Polymath's Guide to News and Ideas
Half of U.S. Spending on Health Care May Be Wasted
WSJ.COM: HEALTH BLOG :The US spends more than two trillion dollars a year on health care, but are Americans getting full value for their money? “No”, answers just about anyone who is anyone inside the health-care system... READ MORE
How a Drug Maker Tries to Outwit Generics
WALL STREET JOURNAL : President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to reduce prescription-drug costs, but the pricing moves by one pharmaceutical company show why that could be difficult... READ MORE
An Infinite Loop in the Brain
SPIEGEL ONLINE : Wouldn't it be great to be able to remember everything? To see all our most important moments, all the priceless encounters, adventures and triumphs... READ MORE
Swiss approve pioneering legal heroin program
YAHOO NEWS : The world's most comprehensive legalized heroin program became permanent Sunday with overwhelming approval from Swiss voters who simultaneously rejected the decriminalization of marijuana... READ MORE
“Spread the Wealth” Controversy Hits Doctors
HEALTH BEAT :By now you know that Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) has offered a “Call to Arms” for health care reform by way of a 98 page policy document. There is much to think about in Baucus’ proposal... READ MORE
The rift between ER docs and hospitalists
NOTES FROM DR. RW :A survey published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine documented numerous handoff errors between ER physicians and hospitalists resulting in near misses and, in some cases, patient harm... READ MORE
Credit Clouds Darken Over Health Industry
WSJ.COM: HEALTH BLOG : Moody’s has cut its outlook for a bunch of health sectors lately, as the weak economy takes a toll on an industry that many thought was insulated from the worst of the financial mess... READ MORE
Study Finds Statins Benefit Patients With no History of Heart Problems
PBS : RAY SUAREZ: For years, statins have been given to millions of patients with high cholesterol to reduce risk of heart attack and stroke. Now, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine finds one of those drugs... READ MORE
Stephen Colbert for FDA commissioner?
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN : Stephen Colbert does not have an MD. But he apparently has a keen understanding of clinical trials, perhaps because of his DFA – doctor of fine arts... READ MORE
When Alzheimer's Hits at 40
WALL STREET JOURNAL :Brian Kammerer, the 45-year-old chief financial officer of a small hedge fund, called his wife one day from a cellphone in the men's room of his Manhattan office building... READ MORE