News
Company price signal to decrease competition
Competition in the medical device field is limited with relatively small number of companies. Therefore, when a company markets new medical device, it signals to the existing competitors intent on price competition. If the new medical device is priced similar to existing devices, the company is signaling it does not desire price competition. In general,…
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Excessive hospital administration expenses increase healthcare expenditures
Harvard Business Review article estimates 95% of the hires in healthcare from 1990-2021 are non doctors with 10 of 16 non doctors work solely in non clinical roles such as administrative, receptionist, or clerk roles. You may think then these workers improve healthcare productivity or quality. However, productivity and quality hasn’t significantly increased. (https://hbr.org/2013/09/the-downside-of-health-care-job-growth) So…
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Government subsidizes hospitals who perpetuate personal bankruptcy
The United States government subsidies the corporate medical complex. Many hospitals and insurance companies are not for profit so they don’t pay taxes. Yet these same hospitals send bills to debt collectors. Medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy.
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Doctors performing bias studies for profits diminishes study credibility
Doctors are required to disclosed any conflicts including financial conflicts when publishing studies. But journals have varying criteria for disclosures and there is no enforcement for lack of disclosures. You can find articles published around the same time period, where the same doctors where have no disclosures while others have more extensive disclosures. Journal editorial…
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Hospitals act as local monopolies which raises prices for consumers
Investors like companies with moats which means barriers to entry or competition. However, consumers are hurt by these barriers to competition because they pay higher prices. Hospitals build local moats to decrease competition. They lobbied for federal legislation to block competing hospitals. In fact, doctors are not allow to start new hospitals to compete with…
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The Joint Commission are view by hospitals as extortionists
Hospitals are credentialed by The Joint Commission. The Joint Commission offers consulting services through Joint Commission Resources (https://www.jcrinc.com/about-us/our-team). The consultants charge exorbitant fees to hospitals to pass The Joint Commission credentialing. Some hospital administrators view this like a extortion protection scheme. By paying Joint Commission consultants, you get protection from The Joint Commission credentialing process…
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Penumbra Jet7 Flex Recall: Did Penumbra Hide Malfunction or Did Competition Manipulate the FDA
Medical device reporting (MDR) is notorious for under reporting of device problems. Companies tend to ignore physician complaints. So when you start to see an increase in device complaints, breakages, injuries and death, you only seeing the tip of the iceberg. And device companies are notorious slow in responding to device malfunctions. They tend to…
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Doctors governed by authoritarian systems that compromised care
The United States is a democracy. However, most US medical centers are governed more like dictatorships. Doctors do not elect their leadership. In fact, their leadership is often selected by a few select individuals appointed by the hospitals. This allows hospitals to hire and control doctors. Many states had realize this conflict and therefore have…
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Mandatory in network referrals conflict with doctors’ obligation to provide best care
Doctors are obligated to provide the best care possible for their patients. Therefore, doctors should refer patients to other doctors including specialists who they think provide the best care. However, doctors are required by certain insurance or medical practices to refer within specific networks. For example, doctors who belong in multispecialty practices are incentivized to…
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