Category: Opinions

September 16, 2019

Judging from healthcare advertisements on the Internet, television, and radio, specialists rule the roost as healthcare providers in the U.S. healthcare system. From orthopedic surgeons to cancer centers to ophthalmologists, it’s hard to avoid the onslaught of advertising for specialist […]

September 16, 2019

What role does fate play when it comes to the 145,000 people diagnosed with cancer each year in Australia and 125,000 people in Vietnam? Smoking, sun exposure, poor diet, alcohol consumption and inadequate exercise are proven risk factors for many […]

September 13, 2019

The moderators kicked off the third Democratic debate with the topic of health care, teeing up another round of the ongoing “Medicare for All” debate. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders caught our attention by claiming that 50 million people lose their […]

September 12, 2019

Employer healthcare costs in the U.S. are rising 6.5% in 2020 or nearly double the rate of general inflation for yet another year amid the rising costs of specialty pharmaceuticals and ongoing chronic conditions, according to Aon, a global professional […]

September 6, 2019

MESA, Ariz. — As America’s population ages and demand outpaces supply, a physician shortage is intensifying. Projections from the Association of American Medical Colleges say the U.S. will see a shortage of 46,900 to 121,900 physicians by 2032 in primary […]

September 5, 2019

As voters fume about the high cost of health care, politicians have been targeting two well-deserved villains: pharmaceutical companies, whose prices have risen more than inflation, and insurers, who pay their executives millions in salaries while raising premiums and deductibles. […]

September 3, 2019

Mental illnesses have become one of the biggest medical challenges of the 21st century. According to the World Health Organization, around 450 million people globally are affected by mental illness. But two-thirds of people with a known mental condition, such […]

August 30, 2019

Opioid-related deaths continue to take the lives of thousands in the U.S. each year, with non-fatal opioid overdoses as a significant risk factor for a subsequent fatal overdose. Post-overdose interventions are emerging in affected communities, using what support systems are […]

August 30, 2019

Trips to perform reconstructive surgery procedures in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are cost-effective in terms of reducing the impact of disability on the lives of patients, reports a special topic paper in the September issue of Plastic and Reconstructive […]

August 29, 2019

Human Ebola epidemics, like the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are known to start from a contact with wildlife infected with Ebola virus. In the early 2000s a series of such outbreaks in Central Africa began from […]

August 26, 2019

Healthcare remains the nation’s top voting issue ahead of the 2020 elections, just as it was during the 2018 midterms. Surveys show voters remain frustrated with high drug prices, growing out-of-pocket expenses and skimpy health-insurance benefits. The leading candidates have […]

August 23, 2019

Trainee doctors who have dyslexia, and who declare this prior to taking the clinical skills component of the licensing exam for general practice, are less likely to pass than their counterparts, new research has shown. The Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) […]

August 16, 2019

Compared to other high-income countries, Switzerland actually spends the most on out-of-pocket healthcare when compared to the average income, new research shows. With an average annual salary equivalent of $62,283 and total voluntary/out-of-pocket health spending of $5,291.73, the Swiss are […]

August 13, 2019

Since 2011, the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE), the most extensive epidemiological cohort study of Chinese older adults in the United States, has revealed critical health disparities among the growing Chinese American population. In the current issue […]

August 8, 2019

During the recent Democratic debates, Senator Bernie Sanders once again lambasted the state of America’s healthcare system, drawing damning comparisons with other countries, particularly Canada. The Vermont senator has also consistently criticized the “incredible corruption and greed” of the U.S. […]