October 9, 2014 at 6:29 pm
I am forwarding this excellent TIE post since every health researcher and indeed every consumer should realize how serious the lack of evidence is on many common surgical procedures. Here are some quotes organized in a succinct way. “2002… arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee … Those who had the actual procedures did no […]
January 8, 2014 at 9:48 am
Reposting from The Incidental Economist Blog What happened to US life expectancy? Posted: 07 Jan 2014 03:00 AM PST Here’s another chart from the JAMA study “The Anatomy of Health Care in the United States”: Why did the US fall behind the OECD median in the mid-1980s for men and the early 1990s for women? Note, […]
November 26, 2013 at 9:01 am
(Reposted from The Incidental Economist) This November 2013 UK study confirms what other studies have shown, which is that playing video games does not predict psychosocial adjustment problems in young children. Even watching 3 hours of TV per day in the UK has no meaningful association. I also reposted my favorite graph about videos and […]
November 14, 2013 at 10:22 am
This repost from The Incidental Economist (TIE) is one of the best summaries of US Health Care I have seen. I also appended the Uwe posting at the bottom. (The JAMA Authors are Hamilton Moses III, MD; David H. M. Matheson, MBA, JD; E. Ray Dorsey, MD, MBA; Benjamin P. George, MPH; David Sadoff, BA; Satoshi Yoshimura, PhD The JAMA Article, which has an abundance of tables, references […]
November 12, 2013 at 2:11 pm
AHRF=Area Health Resource File (Formerly ARF) 2012-2013 ARHF can now be downloaded at no cost. The 2012-2013 ARF data files and documentation can now be downloaded. Click the link below to learn how to download ARF documentation and data. http://arf.hrsa.gov/ “The Area Health Resources Files (AHRF)—a family of health data resource products—draw from an extensive […]
September 30, 2013 at 3:40 pm
For some reason I have been unable to embed these two figures, but these links should work. minimum_premiums_chart_2014 FL_minimum_premiums_chart_20140930
July 18, 2013 at 10:54 am
This news is sufficiently important that I am posting sections of several articles and summaries. From July 16, 2013 New York Times: Health Plan Cost for New Yorkers Set to Fall 50% By RONI CARYN RABIN and REED ABELSON Published: July 16, 2013 Individuals buying health insurance on their own will see their premiums tumble […]
This humorous web site from the Washington Post’s WonkBlog is worth a look. It will only take a couple of minutes. 31 charts that are informative but illustrates how one can put a negative spin on anything. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/24/these-31-charts-will-destroy-your-faith-in-humanity/ Here is the original post that it is spoofing. http://www.businessinsider.com/charts-that-will-restore-your-faith-in-humanity-2013-5
February 26, 2013 at 10:59 am
There has been a lot of news recently about a NEJM randomized trial Spanish study of diets that shows statistically significant benefits of two Mediterranean diets, one providing free olive oil, the other providing free nuts (mostly walnuts), along with other diet recommendations.Scientists randomly assigned 7,447 men and women in Spain over age 55 who […]
February 22, 2013 at 2:56 pm
Steve Brill, who just wrote a 36 page article for Time Magazine, conducted an informative interview on the daily show on Thursday, Feb 21, 2013. Here is the link to the unedited version. It is in three parts, and lasts about 12 minutes (including some ads). Worth watching if you have time. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-february-21-2013/exclusive—steven-brill-extended-interview-pt–1
January 31, 2013 at 10:58 am
There is a very interesting article about obesity in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. I recommend it highly to anyone interested in the topic. Myths, Presumptions, and Facts about Obesity K. Casazza and Others | N Engl J Med 2013;368:446-454 To tempt you to look at the full article, here is the list […]
January 10, 2013 at 10:15 am
The Commonwealth Fund has just come out with a new report outlining a strategy for containing health care costs in the US. It seems rather optimistic to me. Here is the opening two paragraphs and link. Confronting Costs: Stabilizing U.S. Health Spending While Moving Toward a High Performance Health Care System, Authored by The Commonwealth […]
UPDATE: On May 11, 2012, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security added several fields of study to the list of CIP codes that now qualify for the 17-month extension of initial 12 months of Optional Practical Training (OPT). The new list of majors – and their corresponding CIP codes – that qualify for the extension […]
March 22, 2012 at 2:42 pm
2012 Handbook of Health Economics (Pauly, McGuire and Barros) is free on-line. Here is the link to the pdf files. Excellent literature reviews and new insights. I purchased the hard cover version, but this is wonderfully accessible. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/handbooks/15740064 Many research universities, including BU have access to ScienceDirect. It is unusual for Elsevier to post its […]
February 14, 2012 at 9:28 am
Being insured is no guarantee unemployed will seek care Research suggests they may be unable to cover co-pays and deductibles, or fear they cannot afford the expenses that result. By Victoria Stagg Elliott, amednews staff. Posted Feb. 7, 2012. Unemployed people who have private health insurance are less likely to put off care because of […]
February 13, 2012 at 12:04 pm
ARF=Area Resource File 2009-2010 ARF Can Now Be Downloaded at No Cost. The 2009-2010 ARF data files and documentation can now be downloaded. Click the link below to learn how to download ARF documentation and data. http://arf.hrsa.gov/purchase.htm “The basic county-specific Area Resource File (ARF) is the nucleus of the overall ARF System. It is a […]
February 2, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Window to the marketplace FAIR Health now delivers the industry’s primary source of out-of-network benchmarks with unprecedented transparency “What was referred to as a “black box” in February 2008 today has become an open window to the healthcare marketplace. The industry’s privately owned database of usual-and-customary (UC) charge information is now a transparent, public information […]
January 12, 2012 at 11:12 am
This is an excellent short NEJM article summarizing why the federal government does have the authority to mandate that people buy health insurance. Written by a Harvard Law School professor. The Irrelevance of the Broccoli Argument against the Insurance Mandate Einer Elhauge, J.D. N Engl J Med 2012; 366:e1January 5, 2012 Favorite passage: “Others argue […]
January 10, 2012 at 3:07 pm
How Doctors Die It’s Not Like the Rest of Us, But It Should Be http://zocalopublicsquare.org/thepublicsquare/2011/11/30/how-doctors-die/read/nexus/ by Ken Murray Years ago, Charlie, a highly respected orthopedist and a mentor of mine, found a lump in his stomach. He had a surgeon explore the area, and the diagnosis was pancreatic cancer. This surgeon was one of the […]
January 9, 2012 at 3:38 pm
The book I am just finishing that is chock full of new ideas, (actually mostly old ideas, but ones that had not been systematically presented) is Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking, Fast and Slow.” I see it has climbed to the top ten bestsellers among nonfiction. I am loving it. It will be a terrific read for […]
