Thank You for Smoking
April 14, 2008
People have been smoking tobacco for over a thousand years. Even a generation ago smoking was considered the norm. Now we know of its link to a variety of cancers and diseases, and many laws have been introduced at all levels of government to try to protect nonsmokers and smokers alike. The numbers of U.S. smokers are declining, but cigarette smoking is the still the single most preventable cause of untimely death in this country – claiming 400,000 Americans each year – 1 in every 5 deaths. Treating cancer cost $219 billion in 2007.
Have a Heart
April 9, 2008
Have you heard the flak that began early this year over the now infamous ad for the cholesterol drug Lipitor? In the world of marketing nothing beats celebrity.
In the view of Pfizer, apparently, nothing beats a celebrity doctor to convince folks that the science behind a medicine is sound. Thus began the 2-year ad campaign in 2006 in which the famous inventor Dr. Robert Jarvik touts what became the world’s best selling medication, Lipitor, with billions in sales. Except that, even though Robert Jarvik got his M.D. and created the artificial heart, he is not licensed to practice medicine. (He tells his side of the story here.)
Costs of Cancer Care?
March 31, 2008
Part of the heartache of cancer is that surviving it is ultimately a game of statistics. There are no assurances - except in the worst case scenarios where they are grim.
Even determining the best treatment is a matter of weighing likelihoods rather than having clear-cut solutions. On top of all that, patients must deal with the cost of various treatments.
Fortunately, cancer death rates have been falling in recent years - for several reasons:
- There is more and more information available on how to prevent cancer.
- Regular screening can catch the disease in early stages when it’s more treatable.
The Benefits of Telehealth
March 11, 2008
If necessity is the mother of invention, then it should be no surprise the innovative world of computer science and technology is being harnessed to help bring down health care costs.
Telehealth - or remote patient monitoring - refers to when medical experts use a digital network (like the internet or telephone lines) to provide automated monitoring and treatment delivery to a patient who is in a different physical location. This can range from email messages of basic care instructions to remote robotic surgery.
Health Care Outlook Gloomy in the Golden State
March 10, 2008
The debate on health care in this country and how it needs to be reformed often centers around the issue of uninsurance. But getting insured in order to afford care is only half the battle; getting good quality care is also important.
There is an effort under way right now in California to expand and improve the state’s health system. While the first image that comes to mind when people think of the Golden State is sunshine, surfboards and muscle beach, the average Californian may not be that healthy.
Cancer Care Beyond the Cancer
February 29, 2008
A diagnosis of cancer is terrifying and something that around 1.4 million of us can expect to hear this year. More frightening is that in recent years cancer beat heart disease as the number one killer in this country. There is good news on the horizon. Increased education about cancer prevention has caused the number of U.S. lives lost to cancer to fall by 2.1 % each year between 2002 and 2004 — almost twice the 1.1% annual rate of decline noted between 1993 and 2002.
Hospitals Pushed to Prevent Infections
February 20, 2008
In the past three decades, more and more patients enter hospitals only to get sicker. The seriously ill are acquiring serious infections through the tubes they are connected to or through bedsores. This happens some two million times a year. Studies have shown that patients with hospital-acquired infections:
- spend many more days in the hospital
- undergo more extensive procedures
- are more likely to die
One out of five times hospital infections are fatal. And even if they don’t kill you, they drive up costs for everybody. Different studies have proposed different solutions:
Kids Get Worse Care
February 19, 2008
A study of children in a dozen metropolitan areas found that they got the recommended medical care from their doctors less than half of the time. This means that kids are doing worse than adults in this country when it comes to getting good doctor care. “Doctors did best with acute problems, such as upper-respiratory-tract infections, treating them correctly about two-thirds of the time. But with chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes, they gave the right care 53% of the time. The worst showing was in preventive care: 41%.”
Next President Faces Obesity
February 18, 2008
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| Clinton | Gravel | Huckabee | Keyes |
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| McCain | Obama | Paul |
As the race to determine the next President of the United States begins to pick up steam and public attention, the issue of health reform is also gaining traction. But on top of figuring out how best to revise our health coverage system, many are concerned with how to improve our actual health. A recent 2007 conference convened a host of Democratic and Republican presidential candidate advisors to discuss what the next president needs to do about obesity.
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