February 2011 - Health Beat - The Network of Care

Wisconsin AG to Accountable Care Act: “You’re dead to me…”

Well, Wisconsin Attorney General, J.B. Hollen didn’t use those words exactly. But on Wednesday, his office released this brash statement; “for Wisconsin, the federal health care law is dead—unless and until it is revived by an appellate court. Effectively...

Published Fri, Feb 04 2011 1:44 PM by Health Beat

A Normal Pregnancy is a Retrospective Diagnosis

J. D. Kleinke is a medical economist, author, and health information industry pioneer, and the author of a new book, Catching Babies. Over at The Health Care Blog, he has published one of the best essays I have ever read... Read More...

Published Fri, Feb 04 2011 1:54 PM by Health Beat

Going Beyond the “Dartmouth Debate” to the Most Important Question: Why Are Outcomes at Some Hospitals So Much Better Than At Others?

We all have heard that “spending more” on health care does not necessarily lead to better care. In fact, in regions of the country where care is more intensive and more expensive, sometimes outcomes are worse. This is the basic... Read More...

Published Mon, Feb 07 2011 1:45 PM by Health Beat

Keeping Chronic Mental Illness From Becoming a Criminal Offense

Last month I wrote about the Mental Health Parity law that requires insurers to provide equal coverage for both medical and mental health services. When health reform rolls out fully in 2013, many Americans with expanded access to private health... Read...

Published Thu, Feb 10 2011 1:52 PM by Health Beat

Digital Mammography Saps Medicare Dollars

Below, a guest post from the Center for Public Integrity, one of the country’s oldest and largest nonprofit news organizations. The Center’s mission is to produce “original investigative journalism about significant public issues to make institutional...

Published Fri, Feb 11 2011 6:04 AM by Health Beat

Cesareans and Induced Births: Who Is Choosing These Procedures--and Why? Part 2

Today, close to one-third of all babies born in the U.S. enter the world through a slit in their mother’s abdomen, usually just above her pubic bone. Since 1975, the share of mother who undergo a Cesarean has more than... Read More...

Published Tue, Feb 15 2011 2:50 PM by Health Beat

Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease Requires Cooperation, Not Fierce Competition

A vaccine or drug that can prevent healthy, yet high-risk people from developing the memory loss, confusion and other devastating cognitive problems that characterize Alzheimer’s disease is the Holy Grail for researchers, drug companies and patient advocates...

Published Thu, Feb 17 2011 2:10 PM by Health Beat

Monopoly Power: As Hospitals and Doctors Join Integrated Health Systems, Will Health Care Prices Rise?

Over at Kevin M.D., Kevin Pho has raised the possibility that health care reformers who are calling for more “large integrated health systems like the Mayo Clinic or Kaiser Permanente” may wind up creating monopolies that have the market clout... Read...

Published Thu, Feb 17 2011 1:41 PM by Health Beat

Anti-Choice Laws Are Grounded In Ideology, Not “Fiscal Responsibility”

It’s open season in Congress on women’s reproductive rights. The Pence, Pitts and Smith trio of conservative Congressmen have been using gruesome depictions of abortion, charges of child-abuse (against fetuses), and other inflammatory tactics to help...

Published Fri, Feb 18 2011 3:17 PM by Health Beat

Provocative Posts on Payments to Providers, Mammograms, Marijuana, Using Comparative Effectiveness Research to Set Reimbursements … and More...

This fortnight’s Health Wonk Review is hosted by Louise Norris of the Colorado Long Term Care Insider who has done an excellent job of rounding up some of the most provocative health care posts published in the past two weeks.... Read More...

Published Fri, Feb 18 2011 7:57 PM by Health Beat

Guess Who Has Been Over-Treated For More Than Twenty Five Years?

When I was in my twenties, I was diagnosed with glaucoma. At the time, I didn’t worry about it. I was twenty-something, busy teaching, having babies, writing a book—and, with glasses, my eyesight was 20/20. It was only when I... Read More...

Published Fri, Feb 25 2011 2:10 PM by Health Beat

TV Ads Promote Consumer Requests For Expensive, Often Inappropriate Hip Devices

Gary Schwitzer writes on his blog “Health News Review” that he was “jolted” by a television commercial he saw recently for an artificial hip joint sold by medical device-maker Smith & Nephew. The ad features athletic, fit, male body forms... Read...

Published Fri, Feb 25 2011 1:54 PM by Health Beat

February 2011 - Health Beat

Syndication

Recent Posts

Tags

Archives