Making Sense of Health Care Prices
Take a look at the chart below. It shows representative prices for a knee replacement for different patients in different settings. The most shocking thing about the chart is that…
Patient-Centered Approach to Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Planning (podcast)
An initial diagnosis of cancer is enough bad news for anyone, but unfortunately it often also comes along with being thrown into an oncology diagnosis and treatment environment that is…
Research on Focused Ultrasound and Fertility Receives International Honor
Elizabeth Stewart, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, USA, was recently honored for her research on MR-guided focused ultrasound therapy and its effects on future fertility in women…
Best Practices in Medical Blogging and Social Media
I have read that medical blogging has changed. The bloggers posting clinical cases and clinical information have declined, many (like life imitates art) are retiring, conflicted about HIPAA and privacy…
Why There Is Stalemate in Washington
My favorite study (pdf) in this space was by Yale’s Geoffrey Cohen. He had a control group of liberals and conservatives look at a generous welfare reform proposal and a…
ICD 10 Transition Guide
CMS has published an ICD-10 Transition Guide to assist providers before the October 2013 due date. The new code sets for electronic health transactions include an increase in codes from 17,000…
Deficit and Debt Politics
The way in which John Boehner and other members of Congress essentially held the government hostage during the debt ceiling debate marks a new era in American politics. Never before…
Thousands of Nurses To Strike on Thursday In California
Strikes from nurses in California seem to be taking place a bit more frequently although nurses are going on strike all over the US. Back in March of this year…
Addressing Chronic Diseases Would Reduce Debt, Generate Savings
September 20, 2011 September 20, 2011This week, President Barack Obama shared his plan for reducing the national deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade, including making cuts of $248…
The Downside of Japanese Health Care
atients can nearly always see a doctor within a day. But they must often wait hours for a three-minute consultation. Complicated cases get too little attention. The Japanese are only…
