MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'bubble'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:05:01 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139703&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIHjvbW8In5A%2F By Mark A. CalabriaThe Washington Post is reporting that President Obama has assigned his staff with the task of designing a new set of government guarantees behind the U.S. mortgage market. Although as the Post also reports the “approach could even preserve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” That’s correct. Despite their role in driving the housing bubble and the already $160 billion in taxpayer losses, President Obama appears to be considering just putting the same failed system in place. Of course, we’ll be promised that it will all work better this time. Perhaps most offensive is that the Post reports that Obama “officials don’t want to punish the thousands of Fannie and Freddie employees who have specialized knowledge about the mortgage market.” Serious... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139703 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:04:20 +0100 5139703 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062327&cid=t_170722_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F07%2F19%2Fipo-window-open-for-ehr-vendors%2F I’m pretty sure that many readers of this site haven’t found my new EMR related website called EMR and EHR Thoughts and so you might have missed the post I did about Greenway Medical filing to go public. This is obviously big news for Greenway, but I also think it’s a sign of things to come. I believe that Greenway is likely the first of many EHR companies that we’ll see go public over the next year or so. I’m sure that many of you haven’t followed the trends of tech company IPO’s and I’m far from an expert on this. However, the IPO window which was generally closed for tech companies now seems to be open after a number of successful public offerings from tech companies. I’m not sure why it took me so long to realize this, but I believe... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062327 Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:31:27 +0100 5062327 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028138&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyZZPNvIJeBs%2F By Mark A. CalabriaIt’s probably never wise to inject oneself into the middle of a food fight, but since I think both sides actually have something right and something wrong, its been a worthwhile debate to follow.  That is the ongoing debate between Peter Wallison at the American Enterprise Institute and David Min at the Center for American Progress (at least we can all agree we love America) on the role of Fannie Mae (and Freddie Mae) in the financial crisis.  If you can’t guess, Peter says Fannie/Freddie caused the crisis, David says they didn’t. David makes an interesting point, one I’ve actually argued, in his latest retort.  That is, this wasn’t exclusively a housing crisis/bubble.  Other sectors, like commercial real estate, boomed and then went bus... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028138 Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:40:43 +0100 5028138 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028159&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FrISi8iwgfnw%2F By Mark A. CalabriaThe House of Representatives is scheduled this week, as early as today, to consider an extension and “reform” of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), administered by FEMA. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the NFIP has been about $18 billion in the hole. And this is from a program that only collects around $2 billion a year in premiums, which barely covers losses and expenses in a normal year. So make no mistake, the NFIP is still on course to cost the taxpayer billions more in the future. Even before Katrina, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the NFIP was receiving a subsidy of close to a billion dollars a year. Under CBO’s optimistic projections, the House’s reform bill would increase NFIP revenues by about $4 billion over th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028159 Tue, 12 Jul 2011 16:21:28 +0100 5028159 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872162&cid=t_170722_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F27%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-may-27-2011%2F I remember the first time I ever felt in control of my life. I was about 8 or 9 years old at the time and had a reoccurring nightmare about two kids chasing me down the street. When I told my dad about it he said, “You know you can control your dreams right?” He told me all I had to do was visualize what I wanted to happen in the dream before I went to sleep. Because I had the kind of faith in magic and pure wonder that only occurs in childhood, I wholeheartedly believed him. The next morning I woke up with a smile on my face. In my dream, the two kids that were chasing me finally caught up. But in their hands were melting ice-cream cones they had been trying to give me. That dream was years ago, but I will never forget it. More than teaching me how to control my dreams, it tau... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872162 Fri, 27 May 2011 10:40:45 +0100 4872162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4677134&cid=t_170722_160_f&fid=36189&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.skinmdblog.com%2F514%2Fthe-dirt-on-common-cosmetic-ingredients%2F Have you given up trying to figure out what causes your skin allergies? Unbeknownst to many consumers, we could be spending good money on products that we think are good for our skin but are actually causing allergic reactions, dermatitis, premature aging, and worse.  The following are the cosmetic industry’s dirtiest ingredients, rated according to Environmental Working Group’s cosmetics database Skin Deep, which references the American Cancer Society and other reliable organizations.  Skin Deep rates specific ingredients on a hazard scale from 0 to 10, the latter being the most harmful. Petrochemicals Petroleum jelly, isopropyl alcohol, butyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, ethanol Found in skin astringents, perfumes Petrolatum (petroleum jelly) rates a low 2 on Skin Deep’s hazard scal... Skin MD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4677134 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:16:43 +0100 4677134 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4428969&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fblog-scan-electronic-health-records.html Maggie Mahar over at HealthBeat Blog has written a piece on Jan. 31, 2011 entitled "Electronic Health Records: Should Congress “Defund” the Stampede to Convert to EHRs? No, But . . ."It cites my Jan. 28, 2011 HC Renewal post "US House of Representatives Proposes to Defund Largest Non-Consented Medical Experiment in U.S. History: HITECH."She points out something quite interesting about the HIT market from an economic perspective (emphasis in the original):... I am hardly an IT expert. But I have spent enough years observing markets—stock markets, real estate markets, and most recently, our health care market—to recognize a big, bright Bubble when I see one. Eager to take advantage of fat federal subsidies, too many buyers, with too little information, are scrambling to purchase heal... