Category Archives: Medicine

Decisions have Consequences

June 17, 2013 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 17 Comments

We are having our babies older than we used to. Which is why our population is not increasing. (As a matter of fact, it was just announced that there were more deaths than births for soon-to-be minority majority Whites in America.) Because the longer we wait, the less likely we will have our (old) average of 2.2 children per family. Even that wasn’t “self-replicating”, with 2.33 children per family- which keeps the population stable. Right now, US families are averaging just over 1.9 children per family. Continue reading Decisions have Consequences →

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Economy, Medicine

Healthcare Costs- Controversy and Data

June 14, 2013 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.

We discussed uncompensated care a few days ago, where I mentioned the variation in health care costs across the US. But, is that variability related to the cost of living in the various regions of the US? Or, is it attributable to the relative health of folks in various regions?

Continue reading Healthcare Costs- Controversy and Data →

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Economy, Medicine

Uncompensated Care

June 12, 2013 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 6 Comments

Lately, data are indicating that the seemingly inexorable rise in our health care costs may be attenuating. Is this real? Or, just an artifact? Given that there are large variations in health costs across the US, what does this trend mean for our local, state, and federal taxes. And, given that these difference in regional costs will become exacerbated as more (Republican) states refuse to run their own health care exchanges, some of us are in for additional costs.

Continue reading Uncompensated Care →

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Medicine

It’s moving along…Obamacare, that is.

June 11, 2013 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 6 Comments

With all the hoopla about Obamacare (PPACA is its real acronym), one would think that it would be a total failure. But, even as a certain party keeps sniping at it, cutting funding, it’s making a difference in our health care.

Continue reading It’s moving along…Obamacare, that is. →

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Brain, Medicine

Catching some Z’s?

June 3, 2013 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 12 Comments

About 1/6 of us feel that we do not get sufficient sleep. Now, that’s the data- and I can’t figure out quite how that was derived- but it seems that someone told the subjects they needed 8 hours of sleep- which predicated that answer.

Continue reading Catching some Z’s? →

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Business Management, Medicine, Technology

A Road Not Taken

May 28, 2013 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 4 Comments

It was more than 4 decades ago that I considered starting my own compounding pharmacy. It was an idea hatched during a meeting among Drs. Joseph Letteri, Lawrence Brennan (both were nephrologists practicing at the Nassau County Medical Center), Shelly Fialkoff, and me. Both Drs. Letteri and Brennan were gracious in offering their time and input to a young tyke like me.

Continue reading A Road Not Taken →

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Economy, Medicine

$ 242,000…

May 20, 2013 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 10 Comments

If only we would make tough choices. The system – at least for the past years- is arranged to punt decisions down the line. Where the choices are the same, anyway- just more expensive.

Continue reading $ 242,000… →

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Economy, Medicine

The Future is Not So Pretty…

May 17, 2013 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 4 Comments

Not my normal sort of blog. Actually, the kind you would kind on Sequioa Seniors. (This blog no longer exists…) But, I’m writing about it because it involves economics and regulations. And, it’s the future that we did not want to see- for anyone.

Continue reading The Future is Not So Pretty… →

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Brain, Medicine

A test for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

May 10, 2013 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 8 Comments

Autism. One of the scariest words uttered to a parent. The disease is manifested by poor social interactions (including little verbal communication), and often accompanied with repetitive behaviors by the child. And, the problem is that diagnosing autism spectrum disorders (ASD, as they are formally termed) – at least, right now- requires psychological evaluation by experts, and that typically occurs after the child may be too old to provide it the best chance to develop (almost) normally.

Continue reading A test for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)? →

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Medicine, Technology

Music to soothe the soul…

May 2, 2013 Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A. 14 Comments

You know the terror in a parent’s eyes when their baby arrives prematurely. Those babies have, at best, a tenuous hold on life and a long period of hospitalization, before they really can survive on their own. Some 500,000 premature births occur annually – about 1 in every 9 births here in the US. And, then, there’s also the problem when well-meaning therapies are not explained well.

Continue reading Music to soothe the soul… →

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