When it comes to health administration, the health reform bill passed earlier this year is ushering in plenty of change. Indeed, the bill is being touted as the biggest overhaul to healthcare in the U.S. There are certainly are plenty of changes coming to healthcare, and there have been many attempts to explain healthcare reform, and what it means for the future of healthcare in the U.S.

Many, though, are more interested in what has already taken place. While many of the provisions in healthcare reform will not take place until 2014, there are already some items that have already taken effect. Some of the changes to healthcare reform may already be impacting your wallet. We are in the neighborhood of the six-month anniversary of the signing of the healthcare reform bill, and it is time to take stock. Health administration officials, as well as members of the general public, have it in their best interests to understand what is already in effect. Here are 10 health care reform items effective in 2010:

1. Adult Children Remain on Parents’ Policy Until 26

One of the provisions of the health care reform bill already in effect is that adult children can remain on their parents’ health policy until they are 26. Prior to the new law, states set their own ages for taking children off parental policies, usually sometime between 21 and 23. Now, if the dependent does not have the ability to get insurance through his or her own employer, it is possible to remain on the parents’ policy. This rule only applies to new policies, although health insurance companies have to provide coverage on existing policies (but it can be separate and might be expensive).

2. No More Lifetime Caps on Coverage

Starting in September 2010, insurance companies can no longer put lifetime caps on coverage. This means that insurance policies can no longer come with limits on lifetime payouts, many of which were capped at $1 million or $2 million prior to the passage of the law. For most people, the lift on caps is not a big deal, but for those with medical catastrophes, that limit comes up pretty fast. Starting in 2014, the annual caps that some companies put on coverage will be abolished as well.

3. Children Under 19 Cannot be Excluded for Pre-Existing Conditions

One of the biggest issues with health insurance coverage is the pre-existing condition. Starting this year, children with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage. The rule is already in effect for those whose plan dates are October. The rule is in effect starting on the next plan date, so if your plan date is October 1, then your renewal will not exclude children under 19 due to a pre-existing condition. January 1 and July 1 plan dates will be phased in during 2011, and most of the population over 19 will be included in 2014.

4. Adults with Pre-Existing Conditions Have a New Option

If you have a pre-existing condition, and you are 19 or older, you can still be denied healthcare coverage until 2014, when many of the reform rules take effect. However, if you have a pre-existing condition and want coverage, you can buy into a health insurance plan offered by the government right now.

5. “Doughnut Hole” Closes

The infamous “doughnut hole” caused by Medicare legislation in 2003 has cost seniors quite a bit as they struggle to pay for their own medications after reaching a certain amount. There is a gap in prescription drug coverage until seniors have spent more money out of pocket. The new bill closes this gap in the future, and offers immediate assistance with paying for prescriptions right now.

6. Early Retirees Get Help

One of the issues facing early retirees is paying for health insurance now that they no longer have an employer’s plan — but are too young for Medicare. The healthcare reform bill provides help for those in this situation. Right now, it is possible for early retirees (aged 55 and older) to have access to health coverage until they qualify for Medicare. The program works by providing assistance to employers so that they can extend coverage to early retirees.

7. Free Preventative Healthcare

Much has been said about how the U.S. health care system is more about “sick care”, since prevention gets so little play. However, healthcare reform requires that new plans have to cover certain preventative services starting on September 23. Some of the covered services include cancer screening, cholesterol and diabetes tests, blood pressure checks, vaccines for a range of illnesses, well-child visits up to the age of 21, pap smears, and mammograms for those older than 40.

8. Funding for Community Health Centers

Early funding for some community health centers is provided for by the healthcare reform bill, starting in fiscal year 2010. Community health centers offer valuable services for some underserved members of rural and inner-city communities. Early funding is a great help for these communities, which are slated to receive an additional funds over the course of five years.

9. Small Businesses Get Special Tax Credit

For small businesses interested in providing healthcare coverage for their employees, there are special small business tax credits available starting in calendar year 2010. Tax credits of up to 35% of premiums paid are being offered right now for small businesses. In 2014, though, the tax credit increases. It is expected that small businesses will receive up to 50% in tax credits when more of the law’s provisions take effect. In order to get the 50%, though, employers will have to pay directly, rather than use an agreement that reduces salary.

10. No More Recissions

One of the practices that have many upset with health insurance companies is that of recission. Recission takes place when the health insurance company drops your coverage when you get sick, in order to avoid paying for your treatment. Effective six months after enactment, this rule bans health insurance companies from dropping you just because you get sick. It is a way to ensure that you continue to receive the coverage you have paid for.

Bonus: More Transparency

One of the more immediate provisions of the healthcare reform bill is that health insurance companies have to be more transparent. Insurers must post their balance sheets on the Internet, and disclose executive compensation, as well as other costs. There are hopes that such a requirement will put pressure on health insurance companies when it comes to setting premiums.

When we go to the hospital, we expect that we are going to get better. Unfortunately, hospitals are run by humans, and doctors themselves are human. No matter how expert a health care professional is, there is always the potential for error. However, you might be surprised at how often these errors can occur. Health administration professionals may try to reduce errors, and in some cases errors are not reported as widely as they could be. If you are interested in more information about mistakes made in hospitals and by doctors, these 25 sometimes startling studies can shed some light on this issue:

General Medical Errors

You might be interested in learning about different errors, since a recent HealthGrades study showed that around 195,000 people die from preventable medical mistakes each year.

1. Errors in Medicine: Learn more about complications in treatment, prevalence of problems and preventable deaths. Looks at the errors made in hospitals and by doctors, and their effects on patients.
2. Views of Practicing Physicians and the Public on Medical Errors: Learn about the types of errors seen in medicine, and learn how physicians feel about them, as compared to how the public views errors. An interesting comparison, and one that might surprise you.
3. Patients’ and Physicians’ Attitudes Regarding the Disclosure of Medical Errors: Another interesting comparison of doctors vs. patients. This focuses on the disclosure of medical errors. You might be startled at how some doctors view the need to disclose medical erros.
4. The Critical Care Safety Study: The incidence and nature of adverse events and serious medical errors in intensive care: Get a good idea of the types of medical errors that occur in intensive care units. Also includes the prevalence of mistakes in hospital intensive care units.
5. Epidemiology of medical error: A look at how medical error develops, its prevalence, and the consequences of mistakes made in medicine.
6. Estimating Hospital Deaths Due to Medical Errors: Asks whether or not some of the numbers associated with medical error might be too high. A look at perspective.
7. Comparison of three methods for estimating rates of adverse events and rates of preventable adverse events in acute care hospitals: There is debate over what constitutes medical error and preventable incidents. This study addresses different ways of reporting.
8. Error, stress, and teamwork in medicine and aviation: cross sectional surveys: Considers the attitudes had by those involved in medical situations with the stress and situations felt by aircraft cockpit crew. An interesting way of looking at medical error.
9. Attitudes and barriers to incident reporting: a collaborative hospital study: You might be startled at how many hospitals try to avoid reporting incidents. This study looks at why.