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4428969 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:11:00 +0100 4428969 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3965396&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIcm7T-_dWWs%2F By Daniel GriswoldIn the 2006 and 2008 election cycles, Republican candidates for Congress tried to save their bacon by running against immigration. In 2010, according to the Wall Street Journal this morning, a number of Democrats are trying to save their seats by running against trade. I predict the Democratic tactic will be as fruitless as the Republican effort before it. Democratic incumbents have been running TV ads accusing their Republican challengers of favoring trade agreements, outsourcing, and tax breaks for U.S. companies that invest abroad. The charges are wrong on substance, as I address at length in my 2009 Cato book Mad about Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization, but running against trade has not proven to be a vote getter, either. It is difficult to f... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3965396 Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:11:00 +0100 3965396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3902880&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJPH4gelW8Ig%2F A couple of weeks ago, David Boaz discussed the Old Testament story in which the people of Israel ask Samuel for a king to rule over them. God’s instructions to Samuel can be summed up as “tell them to be careful of what you wish for.” David brought up the passage in the context of civil liberties, but the story’s lesson also applies to economic liberties. Over the past eighty years, the public has become conditioned in times of crisis to turn to their rulers and demand that they “do something.” That the rulers had a hand in the crisis is all too often either unrecognized or it’s a secondary concern. As Robert Higgs demonstrated in his seminal book, Crisis and Leviathan, the rulers will willingly oblige the public and, in the process, come away with more power and control tha... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3902880 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:05:04 +0100 3902880 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3671670&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEMC2kCMdGQs%2F By Tad DeHavenIn a recent speech to real estate interests, former Clinton HUD secretary Henry Cisneros preposterously claimed that the recent housing meltdown “occurred not out of a governmental push, but out of a hijacking of the homeownership process by some unscrupulous interests.” The only criticisms Cisneros could muster for the government’s housing policies over the past 20 years were that regulations weren’t tough enough and it should have focused more on rental subsidies. The reality is that Cisneros-era HUD regulations and policies directly contributed to the housing bubble and subsequent burst as a Cato essay on HUD scandals illustrates: Cisneros’s HUD pursued legal action against mortgage lenders who supposedly declined higher percentages of loans for minorities than ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3671670 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:50:21 +0100 3671670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3648472&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYrCpVrDzsKE%2F By Mark A. CalabriaToday begins the televised political theatre that Barney Frank has been waiting months for:  the first public meeting of the House and Senate conferees on the two financial regulation bills.  While there are a handful of important differences between the House and Senate bills, these differences are overshadowed by what the bills have in common.  The most important, and tragic, commonality is that both bills ignore the real causes of the financial crisis and focus on convenient political targets. As our financial system was brought to its knees by an exploding housing bubble, fueled by government mandates and distortions, one would think, just maybe, that Congress would roll back these distortions.  Despite their role in contributing to the crisis and the size of ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3648472 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:35:23 +0100 3648472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3644726&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F06%2Fkind-of-blackmail-not-for-profit-health.html Here is another case in the annals of over-paid executives of not-for-profit health care organizations, this time from the Burlington (VT) Free-Press,Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont overpaid its former chief executive officer by $3 million over an eight-year period and has been ordered to pay the money back to its subscribers by 2012 in the form of reduced premiums, a top state regulator said Wednesday.The action by the state Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration Department follows last year’s disclosure that William Milnes, the nonprofit firm’s former CEO, received a $7.2 million payout when he stepped down in 2008.Furthermore, note that [Commissioner of the Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration Department Paulette] Thabault said h... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3644726 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:49:00 +0100 3644726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3621686&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fsocial-health-and-patient-empowerment-are-we-in-a-bubble%2F2010.06.01 I regularly talk to my patients’ parents about social health. What parents do, what they think, and how they socially experience their child’s health problems has become an interest of mine. I can hear it now: “Of course patients won’t discuss their social health activities with you, you’re a doctor.” Perhaps, but I don’t think so. Actually, I’ve had some very interesting open dialog with a few of my long-term patient-parents. Many have children suffering with chronic diseases such as Crohn’s disease, eosinophilic enteropathy, and the like. The relationships I cultivate are open, and the nature of my dialog has been just as consistently open as other aspects of our relationship. Interestingly, while nearly all have used online search to understand their disease, mos... