Healthcare Economist going European

Recent articles

• Wednesday Links

  May 16, 2012 in Current Events

  How much does it cost to insure your family? Should your doctor be using Facebook? Can the Facebook IPO save California’s budget? Britain: “the clearest failure seemed to be health care.” Less is more. NBA Playoffs: Advanced Box Scores and the Troxler Effect. Cavalcade of Risk #157.

• Plastic Surgery in China

  May 14, 2012 in International Health Care Systems, Regulation

  China standard is living as funds from export industries eventually trickle down into the earnings of (some) ordinary Chinese. Where are the Chinese spending their newfound wealth?  In part, the answer is self-beautification procedures.  According to the Economist: “China performs more cosmetic surgery than any country except America and Brazil. Almost 1.3m licensed procedures were [...]

• A lifeline for antibiotics research?

  May 14, 2012 in Current Events, Pharmaceuticals

  Antibiotics such as penicillin have helped to fight numerous diseases such as syphilis, and infections caused by staphylococci and streptococci.  However, overuse of antibiotics is a problem.  Physicians sometimes prescribe antibiotics to fight viral infections even though antibiotics are only effective against bacterial infections.  Because of this overuse, more and more strains of drug-resistant bacteria are appearing. [...]

• ObamaCare stymied in New Jersey?

  May 11, 2012 in Current Events, Health Reform

  Governor Chris Christie vetoes a bill today that would form have created a health exchange in New Jersey. “While I appreciate the Legislature’s attempt to find steady policy footing in these shifting legal sands, I am concerned that a hastily created exchange in New Jersey will impose unnecessary obligations upon the state’s citizens,” Christie said [...]

• How Effective is Arthroscopic Knee Surgery?

  May 11, 2012 in Medical Studies

  For patients with osteoarthritis, the answer is not at all. A paper in the New England Journal of Medicine examined 180 patients 75 years old or younger, that had osteoarthritis of the knee, and reported at least moderate knee pain on average despite medical treatment.  The researchers randomized this individuals into three groups: Surgery Group #1 (Lavage): The [...]