THROUGHOUT HISTORY, some revolutions ended up turning on the very people they claimed to be defending. With the calls to ban drug coupons, rebels against the drug industry in Massachusetts […]
Health Care
Posted inHealth Care
Physician burnout a threat to docs and patients
A RECENT STUDY published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that physician burnout costs the US health care system $4.6 billion each year. In addition to the economic strain this […]
Posted inOpinion
Money for nothing
MASSACHUSETTS HOSPITALS appear to be getting more money while providing no added value to patients. Patients, premium payers, and the state or federal governments (funded by our payroll or income […]
Posted inHealth Care
Anti-vaxxers aren’t the main problem
DESPITE THE BELIEF that low vaccination rates are due to anti-vaxxers – those opposed in principle to vaccination — the majority of people who have not vaccinated their children in […]
Posted inHealth Care
HPC: Hospitals are inflating severity of diagnoses
THE STATE’S HEALTH POLICY COMMISSIONÂ released data on Wednesday that suggested Massachusetts hospitals are inflating the severity of patient diagnoses to boost their revenues by hundreds of millions of dollars. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Strong action needed to rein in prescription drug costs
EVERYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO count on having access to health care that is high quality and affordable. But even in Massachusetts, where we have the highest rate of health […]
Posted inHealth Care
The reality of Medicare for All is not what you think
DEBATES AMONG CANDIDATES for the Democratic presidential nomination feature discussions of how to address the significant shortcomings of the US healthcare system. All the candidates appear to support versions of […]
Posted inOpinion
Medicaid gets lost in Medicare-for-all debate
WHEN PEOPLE – including candidates for president of the United States – advance single payer Medicare for All, they speak of the desire to ensure that all Americans have health […]
Posted inHealth Care
Data breaches expose no-teeth regulations
Massachusetts General Hospital says it is trying to contact 9,900 individuals who were either patients or participants in neurological studies about a third-party privacy breach that occurred in June for […]
Posted inThe Download
Data breaches expose no-teeth regulations
Massachusetts General Hospital says it is trying to contact 9,900 individuals who were either patients or participants in neurological studies about a third-party privacy breach that occurred in June for […]
Posted inOpinion
Insurers, pharmacy benefit managers driving up drug costs
IF WE EVER NEEDED MORE PROOF that insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are a major cost driver for the price of prescription drugs, we need look no further than […]
Posted inOpinion
Medicare for All interim steps
WHETHER YOU ARE an avid supporter of the Bernie Sanders-style single-source financing concept (often referred to these days as Medicare For All), dead set against it, or somewhere in-between, you […]
Posted inOpinion
Deep poverty increases risk of child welfare system involvementÂ
EVEN THE MOST LOVING PARENT is challenged to provide quality care for his or her child when he or she is struggling with the many ways in which poverty constrains his or her choices. Here in Massachusetts, there is no reason anyone should […]
Posted inThe Download
Are vaccines a religious matter?
More and more parents are citing religion in choosing not to vaccinate their children against a host of diseases. Children entering school are required by state law to be immunized […]
Posted inUncategorized
Are vaccines a religious matter?
MORE AND MORE parents are citing religion in choosing not to vaccinate their children against a host of diseases. Children entering school are required by state law to be immunized […]
Posted inHealth Care
We must address rural physician shortage
[Correction: This piece was updated to reflect the fact that enrollment in US medical schools is not declining, as originally stated, but fewer graduates are entering primary care.] ACROSS […]
Posted inOpinion
Hospitals tackling health of their neighborhoods
BOSTON’S HOSPITALS are currently collaborating on an exciting new way to identify and address the social and economic challenges facing city residents, creating a potentially powerful way to improve health […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Healey, Baker respond to Purdue in joint letter
THREE WEEKS AFTER the chairman of Purdue Pharma argued in the pages of the Wall Street Journal against states suing his company to hold it responsible for the opioid crisis, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Ortiz case showcases Dominican justice system
THE MEDICAL CARE DAVID ORTIZ is receiving in Boston as he recovers from a gunshot wound is some of the best in the world, but the same superlatives cannot be […]
Posted inThe Download
Boston doctors seek different approach to gun violence
Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital launched the new Center for Gun Violence Prevention on Monday, with a slew of Massachusetts elected officials on hand to support the effort. Clinicians will […]
Posted inHealth Care
CHIA good source of data about Mass. health care
THE CENTER FOR HEALTH INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS produces reams of data for both Massachusetts policymakers and the public, providing a window into state health care expenditures and offering tools to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baystate mental health consolidation stirs anxiety
ON THE FACE OF IT, Baystate Health’s plan for a new mental health facility in Holyoke seems like a boon for the region. The proposed new facility will have approximately […]
Posted inOpinion
MassBIO’s drug pricing concerns don’t add up
ONE OF THE MORE PUZZLING arguments the Massachusetts biopharma industry is putting forward during the Beacon Hill debate over Medicaid drug pricing is that innovative drugs won’t be developed and […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
Time to rein in prescription drug costs
WHEN MICHELLE KATS was diagnosed with diabetes in 2001, her parents would stay in her room at night and check her blood sugar to make sure it was not too […]