Doctors Denounce Cancer Drug Prices of $100,000 a Year - NY Times

With the cost of some lifesaving cancer drugs exceeding $100,000 a year, more than 100 influential cancer specialists from around the world have taken the unusual step of banding together in hopes of persuading some leading pharmaceutical companies to bring prices down.

 

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/business/cancer-physicians-attack-high-drug-costs.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

American business leaders aren't showing much leadership in the public sphere. It wasn't always so. - Harvard Business Review

Why the Decline in Corporate Statesmanship?

by Mark S. Mizruchi  |  12:00 PM April 24, 2013

"What is missing is an organized effort by the leaders of large American corporations to develop a series of policies that reflect not the narrow interests of their respective companies, but rather what Paul Hoffman, the co-founder of the CED [Council for Economic Development], called"enlightened self-interest" — the understanding that the well-being of American business is ultimately determined by the well-being of the society within which it operates."

Read more: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/04/why_the_decline_in_corporate_s.html?utm_source=Socialflow&utm_medium=Tweet&utm_campaign=Socialflow

AARP’s Caregiving Resource Center Just Went Mobile

Caring for yourself, your parents or a loved one just a whole lot easier.

We’ve put our Caregiving Resource Center from our website into our AARP iPad app so you can have all the housing options, legal and respite care information you need at your fingertips.

Read more: http://blog.aarp.org/2013/04/09/aarps-caregiving-resource-center-just-went-mobile-ipad-caregiver-app/?cmp=SN-TWTTR-PDPOST-PJS&sf11939612=1

A Rise in Wealth for the Wealthy; Declines for the Lower 93% - Pew Research

During the first two years of the nation’s economic recovery, the mean net worth of households in the upper 7% of the wealth distribution rose by an estimated 28%, while the mean net worth of households in the lower 93% dropped by 4%, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly released Census Bureau data.

From 2009 to 2011, the mean wealth of the 8 million households in the more affluent group rose to an estimated $3,173,895 from an estimated $2,476,244, while the mean wealth of the 111 million households in the less affluent group fell to an estimated $133,817 from an estimated $139,896.

Read more: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/04/23/a-rise-in-wealth-for-the-wealthydeclines-for-the-lower-93/

How a Healthier Lifestyle Will Reduce the Deficit

Want to control the deficit? Control healthcare costs

Our nation faces two grave challenges: the federal deficit and the rising cost of healthcare. I would like to suggest that both of these challenges can be addressed by a single transformation. I truly believe that if we can get our nation healthy, we can save a lot of money and a lot of lives.

by Delos M. Cosgrove, MD.  CEO & President, Cleveland Clinic. 

Read more: http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2013/04/how-a-healthier-lifestyle-will-reduce-the-deficit/utm_campaign=cc+tweets&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=130421+reduce+healthcarecosts&dynid=twitter-_-cc+tweets-_-social-_-social-_-130421+reduce+healthcarecosts

What's Possible For Healthcare? Infographic - Institute of Medicine

View the Infographic:  http://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2012/Best-Care/bestcare_infographic.png

How to Deliver Patient-Centered Care: Learn from Service Industries - Harvard Business Review

How to Deliver Patient-Centered Care: Learn from Service Industries

by BRIAN POWERS, AMOL S. NAVATHE, AND SACHIN H. JAIN

Comments (9) | April 19, 2013

Over the past decade, patient-centered care has become a mantra for high-quality health care. Policymakers, researchers, physician-leaders, and patients have all cited the need for care to be tailored to patients' unique needs and preferences. And there is solid evidence that patient-centered care can help improve care quality and reduce costs. However, in the rush to become more patient-centered, the health care system has misplaced its focus.

Read more: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/04/how_to_deliver_patient-centere.html?utm_source=Socialflow&utm_medium=Tweet&utm_campaign=Socialflow

A Bipartisan Rx for Patient-Centered Care and System-Wide Cost Containment - Bipartisan Policy Center.

Read the Report at: http://bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/Cost%20Containment%20Report.pdf

Now, With No Further Ado, We Present ... the Digital Public Library of America!

What is the Digital Public Library of America? What do you hope it will become?
The idea behind the Digital Public Library of America is fairly simple actually -- it is the attempt, really a large-scale attempt, to knit together America's archives, libraries, and museums, which have a tremendous amount of content -- all forms of human expression, from images and photographs, to artwork, to published material and unpublished material, like archival and special collections. We want to bring that all together in one place.

One big part of the DPLA will be its brand-new website, DP.LA -- a nice, short URL. It works great on mobile phones too. It's a modern, responsive website.

Read more at http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/04/now-with-no-further-ado-we-present-the-digital-public-library-of-america/274963/

Visit the Library at http://dp.la/

Educating Americans for the 21st Century - Smithsonian Special Report

Educating Americans for the 21st Century

Introducing a Special Report on Education

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How are schools adapting to the new demands of the 21st century? BY RACHAEL BROWN

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialreports/educating-americans-for-the-21st-century#ixzz2QiOsv9c5 

Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitterhttp://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialreports/educating-americans-for-the-21st-century/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_campaign=20130416&utm_content=educationnewdemands1&device=iphone&device=ipad

Employer Health Coverage in U.S. on 10-Year Slide, Study Finds

The share of Americans who get health benefits through work dropped to 60 percent in 2011, continuing a decade-long slide that highlights the challenges facing President Barack Obama’s insurance overhaul.

U.S. employers provided coverage for 159 million people in 2011, 12 million fewer than in 2000, according to a study released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Thereport blamed the decline on the total number of jobs available as well as insurance premiums that have more than doubled in some cases.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-11/employer-health-coverage-in-u-s-on-10-year-slide-study-finds.html

Cut salt, add potassium, live longer, researchers say - USA Today

 

STORY: Millions of people don't have their blood pressure under control

Among the findings:
• A modest reduction in salt intake for four or more weeks lowered systolic pressure (the top number) by an average of 5mm Hg (millimeters of mercury). Blood pressure reductions from reduced salt intake were greater in people with hypertension.
• Reduced salt intake did not have adverse effects on cholesterol or renal function.
• Increased potassium intake also helped lower blood pressure.
An estimated 2.5 million deaths could be prevented each year worldwide by cutting salt intake in half, says Graham MacGregor, the senior author on one of the research papers and professor of cardiovascular medicine at Barts and London School of Medicine. He's also chairman of World Action on Salt and Health.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/04/salt-blood-pressure/2053687/

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food - NY Times

 
 
Read about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1&