RWL Newsletter #16
Greetings from rainy, cold, and kinda gloomy Durham! Perfect weather for Halloween! Here's a little economics and empathy for your reading, watching, and listening pleasure this weekend!
Read
What: from the WSJ, Give a Kidney, Get a Kidney
http://www.wsj.com/articles/give-a-kidney-get-a-kidney-1470265583
Why: I have colleagues in the econ profession who would like to see formal markets in the sale of kidneys. I understand that, and can sort of embrace it intellectually, but I see the possibility of a lot of market imperfections that could have significant externalities. This approach takes a step towards liquifying the market, but without some of the risks of moving too quickly to a pure market approach.
Watch
What: from the Cleveland Clinic, Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care
https://youtu.be/cDDWvj_q-o8
Why: Four minute video from the Cleveland Clinic about empathy. It's not an ad for the CC. I worked in hospitals for many years before I switched to academia. I've always been an administrator, focused on the operations of the hospital, never a clinician actually caring for patients directly, and I know I sometimes forgot as I was walking through the halls about the broader purpose of the organization as I wrestled with the problems I was trying to solve, that all ultimately tied back to patient care, but were often several levels removed from the actual patients. Sometimes when I realized I had lost my connection to the real mission of the organization, I would sometimes joke with my colleagues that we could really run a great hospital if we could get all these darn patients out of the way. It helped remind me why I was spending all this time studying spreadsheets. What I like about this video is that it isn't just about having empathy for the patients, but recognizing that the people giving the care are human beings, too, and they are going through their own stuff - good or bad.
Listen
What: Planet Money, Pay Patients, Save Money
http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/10/02/445371930/episode-655-pay-patients-save-money
Why: Planet Money is a great general economics show, and in this episode they take on pricing in healthcare, which is just fascinating. One of the companies they look at is (or was) located here in Manchester - SmartShopper. Not sure if they are still around, but I have been meaning to look them up. I'd love to talk to the founder.
That's it for this week! Have a great weekend! If you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://tinyletter.com/markbonica
I' d love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line by e-mail, or you can tweet to me at @bonicatalent .
Thanks for reading and see you next week!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
Twitter: @bonicatalent
"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor." - Henry David Thoreau