blog.bioethics.net
a Nature Top 50 science blog from The American Journal of Bioethics
Entries from blog.bioethics.net tagged with 'healthcare'
In New York, You Get the Shot Or Walk the Plank
As Art Caplan's most recent MSNBC column explains, New York is taking a hard line on health care workers getting their flu vaccinations this year. It's quite simple: get the shot or lose your job. Health care workers rallied in Albany, NY yesterday protesting that their rights were being violated... (read the rest)
Caplan: Health Care Debate Goes Beyond Awry When Nazi Imagery Is Invoked
If anyone has been paying attention to the news lately, they've seen vicious town hall meetings with Senators and Representatives around the country, and even the President, met by furious citizens attacking proposed plans for universal healthcare. Many voice their most deeply held fears of "big government", a loss of... (read the rest)
Caplan: Think Big on Health Care
Arthur Caplan reminded us last week not to get bogged down in the details and to "think big" on health care. To read more about what he said, click here or read the full text of his MSNBC column below. Summer Johnson, PhD Details, Schmetails: Think Big on Health Care... (read the rest)
Has Medical Bankruptcy Become Part of the American Way?
Following up on last week's post which talked about how even insured Americans are shelling out more and more dollars out of pocket to pay for their healthcare, guest blogger Emily Willingham, PhD tells us that research suggest that in addition to that frightening trend there is even more to... (read the rest)
Are the Democrats About to Pull A Fast One? And Is That Really A Bad Thing?
Health care reform may be in the Democrats' grasp--thanks to a little known, at least to the average American, process called "budget reconciliation" that could allow healthcare reform to be passed through the Senate with the Democrats 58 votes because the Republicans won't be able to filibuster it. According to... (read the rest)
Medicare: The Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future
No, I'm not a health policy analyst. Neither is the average American. But neither are we stupid. That's why I resent op-ed columns like the one in the Wall Street Journal that read like this: "Here's something that has gotten lost in the drive to institute universal health insurance: Health... (read the rest)
China Gets It...Why Doesn't The US?
The Wall Street Journal reports today that China is aiming to improve its health care infrastructure, to expand health insurance for all, and is starting a "decade-long plan to repair an ailing health-care system that has fueled popular discontent." Gee whiz...what a novel idea. Health care reform as a way... (read the rest)
Watch Out Californians--Odds Are Good You May Be Without Health Insurance in the Next Two Years
A recent study has found that 37% of Californians have been uninsured for at least one month for some point in the last two years, reports the LA Times. The study done by Families USA also concluded that most of the uninsured population lacked coverage for longer periods and "more... (read the rest)
Kids Having Kids...and Adults, Too
For the second year in a row the teenage birth rate has increased, reports the Washington Post. No one is certain as to the reason why, but many are pointing the finger at the abstinence-only sex education programs of the last eight years promoted by the previous Bush administration, stating... (read the rest)
March Issue of AJOB is Now Online
Ever wonder what are the obligations by industrialized nations to the countries from which health care workers come? Are these workers free to move or are countries like the US and UK "poaching"? Or considered what the long-term impact of implementing the Oregon Death with Dignity Act has had upon... (read the rest)
Is it Bad to Ration? Callahan Says No.
In the NYT health blog, the New Old Age, Jane Gross blogs about Dan Callahan's recent commentary on the virtues of rationing healthcare, particularly for the Medicare system. As Gross notes, not only did Callahan write an intriguing and provocative essay, but readers of the column viscerally responded to Callahan's... (read the rest)
Veterans Day is a Day To Remember Many Things
Veterans Day provides us with the opportunity to remember and reflect upon what our fellow citizens who have proudly served in the armed services mean to us. For some, it means remembering those who have perished on the battlefield in far away lands. For others, it is a day to... (read the rest)
Docs Tired of Paper Work? I Have a Solution
Today in one of my favorite blogs, the Wall Street Journal Health Blog, Jacob Goldstein comments on the fact that doctors, drowning in paperwork, have less and less time to heal. The solution, of course, which health economists, health policy analysts, and bioethicists have been clamoring for for years, is... (read the rest)
A Concierge Isn't Just at A Hotel Anymore...
