Path Dependency in Health Reform: The Case of Medicare
I think I first learned about path dependency when studying physics — but it surely applies to public policy, too. Despite the scholarly disputations about health reform, what drives most…
Popular Smoking Cessation Drug Increases Adverse Cardiac Risk
First, and almost immediately out of the box, it was the concern for serious mental health effects.[1] Now, somewhat controversial smoking cessation drug varenicline (Chantix)
7 Fold > in 100+ Projected
Turning 100 isn't such a big deal anymore. That according to a recent Associated Press article. Turning 100 isn't such a big deal anymore. That according to a recent Associated…
Innovation Opportunities Abound
A new conference has been announced by the NIH: Crowdsourcing: The Art and Science of Open Innovation. Speakers incude Tim O’Reilly and ” will focus on the key aspects of…
Healthcare and Technology : Garnering Interest in Your Product
Lessons from a Gardener… Lessons from a Gardener… Every Saturday morning growing up in a sleepy Long Island suburb, I was shuttled off to my grandfather’s house. While I loved…
Uterine Fibroids: Freedom to Wear White
Ladies imagine planning your daily events based around the timing of you menstrual cycle. Some women suffering from uterine fibroids have a menstrual flow so heavy that it can…
Good News: Smokers Pay Their Own Way
It is likely that cigarette taxes are near the external cost level at current rates of taxation. If the goal is for tobacco taxes to simply account for the purely…
Heart Attacks & Hospitalization in CA
A report released by OSHPD on heart attacks & hospitalization in CA reviews trends over 20 years. Some of the highlights (mostly related to the hospitalizations) for me include: A…
Big Defense Contractors Take Aim at Healthcare
The U.S. Defense Department budget experienced a $2+ trillion surge from 1998 to 2010 and was the primary driver behind the growth and sky rocketing valuations of “defense IT” contractors…
Are Women Doctors Contributing to a Doctor Shortage?
About 30 percent of doctors in the United States are female, and women received 48 percent of the medical degrees awarded in 2010. About 30 percent of doctors in the…
