Medical bankruptcy in the USA: the data behind the headlines
By Mary Gabb, HOC editor As President Obama continues his push for major healthcare insurance reform in the US, a recent study in the American Journal of Medicine on medical…
Using Medicare Data to Understand Growth in US Healthcare Costs
Researchers from the Dartmouth Atlas Project suggest that regional variations in per capita Medicare spending provide important clues for how to more efficiently deliver healthcare throughout the United States, such that Medicare could shift from being insolvent (as projected) to being solvent by 2023.
Why HOC online?
Well, you told us you all want HOC to be more accessible, and we also found out that you don’t just like to read, but want to write articles and comments…
Is it time for NICE to revise its threshold?
By Mary Gabb (mary.gabb@rxcomms.com) “There just isn’t, and never will be, enough money to provide every possible service” – a reminder to participants of the NICE Citizens Council (November 27–29,…
Medical tourism: way of the future or flight of fancy?
By David Woods (hmi3000@comcast.net) The European Union is moving to strengthen rights of EU patients to seek care in countries other than their own, while the UK government has stated…
Universal healthcare in the US? Not yet, but probably soon
With President-elect Obama’s proposed plan to reform the US healthcare system, this will be the closest the US has gotten to universal health coverage. We provide a snapshot of the Obama healthcare plan and highlight some of the criticisms it has received from health economists.
Is it time for a government-run national health system in the US?
By David Woods (hmi3000@comcast.net) With healthcare in the US consuming about 16% of GNP, or around 2 trillion dollars a year, and still leaving an estimated 47 million people uninsured,…
Tough choices about expensive drugs
By Mary Gabb (mary.gabb@rxcomms.com) The UK ‘s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recently ruled that four drugs used to treat advanced kidney cancer are not effective…
“Moving and Improving Concepts and Evidence for Healthcare Decisions” – the latest ISPOR congress
By Ruth Whittington (ruth.whittington@rxcomms.com) Rx Communications has just returned triumphant from the 11th annual European Congress of ISPOR. ISPOR is a great place to meet old friends, find new ones,…
Access to medicines: Ranking the social responsibility of pharmaceutical companies
By Julie Stauffer (julie.stauffer@rxcomms.com) Pharmaceutical companies produce hundreds of life-saving drugs every year. Yet each year, millions of people in developing countries die from preventable and treatable illnesses – diseases…