Medication Errors

Medication errors are among the most common. This is because it is relatively easy to mix medications, dosing or overlook a possible allergy or interaction. Here are some studies about medication errors.

10. Causes of prescribing errors in hospital inpatients: a prospective study: An interesting look at the most common reasons that prescribing errors take place in hospitals.
11. Ethnographic study of incidence and severity of intravenous drug errors: A look at the errors that occur with the administration of intravenous drugs.
12. Rates of medication errors among depressed and burnt out residents: prospective cohort study: You might be surprised at the role that being burnt out plays in medication error.
13. Medication errors in paedriatric practice: insights from a continuous quality improvement approach: Addresses issues related to pediatric medicine and medication errors.
14. Relationship between medication errors and adverse drug events: Considers the correlation between errors and drug events that can cause discomfort, injury and even death.
15. Medication Errors Observed in 36 Health Care Facilities: Learn about the medication errors taking place in different facilities. Results can be generalized more widely, taking them beyond the 36 facilities used in the study.
16. Retrospective analysis of mortalities associated with medication errors: Take a look at how deadly some medication errors can be. Great information on how many medication errors result in death.
17. Medication errors in neonatal and paediatric intensive-care units: It is scary to think about, but there are errors made in medication for babies and children. Learn more about the errors that occur in the intensive care units for the most vulnerable of patients.
18. Fundamentals of medication error research: Learn more about the processes used in describing medication errors. A great way to educate yourself about drug errors, and how to read other studies about them.

Mistake Reduction

There are efforts underway to reduce general medical errors and medication errors. Learn more about efforts being made, and how many mistakes could be prevented if certain measures were taken.

19. The Effect of Computerized Physician Order Entry on Medication Errors and Adverse Drug Events in Pediatric Inpatients: This study looks at how computerized entry could help reduce medication mistakes. After all, this reduces the need to try and decipher illegible prescriptions.
20. Reducing errors made by emergency physicians in interpreting radiographs: longitudinal study: Considers the number of errors made by emergency physicians regarding reading radiographs and looks at how to reduce these mistakes.
21. Using information technology to reduce rates of medication errors in hospitals: Learn about how advances in technology can cut down on the rate of medical errors.
22. Medication Error Prevention by Clinical Pharmacists in Two Children’s Hospitals: A look at how pharmacist intervention can reduce the severity and number of medication errors.
23. Prioritizing strategies for preventing medication errors and adverse drug events in pediatric inpatients: An interesting look at how it is possible to prevent error. A look at different strategies for reducing medication errors, and prioritizing them.
24. Promoting Patient Safety by Preventing Medical Error: A look at how medical error can prevented, and the importance of reducing medical errors in order to encourage better patient safety and outcomes.
25. Reporting and preventing medical mishaps: lessons from non-medical near miss reporting systems: There is a great deal that can be learned about reporting medical errors from systems in place for non-medical systems. This study looks at how applying different reporting techniques to medical systems can help prevent mistakes in the future.

Electronic Health Records (EHRs), online health services and tools that help manage healthcare online all raise questions about medical privacy. This list of 50 free resources to learn about medical privacy, from information about personal health records to organizations that advocate for the patient, can help you learn more about why these privacy issues are such a concern.

Personal Health Records

1. Electronic Health Records (EHR): The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 contains financial incentives for eligible physicians that use qualified EHR. The Medical Group Management Association stays on top of the requirements.
2. Electronic Medical Records, Electronic Health Records: Open Clinical offers a wealth of information about EMR and EHR developments.
3. Information Sharing and Privacy with Personal Medical Records [PDF]: This report summarizes the theoretical underpinnings of a model of patient data flow.
4. Keep It With You: Personal Medical Information Form: The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) offers directions on how to safeguard your medical records during an emergency situation.
5. Keeping a Personal Medical Records File: The Mesothelioma group provides information about how to keep a personal medical records file.
6. myPHR: This site is a service offered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) to learn more about personal health records.
7. New National Survey Finds Personal Health Records Motivate Consumers to Improve Their Health: This recent article states that tools to help people manage their health still are not widely used.
8. Personal Health Records: MedlinePlus offers a section devoted to personal health records, also called EHR, or Electronic Health Records.
9. Personal Health Records (PHR): Medicare.gov offers information about PHRs and how to create one.
10. The Value of Personal Health Records [PDF]: This online brocure tackles all the right reasons to maintain personal health records.

Medical Record Privacy

11. Health Privacy: The Center for Democracy and Technology offers a thorough look at HIT (Health Information Technology) and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
12. HHS Announces Proposed HIPAA Rule: This recent article defines the proposed rule.
13. Medical Privacy: The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) provides news about the inadequacies within medical information keeping.
14. Medical Record Privacy: This document, created by Epic (Electronic Privacy Information Center), focuses public attention on emerging and civil liberties issues in the medical record debate.
15. Medical Records Privacy: The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse provides concise information about the issue of medical records privacy.
16. Preserving Patient Confidentiality in the Era of Information Technology [PDF]: The developments in information technologies and systems pose challenges to psychiatrists, health care entities, and
    policy makers to adopt appropriate rules to protect patient privacy.
17. Privacy Protection and Identity Theft – Medical Privacy: The Consumer Action Website offers resources to learn more about medical privacy.
18. Stitching Up Health Records: Privacy Compliance Lags: Twenty percent of health care companies are unable or unwilling to implement federal privacy requirements, because the rules are vague and the technology is spotty.
19. Who’s Keeping an Eye on Your Online Health Records? Google, Microsoft and other providers of Web-based services for managing health care information promise to keep it secure, but privacy policies vary from site to site.

