Bacteriophages are viruses that kill bacteria. Phages are common, found in every nook and cranny of the natural world. There are likely trillions of them. They were first used over a century ago but remain largely unknown. A French microbiologist used them to treat dysentery in children just after World War I. They have been used extensively in Eastern Europe but not in the West.
Category: Drug Prices & Regulations
Update on the British NHS
All is not well:
- The waiting list for hospital-based procedures stands at 7.2 million—about 12 percent of the population
- In mid-2022, 42.7 percent of all patients were forced to wait more than four hours before they received any care.
- Compared to 2019, outpatient appointments are down 13.8 percent.
- Official measures of mortality indicate that the NHS’s shortcomings are contributing to higher-than-normal death rates, with perhaps as many as 500 “excess” deaths occurring every week.
Little Effort Goes into Estate Recovery for Medicaid Long Term Care
A few years ago I was visiting a friend and noticed the house beside him looked different. It had been vacant but was now occupied. I asked if he had a new neighbor? He told me his neighbor, an elderly man, had gone into a nursing home and passed away after a lengthy stay. The man’s son inherited his father’s house and moved in. About that same time another friend mentioned his grandfather’s health had declined to the point where he had to be moved into a nursing home until his death.
In both instances the families were not well off. Probably the only major asset each had was their home. In both cases the homes passed to heirs upon the death of their owners, who died in nursing homes paid for by taxpayers.
Is a Single Test for 50 Cancers Worth It? Maybe; Maybe Not
Cancer is a dreaded disease. People often worry more about getting cancer than heart disease, the No. 1 killer more likely to take their lives. Indeed, Mutual of Omaha sent me applications for cancer coverage on several occasions. I’ve heard those policies are very profitable for insurance companies because people far over-estimate their risk of…