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3621686 Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:00:21 +0100 3621686 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515298&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Foh-prices-we-pay-reloaded-celgene-balks.html A brief article on Bloomberg.com implied that Celgene has been fighting efforts by the Canadian Patented Medicine Prices Review Board to get pricing data about the drug Thalidomid (thalidomide):Celgene Corp., the biotechnology company specializing in blood-cancer medicines, will get a hearing before Canada’s highest court over the country’s demands to provide pricing information for the drug Thalomid.The Supreme Court of Canada today agreed to hear Celgene’s appeal of a Federal Court of Appeal ruling that said Canada’s Patented Medicine Prices Review Board was entitled to information about the pricing of the drug. The high court gave no reason for its decision.Celgene’s two top-selling drugs are Revlimid and Thalomid, for a form of blood-cancer called multiple myeloma. They broug... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515298 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:57:00 +0100 3515298 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3482883&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FyAt8AlivMAo%2F By Mark A. CalabriaSeveral commentators have reacted to Senator McConnell’s floor statement regarding the Dodd bill as a defense of “doing nothing”.  And accordingly argue that such a position would be, in the words of Simon Johnson, both dangerous and irresponsible.  This familiar canard is based upon the oft repeated assertion that the failure of Lehman proved that we cannot simply let large financial companies enter bankruptcy. The simple, but important, fact is that we have no idea what would have happened had we let AIG and Bear go into bankruptcy proceedings.  Nor do we know what would have happened if Lehman had been saved.  Macroeconomics does not have the luxury of running natural experiments to determine the impact of a corporate failure.   Scholars have a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3482883 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:33:03 +0100 3482883 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3403863&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9SCL-r3GqNw%2F By Doug BandowSocial Security is officially in the red.  The New York Times reports that the system will pay out more than it takes in this year.  Explains the Times: The bursting of the real estate bubble and the ensuing recession have hurt jobs, home prices and now Social Security. This year, the system will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes, an important threshold it was not expected to cross until at least 2016, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Stephen C. Goss, chief actuary of the Social Security Administration, said that while the Congressional projection would probably be borne out, the change would have no effect on benefits in 2010 and retirees would keep receiving their checks as usual. The problem, he said, is that payments have risen more... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3403863 Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:55:25 +0100 3403863 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3216570&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtMuUx7G-x2I%2F By Chris Moody Cato experts will live-blog Obama’s State of the Union Address tonight. Join in, submit questions, and watch the speech right here on Cato@Liberty at 9:00 PM EST. A quick, ten-point libertarian State of the Union Address. One “Great Canard”: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke argues that the Fed’s monetary policy was not responsible for the U.S. housing bubble. About that non-discretionary spending… Podcast: “Obama’s Fiscal Right Fake” featuring Chris Edwards. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3216570 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:43:17 +0100 3216570 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3189123&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F4FBpYnwq4Lo%2F By Tad DeHavenThe Federal Housing Administration will reportedly announce more stringent lending requirements and higher borrowing fees. The move comes in response to growing concerns that rising losses on mortgages it insures will require a taxpayer bailout. Although any credit tightening is welcome, the agency will not propose an increase in the minimum downpayment, currently 3.5 percent. (Borrowers with credit scores below 580 will be required to put down a minimum of 10 percent, but most FHA lenders already require a 620 minimum score.) Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal noted that “home builders are worried” the FHA would propose raising the minimum downpayment. The CEO of a Texas builder said it would be a “game changer,” meaning that it would hinder the nascent housing recov... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3189123 Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:25:01 +0100 3189123 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3149037&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2IJvlpe-flQ%2F By Peter Van DorenDavid Leonhardt’s column today in the New York Times, in reaction to Ben Bernanke’s recent speech at the American Economic Association meetings, asks an important question: If the Federal Reserve failed to detect the housing bubble when it occurred, why should we entrust it with that role in the future? But he doesn’t follow the logic of his question far enough and instead embraces a financial equivalent of the National Transportation Safety Board, as if technical solutions exist and could be implemented if politics got out of the way. In our recent Policy Analysis, Jagadeesh Gokhale and I examine a more complete list of technical and political problems that stand in the way of asset bubble management. Can bubbles be detected using scientific techniques (econometric... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3149037 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:00:37 +0100 3149037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3142519&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnjLh8I2w3HY%2F By Daniel GriswoldFor American workers and families trying to get ahead, the decade just behind us was a stinker. As a front-page Washington Post story over the long weekend summarized: For most of the past 70 years, the U.S. economy has grown at a steady clip, generating perpetually higher incomes and wealth for American households. But since 2000, the story is starkly different. … According to the story, the Aughts (2000-09) were the first decade since World War Two with no net job creation, and the first in which median household income was actually lower at the end than at the beginning. It won’t be long before critics of trade will try to blame the poor economic performance on trade agreements and globalization. This has been a standard line of attack, and I address it at length i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3142519 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:06:28 +0100 3142519 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3100748&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fwith-leaders-like-these.html My current favorite book about the global financial meltdown, aka great recession, The Sellout, by Charles Gasparino, featured vivid portraits of the bad leadership that lead to the collapse.  