1) There is evidence that the radiology gravy-train at General Electric may be coming to an end.
My take: The explosion of imaging tests is a major reason for skyrocketing health care costs. Companies like GE and physicians enamored with the latest and greatest studies all exacerbate the myth that “more medicine has to be better”. This has to stop. More needs to be done to publicize the very real risks over overtesting. This includes long-term dangers from radiation, patient panic from false positives, and complications from the increasingly invasive tests that imaging studies normally lead to.
So when I read that GE Healthcare’s profits dipped 4% last year, forgive me if I’m not really crying a river over it.
2) The NY Times gives Massachusetts’ health reform a pat on the back.
My take: Their partisan editorials are blinding them to what’s really happening. They trumpet that more than half of the 300,000 uninsured now have coverage, but fail to mention that are not enough physicians to see the inundation of newly insured patients. There is also misguided faith that preventive medicine could potentially be cost-saving, when a recent study suggests the opposite may be true.
As always, it comes down to money: “The challenge ahead is to restrain the escalation of medical costs, hold premiums to single-digit increases and find new sources of revenue. The money could come from new taxes, higher contributions from businesses and possibly the federal government.”
That will go over well with the electorate.
3) I went to the local Apple store yesterday and had my first look at the MacBook Air.
My take: Sexy. A marvel of engineering. But I probably won’t buy one. They sacrificed too much for sake of “thinness”. Only one USB port? No DVD drive? The lighter Sony TZ series and the Toshiba Portege line managed to fit one in. If it were priced at $500 less maybe, but not at $1799.
My choice for a laptop ultrasportable would be the Lenovo X61.
As an aside, I can’t get that MacBook Air song out of my head, so now I’ll put it in yours:
Related posts:
- Can radiology pre-authorizations lead to turf wars?
- Radiology and overtesting
- "Do I really need that?"
- Most Americans have health insurance, and what health reform is going to do for them
- Nuclear radiology tests
- Health care policy experts versus the public, an obstacle to reform
- Do Americans really want health care reform?
{ 4 comments }
Great, now it can displace that song by HEM.
Apparently the 1/2 of the 300,000 who haven’t picked up coverage yet don’t qualify for subsidies.
Doctor supply aside, the costs are a huge problem.
The radiology gravy train is right….where I work, churning via recommendations such as “…suggest CT to confirm…” are rampant, and it’s our job (unreimbursed) to protect the patient from this potential harm.
Interestingly, this may be one area where we might see market forces create sufficient pain to alter behaviors. (Actually, I must be dreaming if I think this is going to happen anytime soon).
You got me. I thought it was a MacBook Air commercial. And, I’m waiting and waiting to see the product. Pleasantly surprised to hear more than 28 seconds of the song. Great find.
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