Uncategorized

What is better: public or private provision of health care?

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Healthcare Economist

Jason Shafrin

This is a question that can be answered empirically but doing so is challenging. While cross-country comparisons are feasible for comparing public and private health care provisions, often there are many other differences between health care systems across country. Within any given country, there is significant selection bias in terms of who receives public vs. private care. Moreover, most research focuses on public vs. private financing of health care (e.g., Medicare Advantage vs. Medicare FFS), but less so whether the providers are public employees or not.

To answer this question, a paper by Frakes, Gruber, and Justicz (2023) examines data on obstetrical care within the Military Health System (MHS) using Military Health System Data Repository data. The authors summarize MHS as follows: …

Health Care

Telesitting in Hospitals

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Association of Health Care Journalists

by Karen Blum

It’s no surprise that hospitalized patients are at an increased risk of falls. They’re in unfamiliar surroundings and may be taking new medications with side effects. And many experience decreased activity while recovering from various illnesses or surgeries. What may be surprising are the numbers: Each year, an estimated 700,000 to one million people fall in hospitals, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 

Falls can cause additional medical problems and more medical bills. In an effort to monitor patients at a high risk for falls, some hospitals have employed patient sitters — non-clinical staff who are assigned to provide in-room monitoring. Sitters may be trained to calm patients who are disoriented or encourage them to stay in bed while they call for a nurse or other caregiver. But this is a high-intensity solution, and it doesn’t come cheap. One community hospital in …