Diet and Nutrition. Natural Health, and Healthy Living

The latest issue of the Journal for the History of Medicine and the Allied Sciences (volume 63, no. 4) is a theme issue devoted to assessing the impact of one of the preeminent American historians of medicine, Charles E. Rosenberg. The issue, arising out of "Charlesfest," a conference held in 2004, features a number of intriguing articles written by former students and other historians of medicine.

Considering that Rosenberg is probably my single favorite author I've had the pleasure of reading during graduate school, I'd say the issue is recommended for anyone interested in the history of medicine as a field of inquiry -- where it has been, where it is, and where it is going, as well as its significance for public health policy.

(more...)

Not-for-profit hospital monopolies are helping make health insurance unaffordable for millions of Americans.

In its Thursday edition, The Wall Street Journalprofiles the near monopoly that Carilion Health System has in Roanoke, Virg., and how it uses its monopoly power to inflate prices and enrich its executives.

The impact graph:

Carilion’s market clout is manifest in other ways. With eight hospitals, 11,000 employees and $1 billion in assets, the tax-exempt hospital system has become one of the dominant players in the Roanoke Valley’s economy. Its dozens of subsidiaries include businesses ranging from athletic clubs to a venture-capital fund.

(more...)

Two MD-run Health 2.0 companies in Boston had decent interviews telling a little more about themselves in the last few days.

American Well’s Roy Schoenberg was interviewed by Health Business Blog’s David Williams. It’s a long and thorough interview although Roy doesn’t tell anything particularly new, it’s as good a summary of what he thinks their business will be as I’ve seen anywhere. And they get all those fun trips to Hawaii too!

(more...)

I thought Obama was fabulous last night. He’s a great speaker, but also able to gently laugh with his audience. And the intro showed what a tough road he had. If the Republicans manage to convince the American people that a black kid with a single white parent living in middle America is an elitist son of privilege then Karl Rove is better than I thought.

What was good was that he was happy to rip McCain not on personality but on the issues. I’d like to have seen a lot more from the Democrats this convention ripping Bush and Cheney on personality, personal corruption and the issues, and I wish Kerry had done even more in 2004, but that’s water under the bridge.

(more...)

For the past year or so, I’ve been listening to and participating in a conversation in New England and nationally about the rising cost of health care. It’s a sticky wicket, to be sure, with no obvious, simple solutions. But I must say, I’ve been surprised that at least one pretty good idea hasn’t generated more traction. Intensive Care Unit checklists — which I’ve written about before — have already demonstrated that they can save lives, money and time, reduce variation, and improve quality, but they remain the exception instead of the rule in ICU care.

(more...)

Niko Karvounis tracks the health care system for the Century Foundation. This post first appeared on the HealthBeat blog, one of our favorite health care reads.

The Massachusetts experiment in health care reform is all about expanding access. But it doesn’t try to control costs. This, in a nutshell, is why it’s running into trouble.

The plan didn’t reform health care delivery, just coverage. Granted, in terms of bringing more people in under the tent, it’s been a success: Since the plan went into effect in 2006, 439,000 people have signed up for insurance — a number that represents more than two-thirds of the estimated 600,000 people uninsured in the state two years ago. This surge in coverage has reduced use of emergency rooms for routine care by 37 percent, which has saved the state about $68 million. (Going to the ER for routine care drives up health care costs by creating longer wait times and tying up resources that can be used to help patients who are critically ill).

(more...)

Having been around for the beginning of the Health 2.0 movement, it is good to see the conference continuing into its sophomore year. A lot has and continues to happen regarding the ongoing health care innovations that collectively make up Health 2.0.

(more...)

The uninsured numbers went down a touch because in 2007 Medicaid expanded. In 2008 they’ll go up as unemployment increases and S-CHIP coverage is cut. Really this doesn’t change too much.

Right-wing nut jobs all over the Internet are saying that uninsurance doesn’t matter. It’s surprising that one of the more sensible right-wingers has joined in and now says that the uninsured don’t exist.

But the numbers are misleading, said John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-leaning Dallas-based think tank. Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care).

(more...)

Stanford University's medical school announced this week new restrictions on educational contributions by drug and medical device companies, which turn out to be among the strictest in the nation.

The rules are an effort to limit industry influence on physician practice. Currently, the continuing education programs tend to follow the market's needs and not necessarily the best advancements for optimal patient care.

"The school will no longer accept funds from pharmaceutical or device companies that are targeted to specific programs, as industry-directed funding may compromise the integrity of these education programs for practicing physicians," a press release states.

(more...)

Jeff Goldsmith is President of Health Futures, Inc, and a professor of public health sciences at the University of Virginia.

As presidential aspirants geared up their issue analyses last fall, health reform ranked as the number one domestic policy item the next President should address in many national public opinion polls. As the campaign season draws to a close, however, health reform has virtually disappeared from the headlines, supplanted by concern about gas prices, home mortgage foreclosures, soaring food costs and, most recently, the "Soviet" invasion of Georgia. Though you will hear campaign rhetoric from both parties at their upcoming conventions, health reform has been demoted to the second tier of campaign issues. Their platforms and campaign pledges on health reform seem increasingly unlikely to decide who is the next president of the United States.

(more...)