Medical Identity Theft

20. Correcting Misinformation on Medical Records: The Identity Theft Resource Center offers this fact sheet on medical identity theft.
21. Data Breaches and Medical identity Theft on the Rise: This article, provided by HealthcareTechnologyNet, provides insight into this problem.
22. Medical Identity Theft: The Federal Trade Commission offers information and resources to prevent and remedy medical identity theft.
23. Medical identity theft: This article, provided by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, provides popular scams and solutions.
24. Medical Identity Theft & Medicare Fraud: This information is offered by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General.
25. Medical Identity Theft: It Can Kill — What Every Consumer Needs to Know: The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Cosumer Protection offers some solid advice.
26. Medical Identity Theft Web site: Use this site to learn more about prevention, resources and expert advice about medical ID theft.
27. Medical Identity Theft: How to Protect Yourself: This story from ABC Good Morning America is enlightening and informative.
28. The Medical Identity Theft Information Page: The World Privacy Forum offers resources for readers to help avoid medical identity theft.

Know Your Rights

29. Breaches of Doctor-Patient Confidentiality: This site contains links to information that ranges from informed consent to failed diagnosis and gross negligence.
30. Center for Medical Consumers: This site is committed to broadening public awareness about the safety and quality problems that pervade America’s medical care.
31. HIPAA, HiTech & HIT: This law office covers legal issues, developments and other pertinent information relating to electronic health records, or EHR.
32. Medical Records: The ‘Lectric Law Library offers a brief and easy-to-understand rundown on medical record privacy and the law.
33. Medical records: Disclosing confidential clinical information: The Psychiatrist offers insight into patient confidentiality and the law.
34. Patient Access to Medical Records: This report identifies and explains state law on patient access to medical records in a question and answer format.
35. Patient-Centered Guides: Use this site to learn more about your rights and about other resources geared specifically toward certain diseases.
36. Self-Help Group Sourcebook Online: This guide has been developed to act as your starting point for finding every type of online self-help support group that is available.
37. Smart Patient Guide: Family Doctor offers numerous guides for patients to learn how to manage healthcare.
38. Speak Up Initiatives: The Joint Commission provides “Speak Up” information for patients to help them talk with medical professionals.
39. Thomas, Legislative Information on the Internet: Information from the United States Congress on the latest legislative activity, provided in a searchable format by the Library of Congress.

Organizations

40. American Academy of Family Physicians: The AAFP offers a variety of information about public policy, including patient confidentiality.
41. American College of Physicians: ACP Committees are involved in policy development, education, career development, and more.
42. American Health Information Management Association: AHIMA is a health information management (HIM) professional association over 59,000 members strong.
43. American Medical Association: AMA members nationwide are committed to the highest standards in patient care, practice management and professionalism.
44. Medical Information Bureau: MIB is a data bank used by insurance companies. Use the “consumers” tab at top to learn more about your privacy.
45. National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse: This is the nation’s first national consumer technical assistance center.
46. National Patient Advicate Foundation: NPAF is a national non-profit organization providing the patient voice in improving access to, and reimbursement for, high-quality healthcare through regulatory and legislative reform at the state and federal levels.
47. Office for Civil Rights: Civil Rights help to protect you from unfair treatment or discrimination, because of your race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex (gender), or religion.
48. Patient Advocate Foundation: You can find professional case managers and attorneys here who advocate on behalf of patients experiencing numerous issues.
49. Public Citizen Health and Safety: Public Citizen’s work in health and safety has focused on protecting consumers by advocating for stronger physician accountability.
50. PULSE: Persons United Limiting Substandards and Errors works to improve patient safety and to reduce the rate of medical errors using real life stories and experiences.

One of the career paths you can take with a Master of Health Administration degree is to help educate others. With all that we are learning about the body, and with technology, it is fairly easy to fulfill your duties as an educator. Indeed, health educators can influence children and adults to engage in healthier habits. If you want to make it fun, you can use games to help teach health concepts. Here are 25 useful games for health educators to use:

Nutrition

Keep your students on the right nutrition track with help from games that educate them as they play. Teach solid nutrition principles, and help students develop habits that can serve them well throughout their lives.

1. Food Fury: Create chains of related foods using the tiles. You need to be fast, so that you can beat the timer. Levels become progressively hard. A fun way to learn about food, and how it relates to other foods.
2. Brain Gain: This is a more advanced game that focuses on healthy foods, and understanding portion size. You answer questions, and find out if you are right. You get extra points for answering questions faster. A fun way to test your knowledge of good nutrition.
3. Tell the Tooth: Learn about healthy snacks. This game from Colgate focuses on helping you choose snacks that are better for your teeth. Stay away from the high sugar snacks!
4. Nutrition Sleuth: This fun game helps you learn more about nutrition. Identify the missing nutrient to help the detective get to the bottom of poor nutrition. A good way to learn how to take better care of your body.
5. Combo Kitchen: Learn about combination foods, and learn about their impact on health and nutrition. A fun way to learn about nutrition, and how to create healthy meals.
6. Mission Nutrition: Take this nutrition challenge to learn more about healthy choices. You can look inside a refrigerator and in the cabinets to find food that will help your body be healthy and strong.
7. MyPyramid Blast Off Game: The USDA offers a fun game designed to help kids learn about the Food Pyramid. Learn how the right fuel can launch your rocket to Planet Power.
8. Drop & Catch: Learn about how you can avoid saturated fat. This game is about catching the fruits and vegetables and avoiding the stuff that makes you unhealthy.

Exercise

Another important component of health is physical fitness. Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. You can use games to help children and others learn more about the benefits and importance of physical fitness.

9. Fat Pants Game: Learn about how you can keep the weight off. Answer a few questions, and test your ability to be committed to exercising right and losing weight.
10. Health and Fitness Quizzes: Learn about health and proper fitness. Answer questions and get points a great way to learn more about better fitness.
11. Fitness Dash: You need Windows to play this game, but it is a fun way to learn about fitness, and test your knowledge of good practices.
12. Fitness Challenge: Learn about fitness, proper exercise, and what you can do to be healthier. A cool fitness challenge that gets you involved.
13. Fitness Frenzy: Learn more about taking good care of your body with the help of physical exercise. Fitness frenzy will educate you while you have fun.
14. Weight Watchers: Interestingly, it is possible to turn Weight Watchers into an online role playing game. Here is an interesting look at how to do this — and lose weight.
15. Kalorie King Weight Loss Game: Learn about how to burn off those calories with this game. Also includes information on avoiding high calorie foods.
16. Sports Crafts: Create cool crafts related to different sports. A cool way to get interested in physical activity and sports.

Learn About the Body

Understanding how the body works, and what its different systems accomplish is very helpful. It can provide students with a number of desirable insights. These games are educational and fun.

