Covid 19 took the world by surprise. Few countries had plans for dealing with the virus, but they should have. It also took a very long time to realize for the world to understand what was happening, although it was, sadly, all pretty predictable. I want to continue to share my thoughts about the virus. … Continue reading
Category Archives: Health Care
COVID 19 Exit
The purpose of flattening the curve is to make sure the number of people requiring hospitalization including ICU does not overwhelm the system. Assuming that patients will receive the same quality of treatment in that case, there is no benefit for flattening the curve further. Unless we get a vaccine, the majority of people will get … Continue reading
Sleep Apnea and COVID 19
As many readers of my blog will know, I was very involved with a company that has developed a breakthrough device for Obstructive Sleep Apnea, http://www.sommetrics.com. That afforded me an opportunity to learn a great deal about this disease. Recently, I was talking with the CEO who is Pulmonologist originally about interest in the part … Continue reading
How I have spent the last four years…and why it might be important to you
Next month, I will turn 72 years old. It is hard for me to imagine that it was almost 18 years ago when I left my position at Intel as Vice President of Corporate Business Development. I was just 54 at the time. My objective was not to retire but to rewire. For many … Continue reading
The Lucky Years by David Agus
I don’t often write book reviews these days. In fact, I don’t often read books these days. For the last three years, I have been working on a project that I think will have an enormous impact on the quality of health for as much as 50% of adults 30-70 years old. I promise to … Continue reading
PSA Testing Debate
There have been a number of recent articles in the press (most notably at the New York Times) about the advisability of giving men routine PSA tests to detect if they have Prostate Cancer. A government panel has recommended that the practices of giving men over 50 (or over 40 if there is family history) be stopped because it results in needless procedures that are costly and effect men negatively without saving lives. I believe this is a dumb recommendation. The PSA can provided valuable information that can save lives. It is not the PSA test that is the problem it is what is done after the results come back that is the issue. Continue reading
The role of the health insurance industry
We have a misconception of what the insurance companies job is. There are two reasons for insurance companies to exist in the current scheme of things. The first reason is to aggregate risk. That is to share risk amongst a large number of people. This is similar to car insurance or fire insurance. The second … Continue reading
Two Thirds Done 