Surprise: Long-Term Care in California is Very Wasteful
$7 billion worth of services for 1 million of the state’s low-income aged and disabled citizens are provided by seven different departments, none of which are coordinated via a central…
Defending the Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY)
Pity the QALY. The health economist’s admittedly imperfect measure has become a whipping boy of those who pretend the US can sustain policies that ignore aggregate spending levels in health…
What Would You Give Up?
Full report from Deloitte. HT to Aaron Carroll. Full report from Deloitte. HT to Aaron Carroll.
Satisfying Your Customers with Social Media
The May/June 2011 issue of Healthcare Executives includes an article I wrote about using social media to engage patients in their Satisfying Your Customers column. And, I've been invited to…
Fight on Fat
How Portland, Maine, took a stand against childhood obesity. It spent $3.7 million to rally schools and other sites in the state. More families adopted 5-2-1-0 a day: At least…
Government Regulation Isn’t That Bad . . . If You’re a Dog
If you’re a human, I think you have to go to Europe for treatments like this. Adult animal stem cell technology uses the body’s own regenerative healing power to cure…
Study: Comparative Data on Pharma Products Lacking from Previous Decade
Comparative effectiveness research — the direct comparison of care interventions to determine which work best for which patients and which pose the greatest benefits and harms — has long been a pet…
Understanding ERISA
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) published an interesting article on Governor Jan Brewer’s (R-AZ) veto of several measures intended to stem ObamaCare in Arizona. It is a…
End of Life Wishes Simplified with Patient / Physician Agreement
Courtesy Ohio State UniversityCourtesy Ohio State UniversityAdvance directives, which allow people to plan ahead for end-of-life care, can be too vague taccording to some experts. That is why a growing…
First Female to Be Nominated USAR Surgeon General
Not only do physicians obtain automatic commission as officers in the armed forces. Nurses make up an enormous contingent, and increasingly so. After this appointment, I see not only an…
