Paul Krugman: The best places to get sick A dozen years ago, everyone was talking about an American health care crisis. But then the issue faded from view: A few years of good data led many people to conclude that HMOs and other innovations had ended the historic trend of rising medical costs.
But the pause in the growth of health care costs in the 1990s proved temporary. Medical costs are once again rising rapidly and the U.S. health care system is once again in crisis. So now is a good time to ask why other advanced countries manage to spend so much less than we Americans do, while getting better results.
posted by Postroad
on Apr 17, 2005 -
67 comments
Fitness to Practice is a collection of songs written and performed by Amateur Transplants, two practicing doctors from the UK. The album consists of
original songs as well as witty parodies of songs originally performed by among others
Tom Lehrer and
The Jam (mp3 links). The lyrics contain a lot of medical in-jokes, but the humour is broad enough to appeal to everyone.
posted by bap98189
on Mar 31, 2005 -
9 comments
Diagnosis via press release. Josh Marshall speculates on Dick Cheney's health based on a press release put out by a shoe store. The store says Cheney's feet have "changed to a size 10EEE". Swelling of the feet is a primary symptom of congestive heart failure.
posted by jpoulos
on Dec 2, 2004 -
33 comments
Streamor.com: Streaming Surgical Education 'Featuring the World's First SurgeonCam and The Digital Endoscopy Fellowship. A Digital Window to the OR for Physicians, Trainees, and Patients.' Clips are free, and are available in Real Video & Windows Media formats. "Surgery is an inherently visual art. It must be seen to be understood."
(via The Eyes Have It).
posted by misteraitch
on Sep 24, 2004 -
2 comments
Baby's 'second head' to be removed by surgery "This parasitic formation is fed by and drains off the blood supply system of [baby’s] head."
"This is medical history,"... The condition, known formally as Cranio Pagus Parasiticus, is extremely rare, with only seven other cases ever reported.
posted by dfowler
on Feb 6, 2004 -
43 comments
Medical histories of American Presidents - Washington "exuded such masculine power as frightens young women just wakening to the opposite sex." Jefferson had all his teeth when he died at 84. Wilson's handshake was described as "a ten-cent pickled mackerel in brown paper." Taft was once laid up for a few days after a bug flew into his eye. Facts & trivia about presidential health.
posted by madamjujujive
on Sep 28, 2003 -
15 comments
First Documented Case of HIV hybridization in a human being was presented at the International AIDS Society conference in Paris. In this case, genetic tests on a superinfected woman showed that the two strains she was infected with swapped genetic material, creating a new hybrid strain of HIV. The actual effects are not yet clear, but this could pose a serious problem for researchers trying to create a vaccine.
posted by Irontom
on Jul 16, 2003 -
8 comments
"We have an outbreak" (James Hughes, director of the
CDC). At least 19 people in three Midwestern states have contracted a disease related to smallpox marking the first outbreak of the life-threatening illness in the United States. The disease is known as
monkeypox.
posted by stbalbach
on Jun 8, 2003 -
15 comments
The Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS). The "engine" of the DMSS is a continuously growing relational database of up-to-date and historical data related to medical events, personal characteristics, and military experiences of all Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine service members over their entire military careers. [It] is available to all military and civilian researchers, policy makers and others with a need to evaluate the health of active duty service members.
posted by the fire you left me
on Apr 25, 2003 -
1 comment
Cellular politics. It seems that merely "reacting" is always a step behind of a fast evolving hostile force, and some pre-emptive strategy is a must.
posted by semmi
on Mar 19, 2003 -
2 comments
Unmitigated gall. The illegal aliens who got two hearts and two lungs for their daughter REFUSED to have any of her organs donated when it was clear she was brain-dead...
posted by MattD
on Feb 22, 2003 -
240 comments
"We are male and female. We are artists, athletes, students, and business owners. We have depression, DID, PTSD, eating disorders, borderline personalities, bipolar disorder, or maybe no diagnosis at all. Some of us were abused, some were not. We are straight, bi, and gay. We come from all walks of life and can be any age. We are every single race or religion that you can possibly think of. Our common link is this: We are in pain. We self-injure. And we are not freaks".
29 days until March 1 -
National Self-Injury Awareness Day.
posted by nthdegx
on Jan 30, 2003 -
42 comments
Pot in Canada may soon be a click away with the launch of a home-delivery service for medical marijuana over the Internet (more info on Canada's medicinal pot laws
here ).
posted by Badmichelle
on Dec 20, 2002 -
16 comments
More Evidance that Cannabis can lead to Mental Illness. The link between regular cannabis use and later depression and schizophrenia has been significantly strengthened by three new studies. One of the key conclusions of the research is that people who start smoking cannabis as adolescents are at the greatest risk of later developing mental health problems. Studying 1600 Australian school pupils aged 14 to 15 for seven years, daily cannabis use was associated with a five-fold increased risk of depression at the age of 20.
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood
on Nov 22, 2002 -
83 comments
Pregnancy test results are not considered part of confidential medical records. Why, you say? Because the cops wanted to find out who dumped an abandoned baby, and subpoenaed Planned Parenthood's records to see who had gotten positive pregnancy test results recently. The rationale for the judge's ruling? "...the records aren't medical records because the staff who provide pregnancy tests aren't required to be doctors or nurses."
posted by beth
on Jul 18, 2002 -
14 comments
Patient confidentiality vs. cancer research. New rules on patient confidentiality prevent
"research that recognises dangerous side effects of treatments and it would prevent research that would recognise avoidable causes of diseases and death. " What is more important: 'medical progress' or 'your medical file'?
posted by nonharmful
on May 19, 2001 -
2 comments
I need another MeFi posting like I need a... Here's an organization devoted entirely to *intentionally* boring a hole in one's head. Apparently, it helps your brain to "function better". Well, if you're willing to go through with the procedure, you've certainly got room for improvement in that department.
posted by jpoulos
on Jan 5, 2001 -
38 comments
