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The United States of Short Hospital Stays
ByadminWe spend more for medical care in the United States than just about anywhere in the world, but it’s not because people in this country get admitted to the hospital and stay for long periods of time. Instead, we have shorter length of stays in American hospitals than in the vast majority of developed countries…
The USA Is Number One… In Healthcare Prices!
ByadminThe folks at Vox media put together a series of pictures, illustrating how much more expensive medical care is in United States compared to other developed countries. Today, and in the next few days, I’m going to circulate some of those pictures. Prepare yourself for horror! Take medications, for example. (Please!) Pills for rheumatoid arthritis…
An Easy (But Politically Complicated) Way To Save Billions Of Dollars On Medical Care
ByadminI sometimes worry that my wife Paula won’t be able to see me grow old. Not that I expect to outlive her. She is four years my junior and has the blood pressure of a 17-year-old track star. It’s her eyesight I’m worried about, because she is at risk for a form of blindness called…
Millions To Be Made On…Generic Drugs?
ByadminIt is well accepted among health economics wonks that the lion’s share of pharmaceutical company profits come when these companies hold exclusive rights to their products. Once their blockbuster pills go “generic,” competitors enter the marketplace and profits plummet. Consider captopril, a groundbreaking heart failure medication introduced in the early 80s by Bristol-Myers Squibb under…
Cancer: A Disease of the Young?!?
ByadminIf you only paid attention to popular media, you’d think cancers primarily strike young people. Here’s a picture from a medical journal contrasting media coverage of cancer to actual occurrence of cancer in younger and older people:
The Connection Between Great Science and Great Writing
ByadminOften great science depends on keen observation. Darwin built his theory of evolution on detailed observations of everything from birds to beetles. Jane Goodall revolutionized our understanding of primate behavior by staring at chimpanzees for hours and days. But not just staring at them, noticing them. She saw things most observers would not have picked…

