A New Way to Treat Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are characterized by a racing heart, copious sweating, rapid breathing and feelings of impending doom and loss of control. Approximately 15% of adults have experienced a panic attack.…
Learning from Children
As a parent (of three), I recognize that you can learn from children. But today, I'll write about how we can learn from pediatric hospitals. The current issue of Healthcare…
PPACA: “It’s in there!”
If you’re my age you may recall the Prego spaghetti sauce ads from the 1980s. “It’s in there,” replied the convenience-seeking housewife whenever the husband questioned whether the sauce had…
Health Care Research Awards
The National National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) recently selected its five finalists for their Annual Health Care Research Award. These studies include the following: Amitabh Chandra, Jonathan Gruber,…
Crowd-Sourcing a Medical Puzzle
The Times ran an intriguing experiment on its Well blog yesterday: a medical problem-solving contest. The challenge, based on the story of a real girl who lives near Philadelphia, drew…
Halo Monitoring Develops Fall Detection System
Halo Monitoring is a medical alarm company focused on enabling seniors to remain in their own homes safely and with more independence. The medical alarm, myHalo is an advanced personal…
Medicare Advantage Redux
Writing at the Health Affairs Blog the other day, Marsha Gold claimed that, “Existing research provides no evidence that either traditional Medicare or Medicare Advantage perform consistently better than the…
Attempt to Standardize Home Health Care
A pending Medicare rule set to go into effect on April Fools Day will require home health agencies to have a face-to-face meeting with prospective clients. Medicare beneficiaries will have…
Cancer Scare for Coke, Pepsi Drinkers
Most people know that sugary cola drinks have no nutritional benefits, promote weight gain, obesity and diabetes, and contain caffeine, a mildly addictive stimulant. Some people know these drinks…
Network Mapping Identifies Physician Influencers
Several years ago, scientists led by Harvard’s Nicholas Christakis showed how happiness and obesity can spread through social networks. The team showed for example, that when certain people gained weight,…