The Sunday Baltimore Sun featured a story about "concierge" medicine and a Maryland trend of primary care docs charging premium membership fees on the order of $4000 or more for patients to be part of their practice. The reason? One doc was quoted in the article: "Primary-care doctors are seeing... (read the rest)
I Love Joe the Plumber
If any one watched the third and final Presidential Debate last night, they learned absolutely nothing new about the future of the American healthcare system. Except of course that there's a guy named Joe the Plumber whom both of the candidates were making love to or pandering to....it's hard to... (read the rest)
Truckers Save Us in a Pandemic
Who should get priority in a pandemic? Some say healthcare workers; some say the garbage collector. But according to one Johns Hopkins study, says the Toronto Star, it's truckers driving across the country and who are committed to serving those areas affected by an outbreak who should get the medical... (read the rest)
PA Pooches Get Health Care, But Their Human Counterparts? No Way!
While lawmakers in Pennsylvania are cracking down on "puppy mills" and other unhealthy conditions for the care and raising of dogs in the Quaker State, it seems that these same legislators just couldn't find it in them to forge a consensus about how to provide care for 20,000 or more... (read the rest)
Let's Get Physical
I agree with The Wall Street Journal Health Blog and NEJM's Brian Rank, that executive physicals are, as they are currently practiced little more than a sham. To be more specific, as Rank argues, executive physicals are three things: inefficacious, too costly, and inequitable. More akin to going to a... (read the rest)
Maybe Sarah Palin Could Talk about Healthcare...
As Ezekiel Emanuel laments in his NYT commentary, the national debate over health care has all but disappeared in the 2008 presidential election. Amidst all the talk about Sarah Palin, a floundering economy and Wall Street bailouts, and whether to pull out of Iraq, debates over the feasibility and desirability... (read the rest)
Harry and Louise Do A Flip-Flop on Health Care Reform
Harry and Louise, foils of the Clinton healthcare reform efforts of 1993-1994, are back on the air again but this time in the service of healthcare reform, says Red Orbit. Organizations as different in philosophies as the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the American Hospital Association (AHA),... (read the rest)
Will the Real Patient Please Stand Up?
What do your local McDonald's, Macy's and hospital have in common? While you are in line to get your Big Mac, Crocs or to get healthcare, you could be waiting behind a "secret shopper". As reported in Nebraska's La Vista Sun, a number of Midwestern hospitals, as well as others... (read the rest)
When the Price at the Pump Begins to Effect Quality Health Care, We Know We Have a Real Problem...
As today's Washington Post article reports on bioethics.net, the recent surge in gas prices is making the cost of providing home health care for those individuals who require services in the home even greater. While some companies are sensitive to this burden and are handing out gas cards to... (read the rest)
Hello Health Guide, Goodbye Doctor's Waiting Rooms
The US Food and Drug Administration approved Intel's newest healthcare gadget: an in-home health monitoring system for patients with chronic conditions, called Health Guide. While the clear advantages of this device's gathering health information and helping patients keep on schedule with their medications, such devices for these purposes already exist.... (read the rest)
Much More Than An Apology
On Thursday, July 10th, the American Medical Association issued an apology for past inequalities in the treatment of African American physicians and patients. This apology was the result of an AMA panel convened to investigate the disparities in access and outcomes between caucasian and African-Americans in the US. Such an... (read the rest)
The mirror world
Here in the US it's pretty much a given that you will be required to foot at least some of the bill for your health care. To some people this arrangement isn't just a matter of scare resources, it's actually a feature of the system because it bring market pressure... (read the rest)
The health care price tag
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released figures this week about health care spending in the United States for 2006 (pdf). The total amount: $2.1 trillion. That's 16 percent of GDP. Or a little more than $7,000 per person. A few details and thoughts: + If you're concerned about... (read the rest)
Giving the gift of health care
