Article
How Hospital Stays Resemble Enhanced Interrogation
Published Feb 05, 2021Featured Image For How Hospital Stays Resemble Enhanced Interrogation
Ken Mishark is a hospitalist at the Mayo Clinic who formerly served as a physician in the military. Early in his career, he interviewed for a job in the CIA. That experience might explain why he paid attention when the CIA declassified a manual it had developed on how to conduct “enhanced interrogations”. As he […]
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Employers Are Doing a Terrible Job of Covering the Cost of Pregnancy
Published Jan 25, 2021Featured Image For Employers Are Doing a Terrible Job of Covering the Cost of Pregnancy
If you get insurance through your employer, you don’t have to worry about whether insurance will cover maternity care. The company is required to do so by law. But that doesn’t mean the insurer will be very generous. Because in the United States, having coverage doesn’t mean you’re well-covered. Employers are increasingly corralling their employees into high […]
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American Physicians Lack Diversity— Here’s One Way to Change That
Published Jan 04, 2021Featured Image For American Physicians Lack Diversity— Here’s One Way to Change That
African Americans make up 13% of the country’s population, but only 4% of American physicians are black. This lack of racial diversity in the profession is tragic, denying this prestigious career to many worthy people and undermining the health of many African Americans, who are more likely to receive important medical services when they’re cared for by black […]
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Pandemics and Overdoses: COVID-19 May Worsen Our Opioid Epidemic
Published Nov 19, 2020Featured Image For Pandemics and Overdoses: COVID-19 May Worsen Our Opioid Epidemic
The novel coronavirus has decimated our economy at the same time as it has directly threatened our health. As if that weren’t bad enough, the economic damage Covid-19 is causing could have an indirect impact on our health. Consider what we already know about economic downturns and opioid overdoses. A research team led by Atheendar […]
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A Matter of Life-or-Death: The Type of Nurses Your Hospital Employs
Published Oct 21, 2020Featured Image For A Matter of Life-or-Death: The Type of Nurses Your Hospital Employs
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. […]
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Income Inequality is Killing Us
Published Sep 30, 2020Featured Image For Income Inequality is Killing Us
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 […]
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It is Possible to Shop for Healthcare Bargains if You Can Access Them
Published Sep 15, 2020Featured Image For It is Possible to Shop for Healthcare Bargains if You Can Access Them
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 […]
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Oncologists Were Paid to Prescribe Generic Chemotherapy (Here’s Why It Didn’t Change a Thing)
Published Aug 26, 2020Featured Image For Oncologists Were Paid to Prescribe Generic Chemotherapy (Here’s Why It Didn’t Change a Thing)
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, […]
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Fact-checking COVID-19 Stats
Published Aug 24, 2020Featured Image For Fact-checking COVID-19 Stats
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 […]
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Critics Wonder Whether the FDA Is Too Slow to Handle a Pandemic
Published Aug 14, 2020Featured Image For Critics Wonder Whether the FDA Is Too Slow to Handle a Pandemic
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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