Drug Company to Congress: The ‘Dog Ate My Homework’
Just about anyone who has ever been a kid in school recalls trying to make up an excuse believable enough to avoid being punished for not turning in your homework…
Complex, Chronic Illnesses Last a Lifetime and Consume 70% of the Healthcare Dollar
Medical care is organized to treat acute conditions but the need today is to prevent, diagnose and treat chronic illnesses. Unfortunately, we are sorely lacking in a good chronic care…
Government Health IT Gets Boost with Two New Websites
HealthIT.gov redesign was rolled out this week with seperate paths for providers and patients. It makes a great case for EHRs on the provider side including examples of successful implementations…
Diplomats for Polio Eradication?
As China reports four cases of wild poliovirus type 1 close to the border with Pakistan (here) and $128 million in new grants arrive to the Global Polio Eradication…
Explaining Our Debt Problem
Recently, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States because of our budget problems. But the figures are awfully hard to comprehend: U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000 Federal budget: $3,820,000,000,000 New debt:…
A Victory for Coverage with Evidence Development
A federal study of a new stent designed to prevent repeat strokes was stopped early because 2 1/2 times (14.7%) more people either died or had a repeat stroke after…
Gifts to Doctors: What the Talmud Teaches
Recently I heard a Rabbi discuss the prohibitions against bribes in Jewish law. He shared the Talmudic insight that “a gift blinds the eyes of the wise” and taught that…
Contagion: Help Congress Protect the CDC’s Outbreak Investigation Budget
This is a joint post with Kate McQueston. Coming your way in September, Contagion is a star-filled movie about a global bird flu outbreak complete with scary music, frequent deaths,…
National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month – Paving the Way towards a Healthier Future
There are an estimated 23 million obese or overweight children in the United States and this number continues to rise each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)…
Britain Rations Health Care
Hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal are among operations now being rationed in a bid to save the National Health Service money: Hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal…
