How Much Sugar Is in Your Beverage?
Here’s a display from an elementary school science fair, cleverly showing how much sugar various beverages contain:
-
-
Sleepless in the Hospital
A while back, I wrote a piece on the problems caused when hospitals don’t coordinate care in a way that promotes patient sleep. Now Shefali Luthra, a reporter at Kaiser Health News, has written a great piece, delving deeper into this issue. Here is the beginning of that story: Hospitals are reviewing their patient-sleep policies and…
-
Disliking Obamacare despite Benefiting from It
No surprise to learn that the majority of Republicans dislike Obamacare. But did you know that the majority of Republicans, who SIGNED UP FOR INSURANCE through Obamacare, still dislike the law? That’s one finding from a recent Kaiser survey: Notably, they dislike the law even though they LIKE THEIR INSURANCE: I look forward to the…
-
Which Cancers Do We Spend Most of Our Money On?
There has been lots written lately about the soaring cost of cancer care. You’re spending a lot on cancer recently in part because of many wonderful new treatments that come with a substantial price tag. But there has been less chatter about which cancers we are spending money on. Here’s a nice picture illustrating that…
-
Priceline for Healthcare Services?
Here is a link to a story from one of my favorite reporters, Rebecca Plevin from KPCC radio in California. She uncovered a startup company that tries to help people shop for healthcare services, by letting them name their price and seeing if any healthcare providers are game: Shopping for things like hotel reservations is…
-
Who Do You Love More – Your Doctor or Your Congressperson? The Answer: Your Nurse!
A recent Gallup poll asked people how they would rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in a wide range of professions. Not surprisingly, Congress didn’t come out very well on this poll, rating even below car salespeople on these traits. Among highly paid professionals, physicians came out on top. Physicians are still highly…
-
Surge in Hospital Job Growth
Recently, I showed some data illustrating the rapid growth in healthcare jobs in the United States, compared to jobs in other parts of the economy. Here’s a picture, courtesy of Dan Diamond, showing that this growth has not been steady. Instead, the growth of hospital jobs in the US stalled for a while, before taking…
-
Are Healthcare Profits Unethical?
I recently spoke with Audiey Kao, an ethics expert at the American Medical Association. Our conversation has been released as a podcast. We talked about quite a few things, but the part I enjoyed the most involved a gentle disagreement about healthcare profits. Here is a link to the podcast: AMA Journal of Ethics Podcast:…
-
Blog Articles Will Resume in August
I am on a “writing sabbatical” this summer with limited access to the internet. I will resume posting articles in August. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
-
Scheduled for Surgery? How about Some Unnecessary Tests!
Surgery can be risky. People with major cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses undergoing major surgeries, for example, are at risk for major surgical complications, even death. But healthy people receiving less intense interventions typically fly through with nary a concern. Nevertheless, perhaps worried about those few patients who suffer major complications, many physicians order a gaggle…