There is a conspiracy of sorts to learn everything possible about you and sell your information to those who may profit from it. That information includes information about your health concerns. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was supposed to make personal health information confidential. We’ve all likely experienced being told by a doctor’s office staff they can’t receive email because it could possibly violate HIPAA, since a third party may be able to intercept it. (I’m not sure why the fax machine is seemingly exempt.) Yet, despite these precautions there is a thriving business in personal health data.
Category: Consumer-Driven Health Care
States with the Most Restrictive Covid Measures Appear to Have Made Things Worse
- States with severe government interventions did not significantly improve health outcomes compared to states with more restrained approaches.
- This may be partly because government interventions appear to have increased excess mortality from non-COVID health conditions.
- Severe government interventions were strongly correlated with worse economic (increased unemployment and decreased GDP) and educational (fewer days of in-person schooling) outcomes.
- The economic and education damage was most severe for lower-income families and children.
Montana Considers Expanding Scope of Practice for Physician Assistants
A few days ago I wrote about that Montana is considering expanding pharmacists’ dispensing authority without a physician’s prescription. The following is what I wrote:
Saturday Links
- Study finds health benefits (less asthma) from EV cars. Of course, that overlooks the death and maiming of children in cobalt mines in the Congo.
- Should prisoners be able to donate their organs in return for lighter sentences?
- Cystic Fibrosis drug costs $311,00 a year. But it’s “stunningly effective.”
- How deadly were Covid Lockdowns? “For Americans under 45, there were more excess deaths without the virus in 2020-2021 than with it.”
- Why isn’t it easy for nurses to practice across state lines? As a college professor, I never had any difficulty moving from state to state.