For example:Richard S Fuld, Jr, former CEO of Lehman Brothers (now bankrupt) - Fuld had become more isolated and arrogant. (p.208)As the firm's leverage increased, Fuld's grip on his management and board grew. He was revered by so many people in his circle of senior advisers that almost no one dared to speak out about the firm's risk and leverate, and almost never to Fuld himself. Everyone else was so scared to be cursed at in public or even fired that they simply kept their mouths shut.Fuld's leadership was more like that of a cult leader than even that of an imperial CEO. (p. 20... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3100748 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:04:00 +0100 3100748 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3100749&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fteaching-would-be-health-care-leaders.html The Wall Street Journal just published a story on a big innovation in the business school curriculum:David Song was in the middle of a two-year executive M.B.A. program at University of Chicago's Booth School of Business in February when he got the idea to create a course to help business people better understand the inner workings of medicine.Dr. Song, chief of plastic surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center, believes the course may help close the gap between such industries as pharmaceutical and biotech, and the medical community they serve.'Why not help reveal how things run and how we make decisions, particularly in this time of immense overhaul to the system?' says Dr. Song, who began collaborating with one of his marketing professors, Sanjay Dhar, to put together the cour... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3100749 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:57:00 +0100 3100749 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3100782&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fn0ZyswQ2VcI%2F By Chris Moody Helping out the “Wall Street fat cats:” Bankers are responding to the incentives generated by the economic policies of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve. How charter schools can save states big education dollars. Doug Bandow:  “Congress has spent the country blind, inflated a disastrous housing bubble, subsidized every special interest with a letterhead and lobbyist, and created a wasteful, incompetent bureaucracy that fills Washington. But now, legislators want to take a break from all their good work and save college football.” In case you missed it last week, watch Cato’s Jerry Taylor on the premier episode of Stossel. Podcast: “Urban Planners Romanticize Immobility“ (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3100782 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:27:50 +0100 3100782 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3096832&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYC84ZLvXw_U%2F By Tad DeHavenU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan recently gave a speech in New York in which he spoke of a “new direction in housing.” If there’s one constant with cabinet secretaries, it’s that they all promise that their department will be new and improved. The following are a few of Donovan’s lines that deserve comment. The Federal Housing Administration is providing another critical bridge to economic stability…And with nearly half of first-time buyers using FHA loans, it is clear that the FHA has been central to recovery. Thanks to his predecessor, Alphonso Jackson, who was “absolutely emphatic about winning back our share of the market,” the FHA’s willingness to pick up the subprime lending slack when the housing bubble burst ha... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3096832 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:55:24 +0100 3096832 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089237&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2F98-million-dollar-man.html We seem to have a new candidate for the award for best-paid CEO of a not-for-profit academic medical center, as reported in the New York Post,Wall Streeters aren't the only ones raking in big bonuses during tough economic times.Hospital presidents and CEOs also collect fat bonuses and 'incentive payments,' even as health-care systems cry poverty, claiming they struggle to break even against government cutbacks, tightwad insurers and skyrocketing costs.While warning of layoffs and slashed patient services, many hospitals shower their top execs and department heads with bonuses and perks. They include housing allowances, chauffeurs, first-class air travel, tuition for their kids and country-club memberships.Under new IRS rules, the extras are disclosed for the first time in recently filed 20... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089237 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:29:00 +0100 3089237 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3089509&cid=t_170722_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F12%2F14%2Fstill-have-cash-wall-street-wants-to-talk%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Still Have Cash? Wall Street Wants to Talk. Posted in Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, economy, gold bubble, meltdown, political cartoon, small investor, wall street (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3089509 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:30:11 +0100 3089509 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3075458&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fmore-air-into-health-care-bubble-30000.html Over four years ago, we posted about the stratospheric prices of new drugs that seemed disproportionate to manufacturing and development costs on one hand, and the value of the drugs for patients on the other.  For example, back then we noted that thalidomide, a very old drug that notoriously was found to cause birth defects when it was given to preganant women, but that then showed promise as an anti-cancer drug, was being marketed in the US for $29 per capsule (approximately $25,000 a year), while a generic form sold in Brazil for $0.07 per capsule.That was then, and this is now.  This week, the New York Times reported on a $30,000+  per month cancer drug.  A newly approved chemotherapy drug will cost about $30,000 a month, a sign that the prices of cancer m... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3075458 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:56:00 +0100 3075458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3056594&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fhealth-care-bubble-parallels-with.html The global financial melt-down, or great recession, or whatever it will be called was a big surprise in September, 2008, to those of us not immersed in finance. A year later there is an opportunity to at least better understand the events leading up to it.  