Quotes of the day 07/07/07
“Sometimes I think we’re alone. Sometimes I think we’re not. In either case, the thought is staggering.”
Yesterday The New York Times ran an article “Heart Therapy Strains Efforts to Limit Costs“¹ that begins
The nation’s most common cardiac malfunction, once thought harmless but now seen as a potential killer, is testing the ability of regulators to keep up with medical treatments being carried out with scant evidence of long-term effectiveness.
With its episodes of rapid and irregular heartbeats, the condition — atrial fibrillation — afflicts at least 2.2 million people in the United States, according to government estimates. While some experience no symptoms and most others seem to suffer little more than weakness or shortness of breath, the condition is now recognized as a major source of strokes and a precursor to potentially fatal deterioration of the heart.
Already, Medicare and private insurers are spending billions of dollars annually to cope with atrial fibrillation, mostly on hospitalizations, tests and drugs unapproved for such patients. The number of patients is forecast to soar, and spending could climb even more rapidly if many of them receive what many doctors say is now their best hope for a cure — an expensive procedure known as catheter-based ablation….
(includes links to 3 other articles [also yesterday], an interactive graphic and links to other online resources)
The basic struggle is to offer economical, proven healthcare before it is all officially approved (based on timeline studies). This will loom large as we move deeper into digitally assisted healthcare.
There was also an article about “Scientists Urge a Search for Life Not as We Know It“²
A panel of scientists convened by the country’s leading scientific advisory group says the hunt for extraterrestrial life should be greatly expanded to include what they call “weird life”: organisms that lack DNA or other molecules found in life as we know it.
“The committee’s investigation makes clear that life is possible in forms different from those on Earth,” the scientists conclude in their report, “The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems,” published yesterday by the National Research Council….
And then ZDNet has an article: “Five outsourcing trends to watch“³
Which way is the wind blowing in the outsourcing market? What’s looming on the horizon in the next five years?
Silicon.com has identified five areas to watch:
Consolidation, Globalization, Person-to-person offshoring, Green sourcing, and Virtual worlds.
What? Not what you expected? Me either, but… think about it. Maybe, just maybe - An opportunity.
meanwhile, Eco Friendly Furniture is on the Way
It seems that the world is going green, and not the color rather the eco friendly concept of taking care of mother earth. The furniture industry which uses so many raw materials from foam to an abundance of wood, is finding ways to join the plan. Furniture Style has an article this month with some companies using renewable and recycled materials as a way of doing business….
At GenBetween: Though it probably makes sense, research now supports the idea that grandchildren who were lovingly cared for by grandparents are more likely to take care of the grandparents as they (the grandparents) age….
“Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.”
¹ The New York Times, By Barnaby J. Feder, July 7, 2007
Evolving View of Dangers of Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial Fibrillation FAQ
Working From Within
² The New York Times, By Carl Zimmer, July 7, 2007
³ By Natasha Lomas, Silicon.com, ZDNet News: July 6, 2007
