Apparently, Mr Obama would now like to talk to to Republicans about health care. The man is really a laugh riot. After trying to ram a highly divisive, partisan health bill through the senate and failing, Mr. Obama would like a televised bipartisan summit for half a day to break the impasse. I suspect you [...]
Brian Fallow provides an excellent look at the urgent need for cost containment in health and the problems this involves. He points out that rising health costs is a far bigger potential problem than superannuation. It is also far more difficult to solve as a simple shift in age eligibility would sort out most superannuation [...]
President Obama has now reached the point, in his promotion of his heathcare bill, where he can no longer simply make stirring speeches. He now has to make a decision. Obama ploy so far has worked quite well. The ploy was to do what comes naturally to Obama and not provide any details to the [...]
There are two health articles in the Herald today about two entirely separate topics. The first, by Marion Blake, the CEO of Platform, is about community services and providing solutions other than hospital based ones. The second is about the poor state of Respiratory medicine services across the country. Entirely dissimilar subjects. And yet there is [...]
Senator Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination as secretary of health and human services. Four days after being found to have not paid some taxes, Daschle withdrew, saying he would not have been able to lead an overhaul of the nation’s health care system “with the full faith of the Congress and the American people.” “I am [...]
An article in the Weekend Herald (not yet online) entitled “High cost stopping Kiwis visiting the doctor” tells us that over two thirds of New Zealanders over 20 have avoided visiting a doctor because of the cost. I didn’t need any research to tell me this is true, because these people pitch up to emergency [...]
My father had a retinal detachment of his left eye in the mid 1960s. An ophthalmologist (eye specialist) spot=welded the detaching margin with a laser and preserved most of my father’s sight. A patient mentioned in an HDC report released today was not so lucky and lost his eye. Three patients needing urgent treatment had serious [...]
Tucked away in the news yesterday was this story of a coroner’s report on the death of an inmate of Christchurch prison. David Cox died in Christchurch Hospital in 2006 after contracting pneumococcal pneumonia in Christchurch Prison. His sister recounts how he was denied the extra blankets and clothing she tried to provide as “prisoners were required [...]
With the release of National’s real health policy, I have noticed a number of comments from Act supporters and Libertarians promoting the complete privatisation of health care. However, some of these advocates seem to think that Australia has completely privatised health care, which is untrue. Australia retains control and ownership of its public hospital system [...]
“Injustice killing Kiwis on grand scale” blares the headline on Stuff, today. Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale, the New Zealand Medical Journal says. No, it doesn’t. I have the New Zealand Medical Journal (NZMJ) in front of me. Unlike the reporter, I have actually read the papers the article is based on. [...]
