Healthcare Policy
Let’s Get the Data to Deliver Healthcare Safely
(2 minute read) After numerous accidents and deaths, in 1976, the Federal Aviation Administration launched the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) to collect data on all errors, mishaps, and mistakes in commercial and private aviation. From pilot captains to...
Our Duty of Care
(2 minute read) When I see my healthcare provider, I trust that they have my best interests at heart. I bet you do, too. But what is the basis for our trust in them? “Duty of Care” is a framework that governs the conduct and responsibilities of healthcare providers....
Middlemen Win Big From Healthcare Spending
(2 minute read) For 17% of GDP, we receive shorter lifespans and higher infant mortality. While most ire is directed at hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, middlemen or intermediaries – insurers, pharmacies, drug distributors, and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)...
Medication Errors: Fix the Machine
(5 minute read) Medication errors, a significant concern in the healthcare sector, are preventable events that may lead to inappropriate medication use and patient harm. These errors can occur at any stage of the medication use process, including prescribing,...
For Want of a $25 Drug: Fixing Medication Shortages
The old proverb "For Want of a Nail," having numerous variations over several centuries, reminds us that seemingly unimportant acts or omissions can have grave and unforeseen consequences. Two inexpensive cancer drugs, costing under $25 per vial, cisplatin, and...
Deadly Medication Shortages: Time for a Fix
The United States is currently grappling with a critical issue that threatens the health and well-being of its citizens: a shortage of essential medications. This crisis has been escalating over the past few years and has severe implications for patient care, with...
What Gerrymandering Teaches Us About Population Health
The 2016 election yielded 13 Republican and five Democratic congressmen representing the state of Pennsylvania. Although Republican congressional candidates won about 50% of the statewide vote, they currently hold 72% of the available House seats. In a country of “one...
Unlocking Personalized Medicine Through Interoperability
As medicine marches toward its embrace of personalized medicine and immunotherapy, researchers struggle to obtain meaningful discoveries that can be applied to the ever-expanding number of patient cohorts. The growth in the understanding and use of genetic testing...
Reining in Rising Drug Spending in the U.S.
Although overall healthcare cost inflation remains relatively small, healthcare spending just passed 18 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product at the end of 2015. Because of the size of healthcare as a component of the nation’s expenditures, this continued...