The source file for this timeline can be viewed here.
Learned Something Today
It’s been dubbed the second deadliest school shooting in US history, after the 2007 Virginia Tech incident. If you’ve been watching the news, you’re probably already an expert in this tragedy. As opposed to previous gun massacres, this time around, the media has done a pretty good job at focusing on recovery rather than presenting the gory, rating-bringing details. But as I surfed the different channels covering Sandy Hook Elementary (and there were plenty), listening to discussions about gun control, gun violence and the factors playing into these incidents, few (if any) news commentators gave hard facts about gun ownership or gun deaths. And so, the journey for knowledge started; knowledge which I share with you in the figures and tables below. As a side note, I do not own a gun, although I will one day purchase one for my protection and leisure. Continue reading…
Almost 122 million Americans visited the polls on November 6th to cast their votes in arguably one of the most controversial election cycles in decades. After three days of early ballots and a full day of voting, President Barrack Obama was re-elected and offered a second term as President of the United States of America, winning 332 of the 538 Electoral College votes. Voting behavior has been historically (and consistently) associated with values and attitudes related to beliefs, views on race, and even church attendance and reading a newspaper. Yet, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act (popularly known as Obamacare), the outcome of the 2012 elections weighed heavily on voter’s decision to keep or repeal it. Provisions included in the ACA are designed to increase access to preventive health services, giving access to health insurance to over 50 million uninsured Americans. Continue reading…
I’ve been involved with health care (one way or another) long enough to realize that there is no such thing as “the right answer.” What works for one country (in terms of policy, regulations, insurance coverage etc) won’t necessarily work for another. Yet I’ve noticed that one key component that’s role has remained stable and constant throughout the tribulations of health care reform: technology. As someone put it: with healthIT innovations, its not that people SHOULD pursue ventures, its that people NEED to pursue ventures. The money is there, the need couldn’t be greater, and with ever-growing government regulation (MU etc), the adoption is there as well. These are probably the most exciting times in health care in the last century, and I’m glad to be young enough to get the full experience. Continue reading…