When a Job Disappears …

Robert Pear, writing in the New York Times, reports on the personal “collateral damage” of an employer-based health care system. During a recession, the fallout multiplies. » Read the whole...

5 Myths About Our Ailing Health System

Here’s a great article by Shannon Brownlee and Ezekiel Emanuel published in the Washington Post on November 23, 2008. By debunking the prevailing myths about our health care system and the cost of reform, they aim to keep health reform alive in uncertain...

The Immediate Cause of Death

In his talks, John Kitzhaber has spoken about the 9000 billing codes that doctors can choose among when they provide a service, decrying the lack of a code for prevention, or maintaining health or helping the patient make healthy lifestyle choices. The opposite...

ER Patients Often Left Confused

In the New York Times today, Laurie Tarkan reports on a new study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Here’s an excerpt: A vast majority of emergency room patients are discharged without understanding the treatment they received or how to care for...

Paying Doctors to Ignore Patients

This opinion piece appeared recently in the New York Times: Paying Doctors to Ignore Patients By PETER B. BACH Published: July 24, 2008 THE longstanding push-pull between Medicare and Congress has erupted again. Last week, Congress, overriding a presidential veto,...