Categories
diversity

Diversity Nomenclature

What is the benefit and/or harm of using increasingly specific classifications to identify subpopulations of diverse people? Is the use of one umbrella term more effective and inclusive? Diverse communities of people are not monolithic. Subpopulations of diverse people can flourish within diverse environments which gives way to an exponential growth in our classification lexicon. […]

Categories
drugs healthcare

Patent Sovereignty: Building Fortresses and Indian Tribes

In an increasingly competitive landscape, pharmaceutical companies are finding creative ways to protect their patents. Most of the time, patents are the only things that protect a company from direct competition. If a drug is successful but still protected under a patent, other companies prepare their chemical synthesis manufacturing capabilities to be able to take […]

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healthcare

Single Payer: Case Studies

Not all single payer systems are designed and deployed the same. Varying degrees of private insurance involvement, system funding via taxes, and coverage limits make the system customized to meet the needs of the constituents. Canada is often used as the model example of a single payer system since it shares a border with the […]

Categories
healthcare

Single Payer: Complex Systems

The United States has an extremely complex healthcare system that’s comprised of conflicting ideologies. Private insurance, federally-funded Medicare, and state-funded Medicaid are all available for Americans. However, there are still 28 million people who do not have any kind of insurance (Carroll & Frakt, 2017). The positive thing that comes from this mix of systems […]

Categories
healthcare

Single Payer: Insurance Reform

The largest line item in the 2016 national healthcare budget was $1 trillion for hospital care which comprised of $670 billion for clinician services and $360 billion for drugs (Topol, 2017). Add in the fact that one in four patients are harmed while in the hospital and it’s easy to see that the American Healthcare […]

Categories
information

Information Access

“We’re just getting started on our goal of connecting everyone.” That’s the goal of Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg. I share that vision. Information should not be something that only privileged students or wealthy people have access to. It should be provided to everyone whether it’s in the form of electronic devices or printed material, social […]

Categories
society

Initial, Future State

We cannot move forward in a positive, productive fashion if we don’t fully understand the present. I aim to paint an accurate, unbiased picture of the present world so that we can decide if we need to move forward as is, or move forward with change. And if we need change, what kind of change […]