Healthcare reform in the US and the Myth of Bipartisanship

Rachel Maddow says it all:



Democrats will continue to waste their efforts trying to reach consensus with the party of No.

Message to obstructionist Republicans, Blue Dog Democrats, House and Senate Leadership, and President Obama: Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way.

US Healthcare Reform Starting to Look a Lot Like Business As Usual

With the Democrats still trying to get their watered-down healthcare reform legislation passed, Republicans are taking the fight to state legislatures where they are attempting to block any attempt to force citizens to purchase health insurance. This state-level opt-out, which is at various stages in about two thirds of the fifty states, could be subject to a court challenge, but it signals the fact that the Republican and their insurance lobby supporters/masters are not backing away from the fight to maintain their country's status as the world's richest third-world nation.

Obesogens?

We are all cognizant of the obesity epidemic around us, and we can certainly point to overeating and lack of exercise as causes, but are industrial food preparation methods also to blame?

Bruce Bloomberg has coined the term obesogens to describe a group of chemicals used in food preparation that mimic hormones and act as endocrine disruptors in the body. Bisphenol A (BPA) is one such chemical, and it is found in almost all industrially canned foods and in many water bottles.

Google Flu Trends Expanded to Canada and 15 Other Countries

The CBC reported today that Google Flu Trends now includes Canada and much of Europe.

Rather than depending on reports from government agencies, which can lag substantially behind the reality on the ground, Google Flu Trends tracks online searches related to the flu, and gives a nearly real-time assessment of H1N1's progress around the World.

In related news, Microsoft has launched the H1N1 Swine Flu Response Center, which lets you self-diagnose H1N1 and decide whether to seek medical help.

Are we entering a new age of corporate responsibility? Or is it just good marketing?

Discuss.

Starting an Alternative Healthcare Business in Ontario

The Canada-Ontario Business Service Centre website has some good advice on starting an alternative healthcare business in Ontario. Note the use of the word "business" as opposed to "practice."

What differentiates a business from a practice? If you're like the vast majority of alternative healthcare practitioners, you're in practice to help people first and foremost, but the success of your practice is not just dependent on your altruism or your skill as a practitioner. The current healthcare system is arguably stacked against alternative healthcare practitioners, so to be a successful practitioner, you also need to be a successful business person.

The difference between a business and a practice ultimately comes down to sales & marketing. Traditional practitioners have no trouble obtaining patients, because the healthcare infrastructure distributes them rather effectively. As a non-traditional healthcare provider, you're not so lucky. You need to find patients, and you need to make it easy for patients to find you. Just as important: you must provide the information potential patients need to make informed decisions about their own healthcare.

As long as alternative healthcare remains "alternative," it will be a conceptual sell. Even though all buying decisions are primarily emotional in nature, the target audience for your sales & marketing efforts will need to be convinced.