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A Matter of Life-or-Death: The Type of Nurses Your Hospital Employs
Published Oct 21, 2020
Good medical outcomes often depends on good nursing care. When hospitals cut back on nursing care, patient mortality rates climb. If you want a good hospital, pick one that doesn’t skimp on the nurse-to-patient ratio. You should also look at the education level of nurses a hospital employs. Because not all nurses are equally skilled. […]
Read MoreIncome Inequality is Killing Us
Published Sep 30, 2020
It’s easy to think of good healthcare as being the key to a long, healthy life. But socioeconomic circumstances often play a far bigger role in life expectancy than access to high-quality healthcare. Consider the strong relationship between socioeconomic circumstances and life expectancy in Norway, a place where healthcare access is universal. Let’s start with money. People […]
Read MoreIt is Possible to Shop for Healthcare Bargains if You Can Access Them
Published Sep 15, 2020
Are you one of the many Americans facing potentially high healthcare costs? If you have a high deductible health plan, or even a medium deductible one; if you are expected to fork over substantial copays for medical care—I’ve got good news for you. There are potentially a lot of healthcare bargains out there, if you’re […]
Read MoreOncologists Were Paid to Prescribe Generic Chemotherapy (Here’s Why It Didn’t Change a Thing)
Published Aug 26, 2020
Brand-name chemotherapy is often incredibly expensive, in excess of $100,000 per patient. Sometimes there are excellent generic alternatives, but many oncologists are hesitant to prescribe generics because such prescriptions cost them money. For many medicines, you see, oncologists receive a 6% markup, meaning when they infuse a patient with a $10,000 monthly course of chemotherapy, […]
Read MoreFact-checking COVID-19 Stats
Published Aug 24, 2020
A U.S. Senator mistakenly tweeted that 14% of UNC students have COVID-19. A local news station fact-checked that tweet, explained the math, and the Senator didn’t back down. Sigh… The University of North Carolina made national news after reporting a coronavirus outbreak shortly after students returned to campus. Before students could even get their first […]
Read MoreCritics Wonder Whether the FDA Is Too Slow to Handle a Pandemic
Published Aug 14, 2020
The FDA plays a critical role in our nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It helps decide which medicines are safe and effective to treat the disease. It evaluates the accuracy and reliability of laboratory tests. And it will play a central role in assessing potential vaccines. But will the FDA bureaucracy move with the […]
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