Health System

Right to know crippled again!

Once again the right of taxpayers to see the results of NIH research they paid for promptly was hobbled to protect the profits of publishing companies. Surprize, surprize!  From the WP: An ambitious proposal to make the results of federally funded medical research available to the public quickly and for free has been scaled back by the National Institutes of ...

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HIGH – TECH PHILANTHROPY

Businesses and individuals now have the option of donating their computers’ unused processsing time to combat global problems like cancer.   IBM is teaming up with groups like the World Health Organization, the National Institute of Health and the Mayo Clinic to create the world Community Grid, a project that will harness unused computing power throughout  the world. Shouldn’t the ACS ...

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Do-it-yourself treatment?

Dr. R. Bohmer of Harvard Business Business School says the roles of doctors and patients are changing as patients move toward more self-testing and self-treatment. The role of patients has been transformed as well. Not long ago, they were still relatively passive, ignorant of their condition, and dependent on the doctor’s advice. But now they can choose self-testing for at ...

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States try to save on drugs

My local paper picked up this NYT article on how states are trying to save on prescription drugs by joining syndicates with other states to negotiate discounts for their Medicaid and health care programs. But perhaps most intriguing is how Oregon has joined with other states to compare the safety and effectiveness of hundreds of drugs. If you’re Big Pharma ...

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