Public Health & Policy

The United States spends more on health care per capita than any other country in the world — yet health outcomes continue to fall short. In order to close the spending gap with other countries, United States health care policy must focus on reducing costs. While a variety of suggestions have been put forth by economists and medical professionals on how to cut spending and improve health, one Read more...

I am writing this from the perspective of a woman physician in academic medicine. I am a mid-career cardiac anesthesiologist who works in several national organizations and serve on various committees and boards. I have learned a lot from serving in national medical societies, made great friends this way, and been able to feel a sense of accomplishment in being a part of change within my specialty. That is why I ...

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The New York University School of Medicine stunned the nation by announcing tuition for all current and future medical students will be free, irrespective of merit or financial need. Dr. Robert Grossman, dean at NYU, commented: “This decision recognizes a moral imperative that must be addressed, as institutions place an increasing debt burden on young people who aspire to become physicians.” NYU says their scholarship -- which begins in the ...

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The bloated nature of health insurance in the United States has been a much-discussed topic in recent years. Particularly with the advent of the Affordable Health Care Act as well in response to physicians’ frustrations and increasing burnout from dealing with the constraints imposed on them by insurance companies, and at times being forced to provide suboptimal care for their patients in response to these constraints. As an example, I had ...

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Recently, several high-profile institutions have called attention to the issue of inclusion and equity when artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are applied in medicine. Leaders from the law, medicine, social sciences and computer sciences are speaking out about the challenges of using smart algorithms to solve social problems. While this topic might easily be dismissed as anti-progress by the tech community, it ...

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I've only worked four shifts of urgent care so far, but four 12-hour shifts means I've seen a lot: a lot of patients, a lot of different ailments, a lot of different reasons that people come to urgent care centers. I have to admit that this has been a breath of fresh air for me; compared to primary care, I work less frequently, I feel like the monetary compensation is fairer, ...

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Health care policy has been a hotly debated political topic for many years now. In recent years, new laws passed the halls of Congress while others failed to gain any traction. Despite the rules that have rolled out, health insurance companies have been in the driver’s seat for decades. While spokespersons for the health insurance industry will tell you that they do not make medical decisions. As a doctor, I can ...

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Everyone thinks of "Medicare for all" as a liberal idea, an extremely liberal one embraced by the socialist wing of the Democratic Party. It's an idea Democrats were hesitant to embrace in the Obama era, for being too far out of mainstream political thought. It was thought of as an idea that was too easy to demonize as socialism.

What everyone seems to be forgetting is that "Medicare for ...

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Two years ago, when I was still in residency I happened to be on overnight call the day prior to election day. An associate program director of my residency program asked me if I wouldn't mind being a doctor of record who evaluates whether I agree a patient is too sick to go to the polls. They forwarded to me names of patients who expressed interest in voting and were already ...

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