17. Match a Muscle: This cool game from Anatomy Arcade offers a look at different muscles in the body, and lets you use a matching game to learn more about the muscular system. Anatomy Arcade also offers a number of other cool games that can help you learn about the body.
18. Water and Your Digestive System: See the parts of the digestive system, and see how water travels through it, with help from this fun game from the National Institutes of Health. A good primer on the digestive system, and how it works.
19. Neuro-Jeopardy: Learn about the nervous system with help from this fun game. Great Jeopardy! style way to learn about what goes on in the brain, and how the brain controls the body.
20. Skeletal System Game: Learn the different bones in the skeletal system. Fill them in and see whether you are right. A great click and drag game. See how fast you can fill in the blanks to label all the parts of the skeleton correctly.
21. Neuron Navigator: This game takes you through the development of a neuron. A great way to learn about how the connections in your brain are made. See what neurons look like, and help them grow.
22. Sail the Circulatory System: Learn about how the heart pumps blood through the body with this cool game. Watch out, though! If you don’t get the oxygen to where it needs to go, your sailing trip will end rather abruptly.
23. Respiratory System: This educational game times you as you look at different areas of the respiratory system. A great way to learn how this system works, and how we breathe. You can even customize the game to suit your needs.
24. Discover the Human Body: Explore different parts and systems in the human body. A fun activity and interactive way to learn.
25. Medical Jargon: This advanced game is more for teens and adults. The idea is to learn medical jargon, and get a better understanding of what different health words mean. A great way to learn more about the body — and about caring for it. Compare your scores with others.

When it comes to public health, there are few scourges with the profile of obesity. With obesity increasingly becoming an issue in America, it is little surprise that health professionals and advocates are concerned about obesity. Many consider obesity in America a true public health risk, due to the diseases connected to obesity, as well as the costs associated with obesity. Here are 25 enlightening studies and infographics about obesity in America:

Adult Obesity

Many adults in the United States are obese. These studies and infographics address the issue of overweight adults.

1. The United States of Obesity 2009: Get an idea of what America looks like in terms of obesity. A great infographic that breaks down the fattest states in the U.S., and learn facts about obesity in America.
2. F as in Fat 2009: This study looks at obesity in America, and the increasing rates. It also looks at the failure of anti-obesity policies to stave off the epidemic.
3. Nutritional and other influences in childhood as predictors of adult obesity: What you do as a child, even if you are not an obese child, can point to whether or not you are obese as an adult.
4. Causes and consequences of adult obesity: health, social and economic impacts in the United States: Learn more about adult obesity in general, and view it through a variety of lenses.
5. Adult obesity: An overview of the problem of adult obesity, as well as information about health habits in America.

Childhood Obesity

Concerns about obesity in children are on the rise. With lifestyles today, more and more children are overweight — threatening to create health problems as they grow up.

6. Childhood Obesity: Learn more about the growth in childhood obesity. This infographic offers information on the growth of childhood obesity from 1976 to 2000. It’s only grown since then.
7. Childhood Obesity: The Health Issue: Get a solid understanding of the health issue of childhood obesity, and its implications for the future.
8. Childhood obesity: public-health crisis, common sense cure: Addresses the issue of childhood obesity and its status as a public health crisis. Also looks at possible solutions that could lead to an improved situation.
9. Cross-national comparison of childhood obesity: A look at childhood obesity in America, as well as comparing America’s numbers to an international standards. Looks at socioeconomic risk factors and other issues that may contribute to childhood obesity.
10. Defining obesity in childhood: current practice: When is a child considered obese, anyway? This enlightening paper looks at obesity, and children, and looks at the metrics used to measure obesity, and helps us define what childhood obesity is.
11. Childhood Obesity: Trends and Potential Causes: An interesting study looking at trends in childhood obesity, and pinpointing possible causes of the epidemic. An interesting approach to following childhood obesity.

Causes of Obesity

There are a number of risk factors associated with obesity. Understanding where obesity comes from is a step in the right direction.

12. Causes of Obesity: This infographic illustrates the different risk factors associated with obesity. Learn what can cause obesity, and see what you can do to decrease your chances of becoming obese.
13. Overweight and Obesity: Prevalence, Consequences, and Causes of a Growing Public Health Problem: Takes a look the growing health concern that is obesity. Pays attention to the causes of obesity, and what can be done to prevent them in order to slow this public health problem.
14. Do We Fatten Our Children at the Television Set? Obesity and Television Viewing in Children and Adolescents: One of the causes of obesity might be a sedentary lifestyle. This study looks at the connection between watching a large amount of television and the likelihood of obesity, especially among children.
15. Obesity and socioeconomic status: A framework for examining relationships between physical and social variables: Obesity isn’t always just about eating junk food and not getting exercise. Some studies also point out that economic opportunity can be a risk factor. A look at whether or not some people can actually afford being healthy.

Obesity Related Diseases

There are a number of diseases and health concerns related to obesity. Find out what other problems can result when you are obese.

16. Medical Complications of Obesity: Obesity isn’t just about carrying some extra weight. There are a number of medical conditions and costs that come with obesity. This infographic shows you some of the other areas of the body affected by obesity.
17. American Heart Association Call to Action: Obesity as a Major Risk Factor for Coronary Heart Disease: If you are obese, you are at an increased risk for coronary heart disease. This study looks at the medical and scientific case for the link between obesity and heart disease.
18. The Continuing Epidemics of Obesity and Diabetes in the United States: This study published in the Journal of the America Medical Association looks at the connection between obesity and diabetes. An interesting look at the continued rise of obesity — and diabetes — in America.
19. Obesity, fat distribution, and weight gain as risk factors for clinical diabetes in men: Learn about how obesity likely contributes to diabetes in the male population. A good look at the way fat plays a role in diabetes.
20. Overweight, obesity and cancer: epidemiological evidence and proposed mechanisms: Provides an overview of the different cancers that can be caused by obesity, and looks at the mechanisms that lead from obesity to cancer.

Cost of Obesity

Diseases related to obesity are expensive. There are a number of costs related to obesity. It is important to recognize the costs so that steps can be taken to reduce them.

21. Obesity and the Workplace: This interesting infographic shows how obesity can cost someone who is overweight. It shows salary decreases due to obesity, as well as other costs.
22. The economics of obesity: dietary energy density and energy cost: Learn about how obesity works on an economic level, including a look at costs to the poor.
23. National Medical Spending Attributable to Overweight And Obesity: How Much, And Who’s Paying?: Consider how much money is spent as a result of obesity, and find out who is footing the bill.
24. Economic costs of obesity: A stark look at how much obesity costs the economy of the United States each year.
25. Will All Americans Become Overweight or Obese? Estimating the Progression and Cost of the US Obesity Epidemic: A somewhat frightening look at the way obesity is progressing in the U.S., along with a projection of how much it will cost society and the economy.

