A big data COVID train wreck
BY ANISH KOKA
If there was any doubt the academic research enterprise is completely broken, we have an absolute train wreck of a study in one of the many specialty journals of the Journal of the American Medical Association — JAMA Health.
I had no idea the journal even existed until today, but I now know to approach the words printed in this journal to the words printed in supermarket tabloids. You should too!
The paper that was brought to my attention is one that purports to examine the deleterious health effects of Long COVID. A sizable group of intellectuals who are still socially distancing and wearing n95s ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 13, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Policy Anish Koka Covid research COVID-19 Long Covid Source Type: blogs
Sunday Sermonette: Do not mess with the guys who wrote this
The story of Uzziah, including his transgression and consequential leprosy, is told briefly in the Book of Kings, embedded in a much longer discussion of goings on in the northern kingdom at the time. The Chronicler as usual has no interest in the northern kingdom, but he has a great deal of interest in the prerogatives of the priesthood so he makes that the focus. There have been instances in the past when the priests have put kings in their place, although in the early part of the Deuteronomistic History kings sometimes made sacrifices and apparently it was okay. The Chronicler wants to be very clear that kings can...
Source: Stayin' Alive - March 12, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
What Would John Henry Rauch Do Today As A HIT Entrepreneur?
BY MIKE MAGEE
Health entrepreneurs today tend to give themselves very high grades, and seem surprised when their creations fall short of expectations due to a disconnect with funders or regulators with legal authority. But Medicine isn’t fair, and genius is not that common.
What other conclusion can you draw from the thousands of references and citations featuring Philadelphia physician Benjamin Rush and his wild ideas on how to heroically treat Yellow Fever in 1793, but likely never heard of Dr. John Henry Rauch. The former signed the Declaration of Independence but directly or indirectly contributed to many an un...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 8, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Tech Benjamin Rush John Henry Rauch Mike Magee public health sanitation Source Type: blogs
The Iraq War, 20 Years Later
John MuellerOn Thursday, March 16, we reach the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Saddam Hussein ’s Iraq under the George W. Bush administration. There will be an afternoon ofpanels on that day at Cato reflecting on the event.As the invasion loomed, there was quite a bit of protest both in the United States and around the globe, and a popular placard at some of the protests was one reading, “A village in Texas is missing its idiot.”In his impressive newbook,Confronting Saddam Hussein: George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq (Oxford University Press), historian Melvyn Leffler takes strong exception to that...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - March 6, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: John Mueller Source Type: blogs
Quotations Missing from Bartlett ’s
David BoazOverat The Dispatch (ungatedhere) I have a critique of the latest edition ofBartlett ' s Familiar Quotations. As I say,Bartlett ' sis " the gold standard of quotations, the place anyone can go to confirm a quote and see the source. " But its editors " seem far more familiar with the words of liberal, leftist, and socialist sources than those of conservatives and libertarians. "Over the past 40 years, since the rise of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, John Paul II, and even Deng Xiaoping, the world has seen a turn toward markets and economic freedom (albeit with a fall in 2020 during the pandemic lockdowns). But...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - March 6, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: David Boaz Source Type: blogs
Ecology Rescued the AMA and Medical Professionalism Beginning in 1870. Will technology and science rescue the profession once again?
BY MIKE MAGEE
Medicine does not exist in a vacuum. The trusting relationships that underpin it function within an ever-changing environment of shifting social determinants. This is not new, nor surprising.