There are moments when our modern age confronts us with a development to which we just don't know how to respond. Laughter? Tears? A groggy sidewards listing of the head in befuddlement? Maybe a combination of all three? The new "Healthcare Visa Gift Card" is just such a development.... (read the rest)
Bush vetoes SCHIP reauthorization and expansion, again
On a recent quiz I gave my students, one of the questions was: Which of the following groups are not "entitled" to healthcare: the elderly, children, prisoners, or veterans? Some low-income, uninsured kids get access to health care through Medicaid, but there are income and age eligibility requirements that vary... (read the rest)
Speed reading the October 21 Republican debate
The Republicans running for the presidential nomination got together in Orlando, Florida Sunday for another debate. We've pulled highlights from the transcript that might be of interest here at our little intersection of the web. There were no mentions of stem cells, cloning, chimeras or biomedical research. The breakdown --... (read the rest)
Speed reading the October 9 Republican debate
The Republicans running for the presidential nomination got together in Dearborn, Michigan yesterday to debate topics related to the economy. We've pulled highlights from the transcript that might be of interest here on the blog. (We'll try to do this for future debates.) For yesterday's debate, that meant comments from... (read the rest)
Casting doubt on mandated health care
Over at Businessweek, Glen Whitman criticizes the "health insurance like auto insurance" plans that many candidates (Hillary Clinton among them) are touting: As anyone who has ever driven above 55 mph knows, mandating something is not the same as making it happen. Some people will not comply: 47 states require... (read the rest)
Talking about the consequences of chronic disease
The Milken Institute released a report this week totaling the cost of preventable chronic disease in the US. The report's tally for 2003 was $1.3 trillion.* And when you float a number like that, people tend to notice. "Healthy living could save U.S. $1 trillion, study finds" is how the... (read the rest)
SCHIP reauthorization and expansion vetoed
President Bush sent it back to Congress this morning (WP). He's called it too costly and a move toward government run health care. The bill would have extended coverage to another 3.5 million children whose families can't afford health insurance, but make too much to qualify for Medicaid. That extension... (read the rest)
Stephen Colbert: We must immunize kids against future expectations of health care
Colbert sets us straight on SCHIP reauthorization.... (read the rest)
Is "the hipster doctor" primary care's future?
Following up on Andrea's post yesterday about the number of un/underinsured people in the US, the web (or some corner of it) has been buzzing lately about Jay Parkinson. He's an MD who's set up a house call practice in Brooklyn aimed at uninsured younger adults. (He specifically mentions... (read the rest)
How Many in The US Un/Underinsured?
Those of us in the public health community have been used to citing the statistic that anywhere between 43 and 48 million U.S. residents lack health insurance, but a new study released yesterday by Families USA, puts that number closer to 89.6 million U.S. residents younger than age 65, or... (read the rest)
Paying -- or not -- to keep fat off in the future
While we're all talking about how -- and how much -- to pay for medical care, here's one more item to chew on. If obesity can be caused by a virus, then it might also be prevented with a vaccine. And if a company ever develops one, imagine that marketing... (read the rest)
Calling "Not it!" on paying for the genomics revolution
The Economist recently reviewed the rapidly growing field of individualized genetic testing and personalized medicine. It covered a lot of the usual questions about privacy, but the article is primarily about health insurance. The short story: the promise of genetic medicine has insurance companies a little worried. Why? They figure... (read the rest)
Glenn McGee in The Scientist: How Much Should Gardasil Cost?
Glenn's August column for The Scientist looks at the HPV vaccine: A sneaky virus has infected 20 million Americans. For most, it's just an inconvenience, causing unattractive lesions. But for some, the infection leads to cancer, killing 250,000 people worldwide and costing billions in medical expenses every year. The vast... (read the rest)
Art Caplan on MSNBC: Privacy is true price of healthy worker discounts
Art's been thinking about those company health plans that give discounts to healthy workers: The latest fad in American health care is to give discounts to workers who are healthy. Many corporate CEOs and their benefits department managers are showing enthusiasm for the idea that workers who don't take care... (read the rest)
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