Gendercide is the systematic killing of members of a specific sex, male or female, for any number of reasons and through a variety of methods. In the 1985 book, Gendercide: The Implications of Sex Selection, Mary Anne Warren drew an analogy between the concept of genocide and the deliberate extermination of women through female infanticide, maternal death, witch hunts and other abuses against women. but, new studies show that gendercide is just one of many symptoms of inequalities, even in America.

Despite the increase in international health care concerns and administration, many countries continue to practice gendercide through a variety of methods. The following 25 studies and infographics about gendercide may open your eyes to the various methods used for discrimination of various populations.

Gendercide, Men and Women

1. The Women’s Crusade vs. Wars and Casualties: According to this blog entry, global statistics show that “more girls and women are now missing from the planet, precisely because they are female, than men were killed on the battlefield in all the wars of the 20th century.”
2. Gendercide: The State of Study: This paper explores the early articulation of Mary Anne Warren’s gendercide framework, and the conclusion explores whether gendercide remains as prominent now in political-military conflicts and social institutions worldwide as in the past.
3. Recognizing ‘gendercide’: This article looks at gendercide from male and female perspectives, with links to resources that show rape as a weapon of war and to the killing of 8,000 Bosnian non-combatant men and boys as policy.
4. Genocide and Humanitarian Intervention: Incorporating the Gender Variable: This paper, written in 2002, notes that women are gendercide targets (including maternal mortality), but “battle-age” men are targets as well, often presaging a full-scale genocide.
5. Percentage of Pregnancies Aborted by Country: Abortion is a hotly debated issue in the U.S., although this data shows the U.S. in the middle of all countries listed, with Russia leading by 52 percent of all pregnancies aborted and Panama coming in last at .02 percent. U.S. rates at 22.6 percent. This table is just one of many located at this Johnston Archives site, although no tables exist for gender-based abortions.
6. Impact of female feticide on gender disparities in child health and survival in India: This recording produced by Johns Hopkins suggests that elimination of sex-selective abortion could lead to an increase in excess female infant and child mortality.

Noteworthy Articles and Blogs

7. Female infanticide, Living oppressed or dying in vain: While this article brings up some valid points, the graphic is not cited, nor are many of the points in the article. The two links lead to Christian articles that may or may not be biased in their statements.
8. Female Feticide: This Frontline article provides the information that the previous blog lacks — facts about the sale of ultrasound machines to countries displaying loss of female infants by census. Feticide is another word for abortion (or, termination of pregnancy, also known as TOP), usually performed during or after the second trimester.
9. GE Business Dilemma: Ultrasound Technology and Feticide: Offered by GE, this article and links to further articles, prepare GE’s background into accusations connecting their machines to female feticide in India.
10. Female Infanticide, Two Case Studies from India and China [PDF]: While this study is cited informally within the body of the text, it appears to be more of an opinion piece based upon reports offered from Gendercide Watch, a resource noted in the “resources” category below.
11. Gendercide, International Women’s Day and The Economist: This article, published in From Poverty to Power, critiques a piece carried by The Economist this year entitled, Gendercide. This graphic, one of two contained within this article, shows a decline in males per 100 females in South Korea, and upticks in males per 100 females in China, India and Northwest India.
12. Saving the World’s Women: This seven-page article in The New York Times online presents numerous studies, with the raw conclusion that women seem to be worth more when they earn more money or become educated.
13. A Cutting Tradition: The New York Times focuses on female circumcision, and notes that, while male circumcision demonstrates health benefits, there is no medical value in female circumcision.
14. Pharaonic Circumcision (infibulation): This article, which centers on Islamic ruling on male and female circumcision, focuses on the mutilation and possible sterilization involved in this extreme female circumcision practice.
15. Silence greets ‘gendercide’ of women: This article, written in 2009, predates The Economist’s article noted above; however, the author focuses on the book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, the same authors of the seven-page article in The New York Times, also listed above. Of note is attention to U.S. women, who continue to be victims of gender violence, mostly based upon economic disparities.

Recent U.S. Issues

16. International Infant Mortality Rates: This study does not mention gendercide, nor does it include China or India. The graph shows the rate of infant deaths per 1,000 births in industrialized nations. The U.S. infant mortality rate was more than twice that of six other industrialized countries in 2004, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Sweden and Finland. However, this rate decreased from the 1998 figure of 7.1 deaths per 1,000 births in the U.S.
17. The Black-and-White World of Walter Ashby Plecker: The story about Plecker is well known in the Amherst, Virginia area, where Plecker focused undue attention to the Monacan Indian population in that region. Plecker’s case against the Native American in Virginia did not end until 1997, when Governor George Allen repudiated Plecker’s policies (including The Racial Integrity Act) and implemented a law through which Native Americans could receive corrected birth certificates, free of charge.
18. Unequal Pay: The Equal Pay Act was made law in 1963, almost fifty years ago. Yet, women still earn less than men, with a wage gap that has narrowed by less than half a cent per year as shown by this graphic.
19. Death By American Bombing and Other Democide: Although this site represents an entire resource for democide (death by government, relating to genocide), this page focuses on the number of individuals killed worldwide by American war movements.

Resources

20. Aegis: “Preventing Crimes Against Humanity” is the tag line for this site, which focuses on human rights and genocide, including gendercide.
21. Crimes of War: This project is a collaboration of journalists, lawyers and scholars dedicated to raising public awareness of the laws of war and their application to situations of conflict.
22. Gendercide Watch: This entire Web site is filled with case studies, links and resources about gendercide, with a focus on women and an increasing focus on men. Note: Many links on this site return a “404.”
23. Journal of Genocide Research: This journal promotes an interdisciplinary and comparative peer-reviewed approach to the study of genocide. Portions of articles available through Google Scholar.
24. P.A.P. Statistics: Human rights statistics abound here, ranging from abortion to xenophobia.
25. Women Watch: This section of the United Nations site is devoted to gender disparities worldwide with an emphasis on women.

Of the top 50 countries that offer the highest quality healthcare in the world, the U.S. ranks 37th. Due to rising healthcare costs and the number of uninsured Americans, doctors and hospitals are under pressure to discharge and release patients from their care as quickly as possible. While this cuts medical bills for insurance companies and medicare and medicaid, it also comes with some extremely adverse effects on the quality of healthcare. Competent health administrators with their MHA degrees are in high demand now, as healthcare costs continue to rise as quality suffers. Now is a good time to earn your MHA, as salaries are on the rise and it’s simple to find scholarships to go back to school.

