The Individual Mandate is radical alteration of the social contract

The Individual Mandate is radical alteration of the social contract
Part of the health care reform bill currently being debated by the House of Representatives is the  individual mandate.  By this provision, everyone would be required — by law — to have health insurance, or else be charged with a criminal offense and face fines or [...]

Seven arguments against a doctor’s office visit for flu

Seven arguments against a doctor’s office visit for flu
1. Unless the patient has *serious* pre-existing conditions the flu will pass by itself.
2. After two days of symptoms, pharmaceutical treatments (i.e., Tamiflu or Relenza) will probably have little or no benefit.
3. The best treatment for flu in any case is to stay in bed.  A trip [...]

Protect Yourself from the Flu – Video

Protect Yourself from the Flu
A leading flu vaccine producer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has generously released this audio-visual presentation, originally developed for their employees, to the public:
GSK flu prevention video
When the new window opens, press the “Next” button on the lower right to continue.
This is the best presentation of its kind available today. Watch it yourself [...]

Public Policy and Rapid Flu Diagnosis

This post follows up on an earlier one concerning the value of mathematical models, computer simulation, and operations research in dealing with pandemic and inter-pandemic (seasonal) influenza.
There’s a lot that can be done to control flu, once its known to be spreading. We can shut down a school, for example. But the key is [...]

Swine Flu, Vaccines, and Mathematical Models

The recent swine flu outbreak in Mexico reminds me that, although lately I’ve been working on other things, I should also continue my work in health policy research and related areas.
Here we consider the problem:  in a flu pandemic, what strategies can we use to conserve scarce vaccine?
Let’s assume, for example, that during the first [...]