Here are some projections on what illnesses Medicare enrollees are experiencing now, and what they will be experiencing 20 years from now, courtesy of the Brookings Institute:
Recovering from surgery can be painful. That’s why lots of surgeons give patients narcotics post-operatively. But that is also the time when people can get hooked on narcs. Here is a picture of how many patients take narcotics for at least 3 months following a surgical procedure: Perhaps orthopedic surgeons should ask for help from…
“Dose Response” – The Sciences
For much of the history of U.S. medical care, hospitals and physicians have existed as separate financial entities. Physicians in the U.S. have typically been self-employed, as solo or group practitioners and not as hospital employees. An internist like me might have admitting privileges to several local hospitals. When we admit patients to one of…
I recently spoke with a reporter about a new effort, by Medicare, to persuade dialysis centers to care for a wider range of primary care health needs for people with kidney failure. I’ll give you a teaser for that article below, but first want to point out what struck me as the most notable part…
“Antibody tests might be deceptively dangerous. Blame the math.” – Washington Post
The Commonwealth Fund recently circulated information on the widespread difficulty many Americans have paying for their medical care, even when they have insurance. Burdened by high co-pays and high coinsurance rates, these out-of-pocket expenses are putting people on the financial edge. Here is a picture of the results, which show that a third of people…