Category Health economics
Harmless remedy or dangerous pharmaceutical?
In Canada, melatonin is deemed to be a "nutritional supplement." It's sold in most pharmacies and health food stores as a natural and healthy way of overcoming jetlag or ensuring a good night's sleep. In the UK, melatonin is a harder to come by. In 1995, its designation was changed from nutritional supplement to "medicinal product", which meant that […]
Chalk Up Another for the Economics of Google Searches
The Google search engine continues to demonstrate its use as a tool for predicting human behaviour and activity based on the frequency of topics searched by its users. Google data has been used to track flu activity and even fertility behaviour. A Banca D’Italia November 2012 working paper by Francesco D’Amuri and Juri Marcucci is […]
Who is the caregiver?
In the picture on the right, who is the caregiver, the man or the woman? (To find out the answer, click "Continue reading…").
Value for Money in Health
The Conference Board is having a Summit on Sustainable Health and Health Care October 30th and 31st in Toronto featuring a plethora of media, industry, health service and academic experts who will focus on the need to refocus the health system “from treating acute illness to preventing and managing chronic disease so governments, healthcare leaders […]
What Does Health Spending Buy You?
Last WCI post, I used the OECD 2012 Health Data spending statistics to examine the growth of total health care spending. The question I want to look at this time is what does increased spending yield a health care system in terms of the health care resources available? While we are concerned with the cost […]
Health Spending Update: Into the 21st Century
The OECD released its Health Data 2012 statistics several months ago and they are certainly worth a glance given that rising health spending is still a big international policy issue, and the capacity to pay has taken a recessionary hit during the first decade of the 21st century.
Why Medicare Vouchers Are Inefficient
The little-known microeconomics textbook Zowning and Bupan does an excellent job of presenting the case against medicare vouchers:
Game of Premiers: The Premiers, Health & Public Policy
Well, Canada’s premiers and territorial leaders are gathering in Halifax this week engaged in their version of the Game of Thrones with hurt feelings and fiscal uncertainty rather than beheadings, swordplay and pillaging the most likely dire consequences. Among the issues planned for discussion are energy and health care. Not on the official agenda will […]
Modern medicine, warts and all
Warts epitomize the dilemmas of modern medicine. They are pervasive – Verruca Vulgaris is called "the common wart" for a reason. They're not life threatening, but they diminish life quality. They can be treated with the latest high tech laser weaponry – or left to their own devices, as warts not infrequently go away without treatment. […]
Is the Health Care Cost Curve In Canada Finally Bending?
While public health care spending in Canada has been growing, what has not received a lot of attention is that after adjusting for inflation and population, growth rates of real per capita public health spending in Canada have actually been declining.
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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