Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Understanding quantiles is fairly intuitive. A physician would rank in the τth quantile of in terms of quality of care if he performs better than the proportion τ of the reference group of physicians and worse than the proportion (1–τ). For physicians at the median, half of physicians will perform worse than this doctor and…
Health Reform made a number of changes for State’s health care policies. But states themselves have also been enacting legislation to alter health care payment policies and regulations. The CHCF describes some examples of legislative changes in California: Safety Net Care Pool (SNCP) – covers uncompensated costs in public hospitals and finances other state health…
The best diseases, from a business point of view, would be those that cause lingering illnesses. Ideally–that is, for maximum profit–the patient should either get well or die just before all of his or her money runs out. It’s a fine calculation. Crake, from Oryx and Crake: A Novel by Margaret Atwood.
…and three other questions about physician care. Do Medicare patients have shorter waiting times than those with commercial insurance? In the 2010 survey, among those seeking an appointment, most beneficiaries (75 percent) and most privately insured individuals (72 percent) reported “never” having to wait longer than they wanted for an appointment for routine care. Another…
The latest edition of the Cavalcade of Risk (the Naked Beasts Run Wild edition) is up at David William’s Health Business Blog.
Easy way to save Medicare $0.5 billion. Diaper inflation. Does better health lead to job promotions or do promotions improve health? Nursing licensing requirements by state. Water slides in Milwaukee. Americans like EHR.
How does one determine if a test is accuracy? What does accuracy mean? One measure of test precision it is the positive predictive value, or the share of positive test results which are actually positive. Alternatively, the negative predictive value determines the share of negative test results which are true (rather than false) negatives. Better positive and…
Here’s how the killing of Osama Bin Laden may affect: Stock markets. Share prices rise. Commodity markets. Oil prices fall. Election markets. Obama to get re-elected? Artists’ First Response. A Bin Laden folk song? Healthcare Economist’s Receipt of Spam. I’ve received an above average number of unsolicited emails today regarding how Bin Laden’s death will affect…
Nearly 23 million Americans watched a British Prince and his fiancee get married last week. Yet you don’t have to be royalty to enjoy a luxurious wedding. In the U.S., the average wedding costs about $30,000. Weddings in India are well known for their extravagance. “India’s legendary nuptial shindigs risk emptying not just the country’s…