I have managed to read two focused books on aspects of the melt-down, (House of Cards, by William D Cohan, and Fool's Gold by Gillian Tett) and am in the midst of what may be the best general narrative of it published to date, The Sellout, by Charles Gasparino.Reading the recent history of the meltdown makes me uncomfortably aware of parallels between these events and the current dysfunction of the health care system.  In his discussion of the run-up to the crash, Mr Gasparino emphasized a number of issues which... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3056594 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:50:00 +0100 3056594 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3056621&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FnW5hraShaXg%2F A few questions for Ben Bernanke: “Perhaps the most important question Bernanke should answer is: how will he re-build and maintain an independent Fed?” Before considering Bernanke’s role in containing the financial crisis, Congress should investigate the role of Fed policy in allowing the housing bubble to grow. Prepare to pay more: Today, an average insurance policy can cost about $2,985 for an individual or $6,328 for a family.  Under the Senate bill, those premiums will increase to $5,800 for an individual worker and $15,200 for a family plan by 2016. Why the White House “jobs summit” is unnecessary. Made on Earth: How global economic integration renders trade policy obsolete. Podcast: “ObamaCare the Budget Buster.” More, here. (Sour... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3056621 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:37:34 +0100 3056621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3044729&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FVyg2BVRhdj4%2F A glimmer of hope for libertarian public policy in the age of Obama: The War on Drugs may be slowly winding down. “The prospects for reform are better than they’ve been in decades.” An overview of religious liberty around the world. Doug Bandow: “Martyrdom did not disappear with imperial Rome.” All eyes on India: Party crashers aside, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the U.S. was an important event. Patrick J. Michaels on “ClimateGate.” More, here. The insanity of housing subsidies: “If you’re thinking to yourself that this is the sort of government-induced behavior that helped create the housing bubble, go to the head of the class.” Podcast: “Judicial Takings at SCOTUS“ (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3044729 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:54:56 +0100 3044729 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2908648&cid=t_170722_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F10%2F20%2Fjust-say-no-10-steps-to-better-boundaries%2F Up until recently, “No” was dirty word to me. As a stage-four people-pleaser, my vocabulary was rich with affirmatives: “yeah,” “sure,” “okay,” “absolutely,” “no problem.” But my mouth just couldn’t seem to form the consonant-vowel combination required to say “No,” even when “Yes” was simply impossible due to time conficts or just an overdose of stress in my daily life. I would get stuck at “Nnnnnnn… alright.” Which meant I was doing all kinds of things that I didn’t want to, have to, or have time to do. If you are like me, surrounded by a modest sampling of users, takers, and even well intentioned askers who could zap all your energy if you let them, take heart! He... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2908648 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:35:03 +0100 2908648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2876022&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fc18y9pP9fp8%2F Many commentators have argued that if the Federal Reserve had followed a stricter monetary policy earlier this decade when the housing bubble was forming, and if Congress had not deregulated banking but had imposed tighter financial standards, the housing boom and bust—and the subsequent financial crisis and recession—would have been averted. In a new study, Cato scholars Jagadeesh Gokhale and Peter Van Doren investigate those claims and dispute them. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2876022 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:05:50 +0100 2876022 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2857396&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fjh7W_QCtAME%2F Bush-era surveillance powers are set to expire at the end of this year. Julian Sanchez explores the efforts to revise the PATRIOT Act. More on the medical professionals who aided in acts of torture. Doug Bandow: Ireland is holding a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty on Friday. If the Irish say yes, the European Union will be stronger. But will anyone notice? How urban planners caused the housing bubble. The aftermath of  “Cash for Clunkers” hits automakers. Looks like it just might have been the “dumbest program ever” after all. Podcast: “Three Felonies a Day“ (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2857396 Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:35:11 +0100 2857396 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2855544&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIbmJSv49OxM%2F This past week witnessed continued debate in congressional committees over changes to our financial regulatory system.  Perhaps catching the most attention was Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s appearance before House Financial Services.  Sadly missing from all the noise this week was any discussion over reforming those entities at the center of the housing bubble and mortgage meltdown:  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. While many, including Bernanke, have identified the “global savings glut” as a prime force behind the historically low interest rates that drove the housing bubble, often missed in this analysis is the critical role played by Fannie and Freddie as channels of that savings glut.  After all, the Chinese Central Bank was not plowing its reserves into Countrywide sto... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2855544 Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:08:38 +0100 2855544 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2803884&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkqhHMUkn27k%2F The core of Keynesian economic policy is that the government must come in and replace reductions in private sector demand with public sector demand, therefore bringing overall demand back to its previous level.  One of the many flaws in this thinking is in assuming that the previous level of demand was “correct” and getting us back to that level is the appropriate policy response. Take the example of the housing market and the government response.  