Overuse in Healthcare: 5 Examples

23 percent of tympanostomy tubes placed for middle ear infection are inappropriate (Kleinman et al. 1994); 5–35 percent of adult asthma care are inappropriate (Starfield et al. 1994); 16 percent of hysterectomies are inappropriate (Bernstein et al. 1993); 9.4 percent of hospital admissions for pneumonia are considered inappropriate (Payne et al. 1995); and 20 percent…

AHA: Maybe $2 Trillion’s a little high

Last week a consortium of health insurers, health providers, hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers claimed that they could save the country $2 trillion in health care costs.  I was skeptical of this claim. It turns out now that the American Hospital Association (AHA)–one of the signees of the letter–is also skeptical.  Fierce Healthcare reports that AHA president…

Half a billion: UC Budget Gap

The state of California is in serious fiscal trouble.  Those troubles extend the state’s flagship university system.   “The scenario that assumes failure of the May 19 state ballot propositions would leave the UC system with a net budget reduction of $322 million, or 10 percent, in the 2009-10 year. Taken together with the state’s…

Quotations on Intellectual Hazard

Econ Journal Watch has a swath of quotations concerning intellectual pursuits. “[The economist’s] response [to his impotence to influence opinion] may be to retire from that field of intellectual activity in which he could be of direct service to the community and… concentrate on the development of an intricate technique of analysis. he may then find himself the possessor…

A Health Wonk Review Smorgasbord

The Workers Comp Insider hosts this week’s edition of the Health Wonk Review.  My favorite posts include: Skepticism on private health providers pledge to cut $2 trillion in costs: here, here and here. Wellcare is a publicly-help company whose revenues come from government contracts and who pumped $2.4-million into the Florida political system in the ’04…

More Google Innovations

Google now has a website in Beta called Knol.  Knol basically has a bunch of user responses to ‘how-to’ questions.  The winner of a Google contest for the best knol was how to “Talk to Your Doctor” by Dr. Jennifer Frank.  The article gives a list of things to bring to a doctor’s visit, such…

Medicare trust fund to be tapped out by 2017

Bond Markets seem to be concerned over the escalating level of U.S. Government debt.  Yields rose during the latest $14 billion auction of U.S. 30-year Treasury Bonds.  This graph shows an ominous budget deficit trend as well.  There seems to be good reason for this.   American’s stimulus plan and entitlement programs are putting an…

Why does Acupuncture Work?

A recent study found that “Acupuncture is an effective treatment for chronic back pain. People receiving acupuncture are more likely to get better.” How does it work? The treatment’s placebo effect explains the study’s findings. Researchers found that acupuncture was effective whether or not the skin was punctured.