Archive for October, 2008

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Prescribing Placebos

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I found this entry on the WSJ Health Blog and all the comments very interesting.  At the core, the issue is that if a physician prescribes a placebo (sugar pill, vitamin, OTC, antibiotic) to make the patient feel better even though it medically won’t (but may mentally)…is there something wrong with that.
Obviously, if it drives […]


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Pharmacy Musical Chairs

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Remember back in the 90s when AT&T, Sprint, and all the other companies kept offering you incentives to move to their service?  I had an uncle who just kept moving around and getting $50-$100 checks.  I thought he was crazy, but he never had an issue.
Given the economy and the incentives being offered in pharmacy, […]


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Drug Prices Go Up

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A recent report by AARP which is talked about on the WSJ Health Blog reveals the following:
“Last year, the wholesale price of specialty drugs rose 8.7%, three times the rate of inflation. The price of non-specialty, branded drugs rose 7.4%, while the price of generic drugs fell by 9.6%.”
Are we surprised?  Generics have tons of […]


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Tough Times To Start A Company

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After trying my own venture a few years ago, I have greater empathy for this challenge. I have watched a few friends and neighbors doing this. I have the ultimate respect for them.
Even so, most business experts conform to a theory of “thirds”: Of all the new business startups, 1/3 eventually turn a […]


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46% Want Universal Health Care

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In a survey of 45,180 workers, the American Payroll Association found that 46% of Americans were for Universal Health Care. 26% didn’t know and 28% were against.

So, what is Universal Health Care…basically, it is healthcare coverage for all citizens which is funded by the government through taxes. [in my words]

There are lots of arguments […]


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Health 2.0 Conference

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From the outside looking in, it looks like the Health 2.0 Conference is going to be a big hit this week with almost 900 people attending.  Rather than going to back-to-back conferences, I opted to go to a pharmacy conference over this one which has several of our executives attending.
It promises to be an interesting […]


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The Treadmill Desk

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I think this is one of the coolest ideas that I have seen in a long time.  Attaching a desk to a treadmill and walking while you work.  It has lots of benefits including losing weight.  I also agree with a comment from one company doing it that it would help people think differently.
The company […]


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Gambling With Your Health

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It’s a continuous message these days…people are avoiding care (preventative and necessary) due to cost.  Here is an article in the Washington Post about it.
Though the burden is especially heavy for uninsured Americans, even those who have coverage are feeling the pinch as employers shift higher deductibles and co-payments onto employees.
“The reason why health […]


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Median US Income - $32,000

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As we talk about the economy and its effects on healthcare, it begs the question of what the average US family makes per year.  Averages are what we typically see versus median.  Median means that 1/2 of the families make more and 1/2 of the families make less.  The averages are often skewed by populations […]


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Median US Income - $32,000

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As we talk about the economy and its effects on healthcare, it begs the question of what the average US family makes per year.  Averages are what we typically see versus median.  Median means that 1/2 of the families make more and 1/2 of the families make less.  The averages are often skewed by populations […]