Why South Korean resident physicians are quitting
In February 2024, the resident physicians in South Korea resigned in waves. This was not a strike; striking seemed meaningless, and the residents went right on quitting. This occurred after the Korean government promulgated health care reform plans to tackle major problems brewing under the nation’s universal health insurance system. One of the plans–to increase the medical Read more… Why South Korean resident physicians are quitting originally appeared in KevinMD.com. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 7, 2024 Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Education Residency Source Type: blogs

What Scares Healthcare Like EVs Scare Detroit
By KMI BELLARD I’m thinking about electric vehicles (EVs)…and healthcare. Now, mind you, I don’t own an EV. I’m not seriously thinking about getting one (although if I’m still driving in the 2030’s I expect it will be in one). To be honest, I’m not really all that interested in EVs. But I am interested in disruption, so when Robinson Meyer warned in The New York Times “China’s Electric Vehicles Are Going to Hit Detroit Like a Wrecking Ball,” he had my attention. And when on the same day I also read that Apple was cancelling its decade-long effort to build an EV, I was definitely paying attention. ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 6, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy Health Tech Biden Detroit EVs Hospitals Kim Bellard Source Type: blogs

Volpara Health Enters Agreement to be Acquired by Lunit, Inc.
Volpara Health Technologies (Volpara), a global leader in software for the early detection of breast cancer, is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Lunit Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Lunit would acquire all shares of Volpara stock for A$1.15 per share in cash, representing a 47.4% premium to the Company’s closing stock price on December 13, 2023. The transaction is expected to accelerate Volpara’s ability to serve its purpose of saving families from cancer. With the support of Lunit’s in-house radiologists and complementary technologies, Volpara’s repos...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - January 8, 2024 Category: Information Technology Authors: Healthcare IT News Tags: Health IT Company Healthcare IT Health IT Acquisitions Healthcare M&A Lunit Lunit Inc. Teri Thomas Volpara Volpara Health Technologies Source Type: blogs

If It Were Not So Serious One Could Ba Amused By This.
 This appeared last week: Man crushed to death by robot that mistook him for a box of vegetables By David Millward November 9, 2023 — 11.30am A South Korean man has been crushed to death by an industrial robot that mistook him for a box of vegetables. The man, who was in his 40s, had been in specting a problem with the robot’s sensor at a distribution centre for agricultural produce in South (Source: Australian Health Information Technology)
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - November 17, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs

Out of Control Health Costs or a Broken Society
Flawed Accounting for the US Health Spending Problem By Jeff Goldsmith Source: OECD, Our World in Data Late last year, I saw this chart which made my heart sink. It compared US life expectancy to its health spending since 1970 vs. other countries. As you can see,  the US began peeling off from the rest of the civilized world in the mid-1980’s. Then US life expectancy began falling around 2015, even as health spending continued to rise. We lost two more full years of life expectancy to COVID. By  the end of 2022, the US had given up 26 years-worth of progress in life expecta...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 9, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy COVID Drug Overdoses gun violence Hospitals Jeff Goldsmith Maternal mortality Mental Health Obesity Poverty Regional Economy Society Source Type: blogs

Out of Control Health Costs or a Broken Society
Flawed Accounting for the US Health Spending Problem By Jeff Goldsmith Source: OECD, Our World in Data Late last year, I saw this chart which made my heart sink. It compared US life expectancy to its health spending since 1970 vs. other countries. As you can see,  the US began peeling off from the rest of the civilized world in the mid-1980’s. Then US life expectancy began falling around 2015, even as health spending continued to rise. We lost two more full years of life expectancy to COVID. By  the end of 2022, the US had given up 26 years-worth of progress in life expectancy gains. Adding four more ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 9, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy COVID Drug Overdoses gun violence Hospitals Jeff Goldsmith Maternal mortality Mental Health Obesity Poverty Regional Economy Society Source Type: blogs

Optical Strain Sensors for Rehab
Researchers at Pohang University of Science & Technology in South Korea have developed a durable strain sensor that can detect complex body movements. The technology will be useful for patients undergoing physical rehabilitation, allowing physical therapists to assess their movements in significant detail and measure progress. Conventional strain sensors are often affected by heat and humidity, making them less durable as a wearable, and they typically detect only biaxial strain, providing less detail than these new sensors. The new technology uses computer vision, whereby an algorithm reviews digital images of the sen...
Source: Medgadget - September 29, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Rehab Source Type: blogs

