Similar Posts
Pandemics and Overdoses: COVID-19 May Worsen Our Opioid Epidemic
The novel coronavirus has decimated our economy at the same time as it has directly threatened our health. As if that weren’t bad enough, the economic damage Covid-19 is causing could have an indirect impact on our health. Consider what we already know about economic downturns and opioid overdoses. A research team led by Atheendar…
The Crushing Cost Of Tracking Healthcare Quality—One Hospital’s Story
A whole industry is devoted to measuring, tracking and even incentivizing the quality of American hospital care. Unfortunately, that industry is horribly inefficient, costing us billions of dollars.
Quality measurement is inefficient in large part because there is no single source that hospitals (and provider systems, more generally) can use to track the quality of their care.
Science Isn’t Meant To Be Followed
Science cannot lead us out of this pandemic. Whatever paths we take to navigate COVID-19 need to be chosen through political processes. The true role of science is to illuminate these pathways, guiding our policy choices by showing us what’s at stake.
The Verdict Is In—Price Gouging Harms People With Gout
The patient arrived in my clinic, their right big toe the color of a spring strawberry. The lightest touch caused exquisite pain. Fortunately, I was able to prescribe a pill (an ancient medicine, actually) and the patient was better by the next day.
Too bad that simple treatment is becoming unaffordable, through a maddening combination of greed and regulatory failure.
Critics Wonder Whether the FDA Is Too Slow to Handle a Pandemic
The FDA plays a critical role in our nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It helps decide which medicines are safe and effective to treat the disease. It evaluates the accuracy and reliability of laboratory tests. And it will play a central role in assessing potential vaccines. But will the FDA bureaucracy move with the…
Medicare Pays More Money To Doctors Taking Care Of Rich Patients. Here’s Why.
It has always been financially rewarding for doctors to take care of rich patients. People with more money…well, they have more money to spend on healthcare. But shouldn’t this more money/higher payment relationship go away in Medicare? It doesn’t, and some recent payment reforms may be making matters worse. (To read the rest of the…