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It is rather easy to conclude that in order to have any useful contribution to the raging health care debate, you must have a firm understanding of the U.S. Healthcare System. With this in mind, we’ve found 10 excellent infographics that can help illuminate some of the problems with the current system, as well as how the current system is set up, and what some proposed changes might mean.

The Current System

The current healthcare system in the US can seem quite complicated to some. Essentially, private insurance companies offer “coverage options” and are paid accordingly. When an American goes to the doctor, gets an operation, buys prescription drugs, and more, their insurance company will “pay” for it. The amount paid varies depending on coverage, if the person goes to an approved healthcare professional, if the insurance company approves the treatment, and so on. Typically, people who are covered by insurance have their coverage through their employer. Companies make deals with insurance providers to give their employees insurance options.

1. Business Week — This shows the market share of insurers in every state. It may (or may not) be surprising to find that in some states, certain insurance companies have an overwhelming amount of the total market share. Since the U.S. system is based on having insurance, if there is little competition, companies can charge much higher rates without worrying about losing customers to competitors, and can deny coverage to those customers who may be more “risky” (likely to get sick), without worrying about incurring losses. This advantage becomes even more startling when one considers that doctors might want to make sure they are in the largest possible network in the state in order to get the most patients. Conversely, patients might have extra incentive to simply go with the largest provider in order to have the most options for doctors. In the end, higher costs can be charged and the market has a more difficult time setting a price.
2. Good.is — A simple infographic, showing the cost of a drug (Lipitor) in America, compared to its cost in countries around the world. That being said, the information one can obtain from it is much more complicated. One of the largest criticisms of the current U.S. Healthcare System is the fact that costs can be astronomical at times. Some argue that this is because of the insurance system America has in place. Why would a drug cost so much more in the US? One reason is that in countries with socialized healthcare, governments set price caps on certain drugs, which can lower healthcare costs. Another reason is simply that generics hold less sway in countries with socialized medicine, so blockbuster drug makers don’t need to charge as much before their patent runs out.
3. National Geographic — Another infographic that brings to light the cost of healthcare in America. You cannot even see where America is on the healthcare cost spectrum from the thumbnail, but if you view the enlarged picture, you will notice that the US is substantially higher than any other country in terms of average healthcare costs. The average American spends about $7,290 yearly on healthcare. The next highest cost is Switzerland where they spend just over $4,000 yearly on healthcare.
4. The Toilet Paper.com — Brings yet another infographic that analyzes health care costs. This jarring infographic shows several developed countries’ spending on healthcare as a percentage of GDP. Many people consider GDP to be the largest indicator of a country’s economic stability. The US, according to this graphic, currently spends 15% of it’s GDP on healthcare. The next closest is Switzerland at 11.6%.
5. Fastcompany.com — The final infographic in this section comes from Fast Company.com . In the current US Healthcare system, some argue that it is unfair because not everyone can receive coverage. If you are unemployed, or working part-time, it may be difficult to get insurance, or it may simply not be an option. This infographic shows deaths from lack of healthcare coverage versus deaths from terrorism. The morbid comparison being how much the US Government spends on defense versus how much it spends on providing healthcare to every citizen.

Proposed Changes

Because of what many people see as significant flaws in the U.S. Healthcare System, there have been many discussions on ways to change the system entirely. How exactly to go about changing the system has caused significant political upheaval in the United States. Some argue that the only option is a government-run, socialized healthcare system. Others argue that the system should remain privatized, but that more competition is needed. Still others argue that the current system is fine. In any case, these infographics can give you an idea of some proposals.

6. Fox News — A pdf infographic that shows the health plan proposed by the House Democrats, . As you can see, it is quite complicated. Looking at this graphic, healthcare reform is a labyrinth-like maze of government inefficiency that will only raise costs and provide little help to the general public. Many persons opposed to the universal healthcare plan cite increased costs, confusing infrastructure, and coverage for those who shouldn’t have coverage.
7. Robert Palmer at Flickr — Here is another graph of the health plan proposed by House Democrats. It looks slightly-less complicated, but still leaves a lot of questions for someone who is uninformed on the debate. Democrats maintain that the goal for a nationalized healthcare initiative would be to provide coverage for all, while allowing people who already have plans to keep their plans, while attempting to force private insurance companies to lower premiums by introducing more competition to the market.
8. Good.is — The simplest of the three healthcare reform flowcharts breaks it down to the essential facts. Start from the top left and answer the questions to yourself. Each answer has an arrow that directs you to the associated funding from the federal government. The idea behind this graph is to further illustrate that if you already have coverage, you won’t have to pay any additional cost. However, this graph also shows that no matter what happens with the healthcare debate, there will be substantial costs involved.
9. Visual Economics — This infographic shows that changing the current healthcare system, and attempting to provide health care to all will certainly result in some costs. This infographic details just how much a “free health care plan” could end up costing, and goes on to detail where the money to pay for it all will come from. Persons who dislike taxes may be disinclined to support this view of reform, since businesses and others may have their taxes increased in order to pay for it all.
10. Good.is — Costs have been identified as one of the biggest issues with the current healthcare system. This final infographic shows, with the help of solid data, where some healthcare savings might be able to be found.
]]> http://masterofhealthadministration.com/2010/10-excellent-infographics-to-learn-about-the-us-healthcare-system/feed/ 0 http://masterofhealthadministration.com/2010/the-20-best-hospitals-in-america%e2%80%94and-what-makes-them-the-best/ http://masterofhealthadministration.com/2010/the-20-best-hospitals-in-america%e2%80%94and-what-makes-them-the-best/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:20:06 +0000 admin http://masterofhealthadministration.com/?p=148

The healthcare field in America is constantly changing. With new technologies, medical advances, and financial challenges it is very difficult for organizations to stay ahead of the curve. This holds especially true when it comes to hospitals in America. However, we’ve compiled a list of 20 hospitals that are the best at what they do. How hospitals make this list is by being highly rated by medical professionals and patients in a variety of important areas. These areas include mortality rates, patient care, facilities (resources and upkeep), patient safety, and more. Hospitals that have achieved rankings in specific medical specialty areas (cardiology, cancer treatment, etc) are also highly valued on this list. These are the best hospitals because they are, quite simply, top-notch when it comes to health care. If you need to find a hospital because you or a loved one has become I’ll, then at least one of the following 20 should certainly be considered. This list groups the hospitals by region so you can easily browse for the best facilities closest to you.