WHO Report: Tackling Hypertension Could Avert 76M Deaths Globally
Conclusion Hypertension, often referred to as the “silent killer,” isn’t just a mere health term; it’s a pressing global challenge with vast implications. As the World Health Organization’s report underscores, controlling high blood pressure is more than a matter of personal health. It’s about potentially averting millions of deaths worldwide by 2050. It’s heartening to see countries like Canada and South Korea lead the charge with effective treatment programs, offering hope and a pathway for others to follow. Yet, the contrasting statistics on sodium intake and the p...
Source: The EMT Spot - September 26, 2023 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Michael Rotman, MD, FRCPC, PhD Tags: News Source Type: blogs

Abbott Acquires Bigfoot Biomedical. Unity has a new home. Some Bigfoot employees might not like it.
In mid-September 2023, the medical technology startup known as Bigfoot Biomedical, reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Abbott Laboratories (see the official press release athttps://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/abbott-to-acquire-bigfoot-biomedical-furthering-efforts-to-develop-personalized-connected-solutions-for-people-with-diabetes-301918254.html for details). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bigfoot ' s CEO Was Fired from JDRFSome people with diabetes might recall that Bigfoot Biomedical was co-founded by Jeffrey Brewer, whose previous job was as CEO of the JDRF. But Mr. Brewer was sh...
Source: Scott's Web Log - September 20, 2023 Category: Endocrinology Tags: 2023 Abbott Bigfoot Biomedical Bigfoot Unity Dexcom FTC Source Type: blogs

Separate U.S. Alliances in East Asia Are Obsolete
Washington manages its alliances with Tokyo and Seoul separately. But growing South Korean and Japanese military capabilities make a conversation about more integration unavoidable. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - September 14, 2023 Category: Health Management Authors: Christopher B. Johnstone Source Type: blogs

A Trilateral Summit to Deal with Trilateral Threats
The leaders of Japan, South Korea, and the United States held a trilateral summit in August, focused on countering military threats in East Asia. Not surprisingly, China and North Korea were upset by the summit, designed as it was to respond to their military build-ups. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - August 29, 2023 Category: Health Management Authors: Bruce W. Bennett Source Type: blogs

Navitus 2022 Drug Trend Report
   Its been many years since I posted news of a PBM Drug Trend Report. Once upon a time, PBM drug trend reports contained lots of interesting information. However, over time (in 2021, for example, when reports from the preceding year were published), CVS Caremark published only a bare-bones summary, while Prime Therapeutics, MedImpact, and other large PBMs all completelystopped publishing drug trend reports. The reason is basically because its becoming harder and harder for PBMs to present themselves as saving money when the biggest PBMs aren ' t saving any entities any money on prescription drugs anymore (I...
Source: Scott's Web Log - July 5, 2023 Category: Endocrinology Tags: 2022 2023 Drug Trend Report Navitus Navitus Health Solutions PBM Source Type: blogs

China's Bullying Proves South Korea's Yoon Is on the Right Track
An escalating war of words between Beijing and Seoul is raising pressure on South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to take a softer line with China. Instead, the Yoon administration should see Beijing ' s threats of punishment as vindication for further strengthening and expanding Seoul ' s alliance with the United States. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - July 5, 2023 Category: Health Management Authors: Derek Grossman Source Type: blogs

Trade in Real Life: Sorry Charlie (and Senator Warner) for Terrible Tuna Tariffs
Gabriella Beaumont-SmithDuring the pandemic, Senator Mark Warner (D ‑VA) released a video showcasing his tuna melt recipe —complete with a surprising amount of mayonnaise and heated in a microwave (no judgement). The “unhinged” recipe video went viral and three years later,Washingtonian sat down with Senator Warner to have him taste ‐​test seven tuna melt sandwiches from DC and Virginia restaurants.Senator Warner ’s tuna‐​melt obsession reminded me of a tariff reclassificationcase I  read about last year. Starkist Co. is well‐​known for its single‐​serve pouches of tuna and argued to the Fede...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 12, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Gabriella Beaumont-Smith Source Type: blogs

AI is Bright, But Can Also Be Dark
BY KIM BELLARD If you’ve been following artificial intelligence (AI) lately – and you should be – then you may have started thinking about how it’s going to change the world. In terms of its potential impact on society, it’s been compared to the introduction of the Internet, the invention of the printing press, even the first use of the wheel. Maybe you’ve played with it, maybe you know enough to worry about what it might mean for your job, but one thing you shouldn’t ignore: like any technology, it can be used for both good and bad.   If you thought cyberattacks/cybercrimes were bad when done by human...
Source: The Health Care Blog - May 23, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Tech Artificial intelligence Dark Web DarkBERT Kim Bellard Source Type: blogs