Stimulus Package Rivals Cost of War in Iraq, Loss of Your Medical Privacy, and Critics Condemn Bowel Cancer Drug Rejection
Did the stimulus package cost more than the Iraq War? One researcher says “yes.”
Steve Wynn: China is more friendly to capitalism than the United States. (Great video interview with CNBC.)
More EMRs mean loss of privacy. “More than five million people have been affected by breaches of medical information in the last 18 months.”
Britain’s comparative effectiveness agency (NICE): £21,000 is too much to spend for an extra 6 weeks of life.
That’s a great Steve Wynn video. Everybody should watch it.
We all know that NICE isn’t very nice, and it’s coming soon to a medical center near you.
If more EMRs equals less privacy, we are about to lose more of our privacy. Currently only about 2% of hospitals have EMRs that meet meaningful use guidelines. This is supposed to rise to nearly 100% in the next few years.
Actually, NICE is very nice, at least as the openness of their process. If you look at their website, you’ll find this was an initial recommendation, not a final determination. They have posted details about their investigation, the data they considered and how they reached their conclusions. They are also soliciting public comments. Compare that to the secretive and arbitrary way your local private insurance company makes coverage and pricing decisions.
http://guidance.nice.org.uk/TA/Wave19/52/Consultation/DraftNICEGuidance
I have a theory about medical records and other information intensive technology: In ten or twenty years, there will have been so many data breaches that we’ll know all there is to know about everyone. But, it will be a classic case of information overload whereby we know the data but since it’s available for EVERYONE, we don’t really care.
artk, 25,000 British cancer patients die every year because they do not have access to the cancer drugs Americans and continental Europeans have, according to the World Health Organization. Also, Henry Aaron (at Brookings) has wrtten a whole book about premature dealths and pain and suffering within the NHS becasue of health care rationing.
And you are saying what? That this is “nice” because the process is “open”? Whereas United Health or Aetna might be secretive about a case or two. Where is you sense of proportion?
An by the way, NICE is not making the rationing decisions. It merely gives local health authorities cover to make decisions that are not open and are not subject to public comment.