Northeast



1. Hospital University of Pennsylvania — Founded in 1874 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also known as the City of Brotherly Love, this hospital is often lauded for it’s commitment to researching innovative treatments for new diseases. In addition to being ranked #8 on the U.S. News & World Report of the Best Hospitals in America, this hospital boasts a fantastic helicopter fleet called PennSTAR, which serves to transport critically injured patients to the hospital.
2. Johns Hopkins Hospital — Located in Baltimore, Maryland, this teaching hospital and biomedical research facility saw the inception of many medical specialties including child psychiatry, cardiac surgery, urology, neurosurgery, and pediatrics. Johns Hopkins has the distinction of being ranked the number one hospital in America for 20 straight years, a fact that is never lost on it’s hard working healthcare professionals.



3. Massachusetts General Hospital — This hospital first opened its doors in Boston in 1811. Since then, this Harvard Medical School teaching hospital has been consistently grouped with the best in the country. Patient care is the number one priority for MGH professionals. To that end, MGH has over 905 beds and serves around 45,000 patients every year.
4. NYU Medical Center — New York City, “The Big Apple,” is home to one of the top hospitals in the country. Founded in 1841, this hospital has a history of having some of the best physicians in the world on its staff. In fact, one of the first surgeons to work for the NYU Medical Center was John Revere, son of famous patriot Paul Revere.



5. Yale – New Haven Hospital — New Haven, Connecticut is home to Yale University’s hospital. YNHH has received consistent acclaim for its excellence in specialty medical areas that include cancer, diabetes and endocrine disorders, digestive disorders, ear, geriatric care, gynecology, heart surgery, and more.
6. New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell — NYC has another best hospital on this list; one that many consider to be among the most comprehensive hospitals in the world. Having the resources of two Ivy League institutions for support also helps this hospital to stay ahead of the curve in service and emerging medical technologies.

South



7. Vanderbilt University Medical Center — Founded in 1874, in the great city of Nashville, Tennessee, VUMC boasts an impressive medical resume with a large number of expertly trained medical care professionals committed to giving patients the best care available. Recently, VAMU has received recognition for pioneering several medical systems, including the keeping of electronic records.
8. Duke University Medical Center — Since 1930 Durham, North Carolina, has been home to one of the top Hospitals in the South. Duke University Hospital is a “full-service tertiary and quaternary care hospital” that operates 924 acute care beds and 19 psychiatry beds. Thousands of patients each year are treated here, and the hospital plans on continuing expansion.



9. The Methodist Hospital — Located in Houston, Texas, this hospital was ranked #20 in the nation by the U.S. News and World Report of America’s best hospitals. Its specialties are recognized around the world as some of the best in the field. These include cardiovascular surgery, cancer treatment, and epilepsy treatment. The Methodist Hospital has a successful affiliation with New York-Presbyterian, another hospital on our list.
10. H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa — Tampa, Florida is home to one of the best centers for cancer research and treatment. Cancer remains one of the most deadly diseases around today, and persons working at this hospital make its treatment their priority.

Midwest



11. Ohio State University Hospital — Columbus, Ohio is home to one of the best hospitals in the country. The Ohio State University hospital has made research core to its mission, and having support from one of the largest research institutions in the world has helped significantly with this goal. Additionally, this hospital has received high rankings for a variety of specialties including cancer, rehabilitation, and gynecology.
12. Mayo Clinic — You can find one of the best hospitals in America, in Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo clinic has consistently been ranked #2 in the country, behind only Johns Hopkins, because of its commitment to patient care and research. The Mayo Clinic also ranks in the top three for many specialties including, diabetes and endocrine disorders, digestive disorders, neurology, and neurosurgery.



13. Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University — Founded in 1902 in St. Louis, this hospital has been on the U.S. News & World Report hospital honor list for the last 18 years. Barnes-Jewish hospital is well-regarded in many specialties including cancer care, lung care, transplant services, and heart care. In fact, this hospital has the distinction of pioneering many procedures such as ablation therapies and valve repair/replacement.
14. University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers — Ann Arbor, Michigan, is where you’ll find another one of the best hospitals in the country. this hospital has been pioneering treatments and caring for patients since 1850. UMH has received high rankings in the specialty areas of Ear, Nose, and Throat, Neurology, and Neurosurgery.



15. Cleveland Clinic — Cleveland, Ohio is home to the hospital with the best cardiology department in the country. This hospital was most recently ranked #4 overall in the nation, and has been providing patients with fantastic care since its foundation in 1921.

West

16. University of Washington Medical Center — Seattle is home to one of the best hospitals in America. Ranked #11 by U.S. News & World Report, with acclaimed specialty areas in rehabilitation, orthopedics, geriatrics, and more. This hospital is one of the best in the West, if not the world.



17. University Medical Center — In the desert of Tuscon, Arizona, you’ll find this fantastic hospital. This hospital was founded in 1971, and has received significant rankings in many categories including cardiothoracic and multidisciplinary transplants.
18. University of California, San Francisco Medical Center — This hospital is considered to be one of the best in the country in patient care, medical education, and health sciences research. Since its foundation in 1873, healthcare professionals working here have had a commitment to providing the best treatments possible to all those in need. Patients can also benefit from the extensive resources that being part of the University of California network provides.



19. Stanford Hospital and Clinics — In sunny Stanford, California one of the best hospitals in America continues to set an excellent example in the health care field. With over 40,000 visits yearly, 20,000 of them being inpatients, this hospital certainly serves the larger community.
20. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center — Located on UCLA’s beautiful sprawling campus, this hospital has received rankings in the top twenty in 15 of the 16 medical specialties ranked by the U.S. News & World Report every year for the last decade.
]]> http://masterofhealthadministration.com/2010/the-20-best-hospitals-in-america%e2%80%94and-what-makes-them-the-best/feed/ 0 http://masterofhealthadministration.com/2009/top-50-blogs-to-learn-about-nationalized-healthcare/ http://masterofhealthadministration.com/2009/top-50-blogs-to-learn-about-nationalized-healthcare/#comments Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:13:12 +0000 Linda http://masterofhealthadministration.com/?p=124

Are you concerned and/or confused by the current debate on nationalized healthcare? Don’t feel alone — if you were the only person in this situation, we would not be able to pull together fifty blogs to learn about nationalized healthcare. The healthcare debate covers a lot of ground, and the blogs listed below represent a wide range of perspectives on this issue.

The blogs listed below are categorized and listed in alphabetical order within each category.