The primary response of Republicans in Washington has been to offer tax credits and other incentives to replace the drop in demand for housing.  Witness Senator Johnny Isakson’s  recent comments on why we need to extend the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit: “If you take that kind of business out of what’s already a v... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2803884 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:51:10 +0100 2803884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2793134&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHQmw2pZGlFY%2F Today President Obama took his financial reform plan to the airwaves.  While there is no doubt our financial system is in need of financial reform, the President’s plan would make bailouts a permanent feature of the regulatory landscape.  Rather than ending “too big to fail” — the President wants us to believe that with additional discretion and power, the same Federal Reserve that missed the boat last time will save us next time. The truth is that the President’s plan will result in a small number of companies being viewed by debtholders as “too big to fail”.  These companies would see their funding costs decline, allowing them to gain market-share at the expense of their rivals, making these firms even larger.  Greater concentration in our fi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2793134 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:29:55 +0100 2793134 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2761846&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FK60XHMCvO6s%2F Earlier this week, the AFL-CIO, building upon a suggestion made last week in the UK, proposed that the federal government impose a 1/10 of 1 percent tax of all stock trades.  The union group argues that such a tax would reduce non-productive speculative activity in the stock market. First of all, we have all sorts of transfer taxes on housing, and yet we still had a housing bubble.  So much for small taxes stopping speculative activity.  If an investor expected to double their money, it seems quite a stretch to believe that such a small tax would discourage them. More importantly, our recent financial crisis was not triggered by too much equity (like stocks) but by too much debt.  In taxing stock transactions, we only add to the already favorable treatment of debt compared to equity, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2761846 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:25:16 +0100 2761846 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2734014&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXmuqbPJu1us%2F In re-appointing Bernanke to another four year term as Fed chairman, President Obama completes his embrace of bailouts, easy money and deficits as the defining characteristics of his economic agenda. Bernanke, along with Secretary Geithner (then New York Fed president) were the prime movers behind the bailouts of AIG and Bear Stearns. Rather than “saving capitalism,” these bailouts only spread panic at considerable cost to the taxpayer. As evidenced in his “financial reform” proposal, Obama does not see bailouts as the problem, but instead believes an expanded Fed is the solution to all that is wrong with the financial sector. Bernanke also played a central role as the Fed governor most in favor of easy money in the aftermath of the dot-com bubble — a policy t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2734014 Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:25:29 +0100 2734014 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2645269&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fq8DOqyA2Dec%2F Over the last week, speaking at a variety of events, I heard three different representatives of the Left; first a Democrat US Senator, then a senior member of the Obama Administration, and finally a “consumer” advocate, all repeat the same narrative:  all was fine in the housing market until predatory lenders forced hard-working honest families into foreclosure, which reduced house prices, bringing the economy to a crash.  That’s correct, apparently the Left believes we all would still be seeing double-digit home price appreciation if it wasn’t for those evil lenders. Undoubtedly foreclosures, especially those that result in houses that remain vacant for a considerable amount of time, have an adverse impact on surrounding property values.  Many constitute a serio... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2645269 Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:32:12 +0100 2645269 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2605943&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fid-1khc1UNI%2F Earlier this week, SEC Chair Mary Shapiro appeared before Congress to suggest ways to fix the failings in our credit rating agencies.   Sadly her proposals miss the market, although that shouldn’t be so surprising as her suggestions appear to rest upon a misunderstanding of the problem. The thrust of the SEC’s current approach is more disclosure, such as releasing “pre-ratings” that debt issuers may get before final issuance.  Additional disclosure of ratings methodology and assumptions is likely to be useless.  Almost all that information was available during the building housing bubble.  The problem is that the rating agencies had little incentive to go beyond the consensus forecasts of increasing to at most modest declines in home prices.  These same assum... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2605943 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:27:44 +0100 2605943 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2598191&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWpZvflg_xZQ%2F Recent weeks have seen a swirl of speculation over whether President Obama will or will not re-appoint Ben Bernanke to the Chairmanship of the Federal Reserve Board, when his current term as Chair expires in January 2010. Almost all of the debate has centered on his actions as Chairman. This narrow focus misses an important piece: his actions, and words, as a Fed governor during the build-up of the housing bubble. What should have been Bernanke’s greatest strength as a Fed governor and later chair, his understanding of monetary theory and his knowledge of the Great Depression, has ended up being a weakness. While correct in his analysis of the role of “debt deflation” — where the deflation increases the real burden of debts and correspondingly weakens the balance s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2598191 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:19:43 +0100 2598191 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2561214&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNgWMnomrBTM%2F Today the Obama Administration released a 152-page draft bill to create a new Consumer Financial Product Commission. While intended to protect against consumer confusion and reduce the likelihood of future financial crises, the proposed agency will at best have little impact and at worst contribute to the next financial crisis, with the added effect of decreased homeownership and increased litigation. The president promises that “those ridiculous contracts with pages of fine print that no one can figure out – those things will be a thing of the past,” The president ignores that those “ridiculous contracts” and “fine print” are the result of previous rounds of so-called consumer protections. The disclosures one receives with a mortgage or a credit card are those mandated by so... