Author's posts
20% Of Prescription Drugs Save Money, And Are Not Just Cost-Effective
Nearly 20% of prescription drugs are not only cost-effective, but they are cost-saving. That is, drug expenditures are offset by lower costs in other healthcare sectors, such as hospital and physician services.
Healthcare Consumers Lack Knowledge Of Basic Health Insurance Terms
Findings from a recently released survey by Policygenius show how challenging health insurance is for many American consumers to understand. Perhaps it’s a good time to revisit the importance of educating future consumers.
Dying Young: Decline In U.S. Life Expectancy For Third Straight Year Signals Alarming Trend
The decline in life expectancy suggests the standard for measuring the nation’s well-being – growth in GDP – should be augmented by measures focused on income or resource distribution, socioeconomic determinants of health, job and housing security, amo…
Switching Contraceptives From Prescription-Only To Over-The-Counter: Good Idea?
On balance, switching hormonal contraceptives OTC improves availability for many, particularly the un- and underinsured. But, it’s important to keep in mind the above caveats regarding contraindications in certain instances and increased out-of-pocket …
DTC Drug Price Transparency: Ball’s in Congress’ Court
Transparency is not a panacea for improving the pharmaceutical marketplace or lowering drug costs. But, it’s something largely missing in this market.
Importance Of Nuance In Media Reporting On Vaping And Opioid “Epidemics”
The general lack of nuance in the coverage of public health crises is a worrisome trend. Balanced reporting is preferable in which neutral language is used that captures the facts concerning these crises, and then educates the public on relative risk.
Potential For Confusion In Cancer Screening Guideline Recommendations
Benjamin Franklin’s axiom “an ounce of prevention is worth of pound of cure” is especially resonant with respect to cancer screening. However, it appears that there’s been an increase in the number of sometimes conflicting recommendations being put for…
Using Clinical Decision Support Tools To Facilitate Decision-Making In Precision Medicine
Even in oncology, where precision medicine has advanced the farthest compared to other therapeutic categories, clinical decision tools are needed to sort through and analyze reams of clinical and molecular data for the purpose of optimizing treatment a…
U.S. Sponsors Of Health Insurance Lack Evidence-Based Transparency In Formulary Decisions
Offering no clear reason for formulary choices, or why a purportedly value-based formulary option is not being adopted is not evidence-based. Nor is it evidence-based to give an absolute “no” to high-priced therapies in spite of their comparative effec…
High-Dose Flu Shots Are A More Effective Option For The Elderly
HD influenza vaccination is associated with net cost savings, due to fewer hospitalizations, and therefore lower direct medical costs, for cardio-respiratory disease as compared to SD influenza vaccination.
