- New Zealand adopts affirmative action for its medical waiting lists.
- Governments around the world have spent $1.34 trillion to fight climate change.
- Is virtual care the answer for Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure in seniors?
- It’s a cocktail after cocktails: an IV drip for hangovers. (NYT)
- Hot dog eating contests: scientists have determined that the human body is capable of eating — at most — 83 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
- Drinking alcohol before or after intense exercise isn’t advised. (NYT)
- Mark Cuban Cost Pus Drugs to sell biosimilars ($569 v. $6,922 for Yusimry)
Category: Telemedicine
NYT: Veterinary Telemedicine is Growing
When Covid began to spread in 2020 veterinary clinics were closed to walk-in traffic across the country. On one occasion we took our dog Clementine to the vet and waited in the car while they examined her inside. On another occasion we pulled into the parking lot and talked to the vet on a cellphone, who sent out a vet tech to examine Clementine who was in our backseat.
Clementine is an anxious dog. She hates being separated from us, especially when she’s away from her familiar territory at home. Besides our regular vet, we also see a veterinary behaviorist who treats Clementine’s anxious behavior. She too was closed to walk-in traffic during Covid. She conducted Clementine’s annual visit over Zoom in the spring of 2020. After that first Zoom annual, she now always meets with Clementine on Zoom. I suspect the vet does that with many of her patients. Everyone is happier with the arrangement, including Clementine.
Friday Links
- AEI reforms the health care system: antitrust, price transparency and site neutrality for hospitals; Medicare Part B and 340B reforms for drugs.
- Why electronic medical records aren’t working.
- The downside of making the overdose reversal drug naloxone an over-the-counter drug: most health insurance doesn’t pay for OTC drugs.
- Study: telehealth significantly reduced opioid overdoses during the pandemic.
- Americans want less government spending, but not on any program you are likely to think of.
U.S. Health Care System Causes Patient Burnout (and Doctors Too)
Time Magazine discovered that seeing the doctor can be a real pain in the caboose. You aren’t feeling well so you call your doctor’s office. They tell you the next available appointment slot is several weeks away. You wait three weeks and finally present at the doctors’ office, where you wait in a “waiting room” while filling out a mountain of paperwork your doctor should already have. You are led to an exam room where you wait some more. You finally see your physician, whose face is buried in a computer screen. Ten minutes later you’re summarily dismissed and told to get lab work that has been ordered for you. A month later you get the bills (plural). Your appointment lasted only 10 minutes, but your budget will feel the sting for weeks to come. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.