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2561214 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:34:00 +0100 2561214 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2477545&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FskNcd3Xcbxw%2F The Baltic nation of Latvia is in the middle of a serious economic downturn resulting largely from a credit bubble and excessive government spending. This created an opening for those who have long wanted to undo the nation’s flat tax and impose a discriminatory system. Indeed, the economic Luddites at the Tax Research Network were already celebrating the expected demise of the single-rate tax. Unfortunately for them (but fortunately for Latvians), the government made a stunning announcement that the flat tax will be retained according to Reuters: Latvia’s government is to reduce old age pensions and state sector salaries but not raise taxes, it said on Thursday as it tries to win more loans and avert crisis and possible currency devaluation. The five-party coalition ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2477545 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:52:25 +0100 2477545 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2474177&cid=t_170722_150_f&fid=38374&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEPharmaSummit%2F%7E3%2FG4xCu9AGYlM%2Flots-of-promise-in-healthcare-it.html (Source: ePharma Summit) ePharma Summit blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2474177 Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:00:00 +0100 2474177 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2473211&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1w2H0Azqqr8%2F As discussed in a recent Bloomberg piece, several U.S. senators from both parties are pushing to almost double the recently enacted $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers to $15,000. The same senators are also pushing to remove the current income restrictions — $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples — while also removing the first-time buyer requirement. The intent of the increase, and the original credit, is to increase the demand for housing and to create a “bottom” to the housing market. The flaw of this approach is that it creates a false bottom, one characterized by government-inflated prices and not fundamentals. It was excessive government subsidies into housing that helped create the housing bubble, additional subsidies to re-inflate the bubble will only pr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2473211 Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:07:25 +0100 2473211 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2415755&cid=t_170722_137_f&fid=35426&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheAlzheimersReadingRoom%2F%7E3%2FhImVHCrrELU%2Falzheimers-bubble-bath.html I posted this on another site and got a few good responses.I am considering trying to give my mother bubble baths. I know this is a bit off the wall, but I wanted to get the reaction of subscribers.I am interested in finding out if anyone is using baths and more about their experience. I am also looking for tips and advice.Thanks in advance.Please use the comments box, down under this articleSubscribe to The Alzheimer's Reading Room--via EmailBob DeMarco is an Alzheimer's caregiver and editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room. The Alzheimer's Reading Room is the number one website on the Internet for insight into Alzheimer's disease. Bob taught at the University of Georgia, was an executive at Bear Stearns, the CEO of IP Group, and is a mentor. He has written more than 600 articles with more... Alzheimer's Reading Room, The blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2415755 Sun, 17 May 2009 14:03:34 +0100 2415755 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2175225&cid=t_170722_113_f&fid=38130&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tempdev.net%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D562 As Obama’s economic stimulus gets closer and closer to passing, EHR companies and consultants alike are celebrating. By providing $41K over 5 years beginning in 2011 (by year: $15K, $12K, $8K, $4K, $2K) via Medicare bonuses, physicians will see a real financial benefit to making the leap to an electronic record. Also, the stimulus plan comes with a stick: if physicians don’t make the leap by 2015, they will see a decrease in their Medicare reimbursement. But is the government replacing the burst housing bubble with an EHR bubble? As pointed out in our last post by John Weir, more than 62,000 implementers will be required to fill just the deployment needs.  To fill this need, anyone who has ever touched an EHR, no matter their qualifications or ability to effectively implement,... Implementing EMRs blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2175225 Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:57:26 +0100 2175225 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2021582&cid=t_170722_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FGibKCKi-MJE%2F Eureka! A possible stocking stuffer that combines sensory input with one of Charlie’s preferred foods—edamame—and can be attached to the D-ring on his bookbag and readily squeezed when the noise on the schoolbus gets, well, noisy: Asovision Edamame If that seems a little weird (and the price is kinda steep—equivalent to buying a couple of bags of frozen edamame), there’s always virtual bubble wrap. Tags: asd, asperger, audit, autism, autism blog, bubble wrap, disability, edamame disabilities blog, Education, gadgets, gizmos, Health, parenthood, special needs, ToysShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2021582 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:12:23 +0100 2021582 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2005828&cid=t_170722_132_f&fid=35014&url=http%3A%2F%2Fharijay.