According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, lots of companies are encouraging workers to get biometric screening. Here’s a picture of that:
But is there evidence that this promotes healthier behavior? Would love someone to direct me to any relevant research.
Just a couple months ago, the nation watched as congress decided not to bailout American automakers, unconvinced that the three companies had sound plans for how to use such funds. Eager not to see any of these companies fail on his watch, President Bush came up with enough funds to tide the companies over for…
Here is a nice follow-up story on my recent New England Journal article on improving the design of health insurance exchanges. Comparing health insurance plans – whether signing up through Healthcare.gov or weighing employer-sponsored plans with a spouse – can feel like wading through a sea of information on deductibles, co-payments and monthly premiums. Now…
Facing advanced cancer, who among us wouldn’t look to our oncologist for expert advice on whether another round of chemotherapy makes sense? But do you know what your oncologist cares about, and can you be sure her recommendations map onto your own treatment preferences? … (Read the rest and view comments at Critical Decisions)
As a science, economics does not always succeed at predicting how humans behave. The discipline assumes a level of rationality, and an ability to process complex information, that far exceeds human capacity. But as a standard for how people ought to behave, economics provides an excellent set of lessons. Consider the economic principle of consistency in financial…
Here’s a new study I conducted with Peggy Liu, Jim Bettman, and Arianna Uhalde on calorie range information. Check it out below. Liu, Peggy J., James R. Bettman, Arianna R. Uhalde, and Peter A. Ubel (forthcoming), “How Many Calories Are in My Burrito? Improving Consumers’ Understanding of Calorie Range Information,” Public Health Nutrition. DOI link….
Notice anything unusual about this CT scan? On the upper right side is an image of a gorilla. According to a new study, 83% of radiologists missed this image. They had been looking through a series of scans, looking for “pulmonary nodules”—growths in the lung, in other words. The early scans included such nodes, and…