland Madden, Nolan and Nolan (Health Econ 2005) use a quasi-experimental framework to see how changing physician compensation affects the number of doctors visits. In Ireland approximately 30% of…
An interesting post from Joe Paduda of Managed Care Matters gives us an inside look of ‘What insurance people are really like.’