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F12%2F02%2Fof-bubbles-and-funding%2F I am writing to attempt to describe my opinions after reading a very insightful commentary written by Gregory Petsko in the September issue of Genome Biology ( doi 10.1186/gb-2008-9-9-110) titled “When Bubbles Burst” . In that article Greg Petsko analyses the parallels between the current Economics bubble and the Big-science bubble ( my words). Just as we can attribute the financial bubble to the un-regulated growth of the financial industry , we can possibly attribute the many problems ailing the research establishment to the un-regulated growth of the “omics” bubble. We all have witnessed the move of all Science into the genomic age. We have witnessed the gradual shift of federal research Dollars to consortium based science. Whether it is the cancer genome or stru... The Omics world blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2005828 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:58:44 +0100 2005828 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1933328&cid=t_170722_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FPV1bhyf37iM%2F On the edge of your seat watching the election results? Need a little distraction of a sensory type to keep your fingers busy with something else besides hitting the refresh button on your computer to see who’s in the lead? Bubble wrap is good stuff for the sensory-sensitive and then there’s the Mugen Pop Pop Blueberry, a miniature version of those plastic popping sheets. But can it replicate the real bubble wrap experience? And would the Mugen be a good fidget to clip onto Charlie’s bookbag? Excuse me, I have to go back to checking who’s got the most electoral votes…….. Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, barack obama, book bag, bubble wrap, disabilities blog, disability, Education, election, fidget, john mccain, mugen pop pop, pop, president back... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1933328 Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:12:40 +0100 1933328 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1911335&cid=t_170722_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F10%2F27%2Fis-american-healthcare-in-a-bubble%2F Over at e-Patients.net, my colleague Alan Greene (who, with his wife Cheryl, runs the fantastic parenting and child resource site, DrGreene.com) writes an entry based upon a talk he gave at the second Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco this past week. (Health 2.0 is a conference that ostensibly seeks to help encourage the conversation amongst people seeking to help empower patients with their health care.) Dr. Greene believes that change is coming in the American health care system, which is currently in a bubble, because the current system is simply unsustainable: At one time, the dot.com bubble of the new economy and the more recent housing bubble looked to many like they would go up forever. The banking bubble grew in the marbled halls of century-old firms. But what looked so so... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1911335 Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:46:09 +0100 1911335 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1709275&cid=t_170722_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2FFGWO1oBphGQ%2F What do you get when you combine bubble wrap and numbers, and a need to keep track of time for your eager-to-return-to-school 11 year old? The Bubble Calendar, a “poster-sized calendar with a bubble to pop every day.” Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, bubble wrap, calendar, disabilities blog, disability, Family, family blog, Health, Parenting, Sensory, TimeShare This (Source: Autism Vox) Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1709275 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:30:35 +0100 1709275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1643062&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=36941&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mazecordblood.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D40 USA Today recently ran a story about a nine-month-old baby suffering from severe combined immunodeficiency.  This prevents his body from producing enough T cells to fight off disease.  the condition is often referred to as “bubble boy” disease because its victims are so vulnerable to infectious disease that they must live in protective bubbles.  Granton Bayless was admitted to the hospital in March, suffering from pneumonia and respiratory synctial virus.  He was placed on a ventilator and given medicine to paralyze him so he wouldn’t hurt himself with the equipment.  Following an exhaustive search for a bone-marrow or cord-blood match, Granton finally received an umbilical cord blood transplant at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.  Cord blood was... Cord Blood News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1643062 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:29:13 +0100 1643062 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1248889&cid=t_170722_132_f&fid=35024&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FBlindscientist%2F%7E3%2F239077669%2F (Source: Blind.Scientist) Blind.Scientist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1248889 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:23:07 +0100 1248889 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1216519&cid=t_170722_145_f&fid=35710&url=http%3A%2F%2Fstoryofhealing.com%2F2008%2F02%2F06%2Fmeeting-the-xo-aptly-at-a-geek-gathering-and-other-yowzahs%2F Never have I imagined that Houston would be the place to affirm my geek. Except at my brother’s old place from where he built me my first PC. And then after that when I met my husband, who is a proud one himself. But out in the wild? It is with a happy note then that I share with you a Houston that has such a dynamic within. Having lived here for not very long, it is wonderful to have these venues to meet with one’s ‘kin’. Meeting folks who will match my very own, “@timeless” with their “@outofbalance” or “@superman” unleashes a smiling butterfly that says, “yowzah!”. The gatherings come in many wonderful names and behind them smiling headshots coming to life as you meet them. “@imelda’s” Twitter Houston and “@laanba’s” Housto... the story of healing blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1216519 Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:00:57 +0100 1216519 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=682797&cid=t_170722_87_f&fid=34866&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecardioblog.com%2F2007%2F06%2F19%2Fdo-candy-smokes-lead-to-the-real-thing-for-kids%2F Filed under: Smoking, ProductsWhen I was a child I remember well the thrill of holding a bubble gum cigarette in my hands. It was rare that my older brother and I would get our hands on the treats, but when we did the excitement of blowing through the paper cover and seeing a puff of sugar toot out the other end was pretty cool to a four year-old. After that one puff was done, I would sit in what I thought was a glamorous pose and chomp on the end until it was soggy and then I would rip off the paper and chew away on pink, gooey gum. My brother also enjoyed the cigarettes, though he wasn't as cosmopolitan as I when it came to role playing, but he grew up to be a smoker and I cannot inhale without becoming violently ill.According to a recent study, many children who enjoyed "smoking" candy ... The Cardio Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=682797 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 04:00:00 +0100 682797