Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Differences in the health outcomes between white and minority patients has been well documented in the medical and economics literature. Reasons for this difference could be: Unequal access to treatment. Minorities are poorer and less likely to be covered by insurance than whites. Unequal treatment – Minorities are less likely to have a regular doc,…
The USA Today reports on the development of a shingles vaccine. According to the article, “The vaccine reduced shingles cases by 51% in people given the vaccine vs. those given the placebo. Vaccination reduced the burden of illness, a measure of pain and discomfort, by 61%.” So why aren’t people getting this vaccine? One reason…
Last night I saw an encore presentation of an interview with Jerome Groopman on the Newshour with Jim Lehrer. I have written posts in the past about Dr. Groopman (see 16 March 2007). Dr. Groopman notes that doctors often misdiagnose patients. Physicians are often anchored to a prior belief and have trouble changing their diagnosis…
There is an interesting article at Forbes describing that the housing boom is not the only bubble that may need to burst. Scans per thousand insured people went from 85 to 234 in the U.S. between 1999 and 2007. Author David Whelan describes what happened to one radiologist in Connecticut after Medicare and HMOs cut…
Is the current medical school curriculum optimal in terms of teaching doctors-to-be how to best practice medicine? DB’s Medical Rants blog says no. “One cannot really understand most diseases if one cannot correlate the physiology. We should focus our anatomy teaching on the big issues, not the 3rd branch off the 2nd artery (hopefully you…
A New Yorker article (“The Checklist“) recounts Peter Pronovost’s efforts to improve the delivery of medical care. One of his simplest ideas was to invent a 5 step checklist to reduce line infections: Doctors are supposed to (1) wash their hands with soap, (2) clean the patientâs skin with chlorhexidine antiseptic, (3) put sterile drapes…
A recent paper by Franco et al. (2007) claims that increased poverty may improve health (see also NPR’s Marketplace report). How is this possible? Lower income reduces excess food as well as cigarette consumption. Further, poverty makes public transportation less affordable and individuals may substitute walking for taking the bus. The authors study Cuba’s experience…
The work of three researchers who developed the procedure of gene targeting have won the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine. The winners are: Mario R. Capecchi (USA, born Italy). Has used gene targeting to uncover the role of genes involved in organ development, and the overall plan of the body. Martin J. Evans (UK). Used…
What are the major differences between medicine and public health? What challenges do public health officials frequently ignore? On Tuesday, I attended a seminar by Dr. Richard Schieber. Dr. Schieber was a practicing pediatrician, however for the last fifteen years he has worked as a medical epidemiologist for the CDC. One of the major challenges…
Over the years, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has greatly increased the scope of the population for whom it recommends to receive an influenza vaccination. Currently, ACIP recommends that all children 6–59 months old, all health care workers, and all persons aged over 50–in addition to many other groups–should receive an annual…