Consider for example the results of their 1851 survey of 12,400 men from the eight leading U.S. colleges had to be shocking. The AMA was only four years old at the time and being forced to acknowledge a significant lack of public interest in a physician’s services. This in turn had caused the best and the brightest to choose other professions. There it was in black and white. Of those surveyed, 26% planned to pur...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 6, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Policy AMA Ecology Mayo Mike Magee Source Type: blogs
The Ohio Train Derailment, Safety Regulation, and the Historical Improvement in Rail Safety
David Kemp andPeter Van DorenEarlier this month, a Norfolk Southern freight trainderailed in East Palestine, Ohio, causing a large fire, releasing hazardous materials, and prompting emergency crews to conduct a controlled release and burn of toxic vinyl chloride. Fortunately, no lives were lost, but up to two thousand nearby residents were evacuated from their homes for nearly a week, and there are still concerns about pollution. Sober analysis is rarely welcomed after an accident like this. We believe it is worthwhile, however, to illuminate some journalistic errors and place the derailment in the context of increasing fr...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 27, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: David Kemp, Peter Van Doren Source Type: blogs
The State of Taxes: How the Feds Fund (and Don ’t Fund) Spending
Adam N. MichelThis tax season, the IRS expects to receive more than168 million individual tax returns, which will take Americans approximately2 billion collective hours to complete. As we file our taxes, it is natural to wonder where the $4.9 trillion the Federal government collected last year came from and what it funds.Government data shows that the federal tax system is highly progressive. The highest-income Americans pay a disproportionate share of income taxes and face the highest average tax rates across all federal taxes. We are also lucky to live in a relatively low-tax country, but Congress continues to spend well...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 23, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Adam N. Michel Source Type: blogs
The ABA ’s 2023 Plea Bargain Task Force Report
Clark NeilyPlea bargaining is criminal “justice” on the cheap. Think of an ultra‐budget airline that eliminates co‐pilots, foregoes maintenance, carries no fuel reserves, and omits preflight safety checks in favor of quick turnaround times. Efficient? Yes. Cheaper? Certainly. But no sane person would choose to fly that airl ine because of its flagrant disregard for what a century of experience with commercial aviation has taught us about the key role that extensive safety protocols play in avoiding disaster.Another complex process that requires multiple safety protocols to avoid disaster is the adjudicat...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 22, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Clark Neily Source Type: blogs
Sunday Sermonette: Human Life is Sacred
I ' ll just mention that somebody has apparently discovered these Biblical posts and has started emailing me PDFs of scholarly articles about the texts I ' m quoting and the archaeological context of the times. They ' re tracking with me so I don ' t think it ' s just computer generated. If it is, that ' s fairly remarkable. Anyway, to be honest, I haven ' t taken the time to read them so far, because I ' m busy with other things and this is a side project. The historical reality or lack thereof that may be associated with all this isn ' t that important to me. Not to say I won ' t take the time to read at some point, and ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - February 19, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
The Enlightenment
Observers of contemporary U.S. politics should keep in mind that until the 18th Century, most European countries were sectarian Christian states. The confession of their monarchs -- Catholic, Lutheran, Church of England -- was either imposed absolutely on all inhabitants, or at the least followers of other sects were oppressed and forced to worship in secret or under constraints. England fought a civil war over religion and the back and forth between protestant and Catholic monarchs was the most salient feature of English politics. The so-called Pilgrims who founded the settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts left Engl...
Source: Stayin' Alive - February 18, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Chest pain, among other symptoms. What do you see?
This patient had many complaints including chest pain.The computer called this ***Acute STEMI***What do you think?STEMI never has a very short QT. This QT interval is 320 ms, with a QTc of around 350, depending on which correction formula you use. (There is Bazett, Fridericia, Hodges, Framingham and Rautaharju -- see here at mdcalc: https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/48/corrected-qt-interval-qtcIf the ST Elevation here were due to STEMI, it would be an LAD Occlusion. You can use myLAD Occlusion/Normal Variant STE formula on this. I did, and the result was the lowest value I have ever obtained (1...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - February 17, 2023 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs
Let ’s Finish The Job
BY MIKE MAGEE
In President Biden’s State of the Union Address, the most oft repeated phrase was “Let’s Finish The Job!” This came as part of an appeal for partnership as well as an assertion that in his first two years as President much had been accomplished.
Several days later, as if on cue, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), joint chairs of the Senate Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, announced that two bipartisan pieces of legislation focused on reducing the price of drugs to consumers had passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Both bil...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 16, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Policy Affordable Generics and Biosimilars Act Biden Mike Magee state of the union Source Type: blogs
Federal Tax Revenue Remains Strong, According to the CBO
Adam N. MichelThe Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an update to itsbudget and economic projections, reflecting changing economic conditions and new legislation.The report shows that U.S. federal revenues are projected to remain at or above historic levels. In 2022, revenues reached a two‐decade high of 19.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). At a time of historically high revenues, it should be clear to policymakers that uncontrolled spending is the primary culprit for persistent deficits and debt.The strong revenue growth —both in recent years and projected—does not support claims by some that ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - February 15, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Adam N. Michel Source Type: blogs
