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Trilogy Tidings January 2009
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Happy New Year to us all! May we survive and thrive in these turbulent times. Come to think of it, most of us have survived turbulent times before, so don't sweat it. It will all work out. Patience and effective leadership are the watchwords of the day. So what else is new? Potpourri this month, from our "healthcare crisis" to some intriguing new technologies worthy of note. Funny how technologies often rescue us from ourselves from time to time; I think our collective inventiveness is one of humankind's awesome strengths. Spend five or ten minutes with me. Read on.
Best wishes, Joe
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The U.S. Healthcare Crisis: What's the Answer?
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I know you've read and thought about this issue to no end. And now you have it figured out, right? Well, maybe you haven't. Although it's an exception to my fundamental political philosophy, for the last few years I have been a single-payer guy. After scanning a new book I'm not so sure. The entire book, by Sally Pipes of the Pacific Research Institute and including a foreword by Steve Forbes, is accessible at the aforementioned link. I found this book posted on the Medpolitics web site, which seems to be a vehicle for physicians concerned about their future economic well-being to vent and suggest alternatives to a single-payer solution. Nevertheless, the web site and this particular Pipes book are worth your attention. Mr. Forbes says: "For anyone interested in getting to the core of America's health care troubles, this is the perfect book. And for health care policy makers, it should be required reading." The author addresses ten central themes in the healthcare debate and, in my view, handles each directly and effectively. The book will either reinforce your views on these issues or change your mind on some.
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Super-Cheap Analytical Systems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
George Whitesides and company at Harvard have done it again. They claim to have invented microfluidics chips, created from "paper and sticky tape", that can be produced for about $0.03 per piece. While they tout potential applications in the developing world, a potential revolution in analytical systems right here in the U.S. is a tantalizing possibility. Check out the article in The Scientist.
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