Organizational Blogs

1. Cancer Action Network’s Health Care Reform: ACS CAN is the nation’s leading cancer advocacy organization that is working every day to make cancer issues a national priority. They also provide their insights on the healthcare debate.
2. Guaranteed Healthcare: GuaranteedHealthcare.org is a project of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, and patients and community groups around the country.
3. Health Beat by Maggie Mahar: Maggie Mahar is a fellow at The Century Foundation and the author of Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much.
4. Health Care for America Now! Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is a national grassroots campaign of more than 1,000 organizations in 46 states representing 30 million people dedicated to winning quality, affordable health care.
5. Health Care Reform Blog: The Campaign for an American Solution is a grassroots effort whose mission is to build support for workable health care reform.
6. Latinos United for Healthcare: The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) provide their perspectives on nationalized health care at this blog.
7. OpenForum: OpenForum is a blog supported by the community of Health and Human Rights: An International Journal, dedicated to writing and dialogue that advances health as an issue of fundamental human rights and social justice.
8. Physicians for a National Health Program: PHNP is a single-issue organization advocating a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health program.
9. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The mission of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is to improve the health and health care of all Americans. Their blog reflects this goal.
10. The New Health Dialogue: This blog is provided by the New America Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute.
11. Wendell Potter’s Blog: Potter is a Senior Fellow on Health Care at the Center for Media and Democracy. He also is an advocate for socially responsible organizations, including health insurers.

Policy Blogs

12. Consumer-Driven Health Care: This blog is a special project of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization, established in 1983.
13. Daily Health Policy Report: Provided by Kaiser Health News, this blog provides a daily update on changes in health care policy.
14. Disease Management Care Blog: This blog provides a resource for information from the world of disease management in a variety of venues.
15. Health Affairs: Learn more about nationalized healthcare through the lens of the Policy Journal of the Health Sphere.
16. Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review: This blog brings Bob Laszewski’s take on the latest federal healthy policy and marketplace activities. Mr. Laszewski is president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, LLC.
17. Health Policy and Communications Blog: his blog is to foster discussion and analysis about how health policy and communications issues affect clinical and economic outcomes.
18. Health Policy Watch: This is a Century Foundation Project that seeks to provide experts and non-experts alike with a portal on these developing debates on health policy and on ideas for achieving universal coverage.
19. Health-Care Policy Blog: Franklin and Marshall College provides a blog format for discussion about health care policy.
20. Healthy Policy: Kate Steadman is obsessed with health policy, which she shares at this blog as well as at other Web sites.
21. Managed Care Matters: This is Joseph Paduda’s blog about managed care for group health, workers’ compensation and other insurance needs.
22. Medicaidfirstaid: This blog is dedicated to improving the performance of our nation’s health system to care for children and others in need.
23. National Center Blog: This blog is a project of the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think-tank.
24. Washington Policy Blog on Health Care: The Washington Policy Center, an independent, non-partisan, research and education organization located in Seattle, Washington, provides insights into health care policy in this blog.
25. Workers’ Comp Insider: This is Lynch Ryan’s blog about workers’ compensation, risk management, business insurance and much more work-related healthcare topics.

Insurance Blogs

26. Insureblog: This blog covers insurance issues, principles and solutions.
27. Shargel Health Care Reform Blog: This blog presents a focus on small business in the reform dialogue. Susan Shargel is founder and president of Shargel & Co. Insurance.
28. The Alan Katz Health Care Reform Blog: Alan Katz has long been a strong advocate for agents and the roles they play in America’s health care coverage system.

Business and Health

29. Fierce Healthcare: Although this site is geared toward healthcare industry executives, you can get a different perspective on healthcare with this blog. Look along the top navigation tabs on this site to get more information on healthcare and IT, finance, hospitals and medical record news.
30. Health Business Blog: David E. Williams, this blog’s author, is co-founder of MedPharma Partners LLC, strategy consultant in technology enabled health care services, pharma, biotech, and medical devices.
31. Health IT & Healthcare Reform: Read Brian Ahier’s views and information on government 2.0, health information technology and on reforming the healthcare system.
32. Healthcare Economist: Jason’s research interests include all issues related to healthcare policy and economics, the health insurance market and, and Medicare research.
33. Healthcare Informatics: While the main focus is healthcare issues for the CIO, anyone can pick up on the topics and insight provided by this business blog.
34. PHI Blog: PHI works to strengthen the nation’s long-term care direct-care workforce, which includes nearly 3 million home health aides, certified nurse aides, and personal care attendants. Their blog focuses on health care changes and how they might affect long-term care, the elderly and the workforce for that venue.

The Law

35. FDA Law Blog: Hyman, Phelps & McNamara, P.C. practices in the areas of new drug development, controlled substances, advertising, and health care law complement their core FDA (Food and Drug Administration) practice.
36. HealthBlawg: David Harlow, a health care lawyer and consultant with over twenty years of public and private sector experience, provides his perspective on health care law.
37. Healthcare Law Blog: Holland & Hart practices in the Mountain West, and they provide a perspective on how healthcare law affects that area’s residents.
38. HealthLawProf Blog: Follow nationalized health care policy through a law professor’s eyes.
39. Home Care Law Blog: Learn more about legal and policy issues in home health care, private duty and hopice industries. The law firm of Gilliland & Markette LLP maintains this blog.

Other Perspectives

40. Catholic Healthcare West Thought Blog: CHW provides a blog about health care reform among other topics.
41. Commonhealth: Boston’s NPR station, WBUR, offers insights into health care for the nation.
42. Health Care Renewal: A core of writers, including physicians, express their insights into health care’s core values, “especially those stemming from concentration and abuse of power.”
43. Let’s Talk Health Care: Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a full-service health benefits company serving members throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and beyond, provides a format for readers to talk about health care changes.
44. National Journal Health Care: A variety of experts chime in with their opinions and research into the national healthcare debate.
45. Paul Taylor Healthcare Reform: A hospital CEO shares his vision for health care reform.
46. Prescriptions: The New York Times provides a column focused specifically on the health care debate.
47. Slate’s Health Reform: An Online Guide: Follow the health care story as it unfolds through this constantly updated guide to the best online information sources about this debate.
48. The Consumer Healthcare Blog: Look to this blog for consumer healthcare news, health advice and industry options.
49. The Health Care Blog: A top blog for every man’s (and woman’s) reference to health care in this nation, from opinions to reviews and policy watches.
50. The Ludicrous Project: This blog encourages those individuals entering the medical profession to examine the moral and economic foundations of individual rights and capitalism. The archive holds all previous posts.
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