The Health Care Blog

Is the Healthcare Economy Rightsizing?

By Brian Klepper and David C. Kibbe More than at any time in recent memory, powerful forces are buffeting the health care sector. We are in the midst of profound upheaval, driven by market and policy responses to the industry's...
March 12, 2009 in Brian Klepper, Current Affairs, David Kibbe, Economics, Health Plans, Marketplace, Medical Devices, Policy, Policy/Politics, The Industry | Permalink | Comments (33)

Nudging the value glacier

By Sarah Arnquist In just two years, seniors will spend a quarter of their monthly Social Security checks on Medicare out-of-pocket expenses, including premiums, co-payments and deductibles. Meanwhile, Medicare bookkeepers predict total health spending in the U.S. to increase from...
December 4, 2008 in Conferences, Economics, evidenced-based medicine, Medical Devices, Policy/Politics, Quality, Sarah Arnquist | Permalink | Comments (2)

Running a hospital: The demands for robotic surgery

By Paul Levy Many months ago, I wrote about the da Vinci Robot Surgical System and expressed doubts about whether there was evidence to support the clinical efficacy of this equipment, as opposed to the marketing efficacy of the company...
November 24, 2008 in Hospitals, Medical Devices, Paul Levy | Permalink | Comments (13)

Stanford Med School rejects industry funding for continuing education

By Sarah Arnquist 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...
August 28, 2008 in Medical Devices, Pharma, Sarah Arnquist, The Industry | Permalink | Comments (4)

Ted Kennedy shows up to vote; McCain absent

By Maggie Mahar Maggie Mahar is an award winning journalist and author. A frequent contributor to THCB, her work has appeared in the New York Times, Barron's and Institutional Investor. She is the author of Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason...
July 10, 2008 in Maggie Mahar, McCain, Medical Devices, Medicare, Policy/Politics | Permalink | Comments (7)

NY Times examines CT scans and evidenced-based medicine

By Merrill Goozner The front page of the New York Times Sunday morning had a don't miss article on the financial incentives behind using CT scans to look for heart disease. Medicare's decided in March to begin paying for the...
June 30, 2008 in Medical Devices, Physicians, Policy | Permalink | Comments (5)

Think Again: Payments to doctors By Eric Novack

I am frankly a bit surprised at the lack of comment at THCB on the recent orthopedic device manufacturers’ settlement with the government for concerns about illegal payments to physicians. I would have expected Matthew or Maggie, at least, to...
November 16, 2007 in Eric Novack, Medical Devices | Permalink | Comments (9)