gdp's Comments

Asia Healthcare Blog : Wanna be doing health in China? Beware of red flags (of the minesweeper variety), expect lots of im

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:49:32 +0000

Hi Chris. You\\\'re welcome. You\\\'ve got a very interesting site yourself. I\\\'ll feature it on here soon.

Asia Healthcare Blog : Wanna be doing health in China? Beware of red flags (of the minesweeper variety), expect lots of im

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:44:55 +0000

Like a friend said to me \\\"We all have the ability to recognize bad information, but for whatever reason there are people who choose to ignore it.\\\" Maybe it is the case then that the younger we are the more we choose to ignore? Maybe...

Asia Healthcare Blog : How NOT to write a law school essay - Part I

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:56:41 +0000

Thank you for the concern. But it all turned out pretty well without the help...two thirds of writing is revising.

Asia Healthcare Blog : Rodenberry never thought that Speaking Trek would mean speaking Chinese and Hindi

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:44:09 +0000

You know, that\\\'s a great point I missed. THE Lunar landing would probably become the Chinese touchdown. This is perhaps the strongest argument for why the landing would mark China\\\'s ascent as one of the world\\\'s leading cultural trend setters. New achievements take the place of older history. I just finished Rogert Crowley\\\'s Empires of the Sea and I was amazed again and again by just how important the Ottoman empire was to the politics of Europe. For a long time, they were THE boogeymen of Europe. These guys murdered, skinned alive, abducted, and enslaved countless numbers of people in Europe over a period of 200+ years. Their dominance eventually led the greatest Alliance of European powers (Spain, Venice, and the Vatican) ever seen. Growing up, however, the only boogeymen that we were warned about in school were of the German variety, and THE Alliance people talked of was headlined by gun wielding GIs. Even though both the Nazi and the Ottoman menace defined the politics of Europe and led to equally momentous alliances, only one set of these occurrences matters - the newer one.

Asia Healthcare Blog : Is Chinese Hospital Reform lagging because the Chinese don't know any better?

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 17:57:03 +0000

You won't find an argument from me regarding the superior schooling of American doctors compared to MDs from elsewhere in the world. Consider 4 years of pre-med, 4 summers of research as undergraduates, 4 years of med school (again, limited free time in the summer), 3-8 years of residency, another few years of fellowship...it's no contest. Bottom line though, when someone who studies for four years and gets a finance degree, or even a degree in English, it's not fair that they make as much as those who study much more in medical school. This is true anywhere in the world. Medical school everywhere, frankly, is much tougher than any other school or PhD program one goes through. (The only people who'll disagree with me have never been around a medical school curriculum). But, it's hard for me to say that Chinese doctors are much more fortunate. At the same time, I don't want to paint with too broad a brush, and say that all Chinese doctors as victims. They're not, and they are. The truth , as always, is complicated. The easiest thing to say is that there are bad ones and there are good ones. But, the system in China is negatively incentivized to make it easier for good doctors to become bad or for bad ones to thrive. Stories like your friends are unfortunate and all too common when doctor's think with their purse. Giving patients the ability to sue doctors in China would be a good way to curb some of the abuses; and America can provide the example of where to draw the line with medical malpractice, seeing as how, here, the system is too much incentivized towards suing doctors without cause.

Asia Healthcare Blog : Pfizer's China Strategy shows why they are still alive in the Big Pharma Consolidation Wars

Fri, 5 Feb 2010 02:26:42 +0000

If we are talking about the period of time when drug companies were wining and dining American doctors, the no. If we are talking about the need to go door to door and really inform doctors about the merits of a product, then yes.

Asia Healthcare Blog : Why long term care market in China will open up only after today's real estate bubble pops

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 21:20:31 +0000

Trust me, no moment in time is full of only lost opportunities.

Asia Healthcare Blog : The rural life and times of China's aging population , Part I

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:34:12 +0000

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved. Check out some of the micro lending sites if you are looking to help from abroad (guessing you might be from you IP address.)

Asia Healthcare Blog : The rural life and times of China's aging population, Part II: Caregivers and Psychologocial Outcome

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:16:28 +0000

That's an interesting take Arianna. I tend to think that culture plays a large role in quality of life and life expectancy just because if one lives in a culture where grandparents are treated as the center of a family and get to see their grandchildren often, then they have something to live for. I have no comment on whether or not this is less true in American...lets remember that America is a very big place, and probably the most culturally inscrutable place on the planet.

Asia Healthcare Blog : Health reform, too, falls on the shoulders of America's baby boomers

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:30:28 +0000

You've taken the statement out of context. The Professor is listening to a classroom of high achieving young people, who are studying policy and thinking about these issues at a policy level more complex than your average American listening to talking heads on television. Yes, many of them are elite students, who have earned a place at one of America's small percentage of competitive colleges through hard work and talent.

By wrestling with the details of health policy formulation on a day to day basis these students absolutely gain a much better understanding of health policy than the majority of people who do not get this training. Do I think this means that they are more likely to have a better understanding of health policy than the average person, even the older ones who have had time to find wisdom? Yes, absolutely. The wisdom of time can only get you so far in understanding complex issues. Sixty year olds cannot magically become great surgeons by skipping medical school and then watching E.R. the next forty years.

Do I think that an education at a competitive college automatically means that someone is better informed about the topic? Certainly not. Does the reverse hold true, that someone who went to, lets say, a community college is automatically not well informed about the topic? Certainly not, again. Bottom line, the main point to take out of this is that within the college environment students, no matter their major, have the advantage of thinking about health policy formulation, without having to listen to the screaming of political hacks.

Am I an arrogant, elitist prick? It depends on how you define it. I do not think that everybody's opinion holds the same weight on certain issues, and health reform is certainly one of them. But, yes, I do think that everyone having a vote in the matter is a good thing for the sake of consistency. I guess its a matter of opinion/perception.

Finally, as a side note, think about how people's willingness to immediately, without so much as an introduction, resort to name calling on television, the internet, and other public forums is impeding any real chances we have at progress on many important issues of governance, not just health policy.

Asia Healthcare Blog : Chinese numbers: TCM for treating A/H1N1

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:55:56 +0000

I remember that period In Beijing. One day I went outside and everybody was wearing masks.

Asia Healthcare Blog : Obesity and Cancer On the Rise in China. It’s not America’s fault.

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:58:34 +0000

Agreed. But, obesity seems to have plateaued in America according to new studies done last year. An alternative to sitting and working is raising the table and putting in a treadmill...I\\\'m definitely thinking about it.

Asia Healthcare Blog : Human Rights Watch Writes About Drug Rehabilitation, in China

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:57:03 +0000

Agreed, I just don\\\'t know how much they can do. China is increasingly demonstrating that it does not care to hold itself accountable to international laws, which it views with suspicion. There\\\'s a great post by China Law Blog on this issue - http://www.chinalawblog.com/2010/01/with_chinas_n...

Asia Healthcare Blog : China's Essential Drug List prompts Rise of Retail Drug Stores

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:57:43 +0000

Good question. I have to make a call to see.

Asia Healthcare Blog : How China is Shaping North Carolina's Future, Part II: Learning From Our Neighbors

Wed, 9 Dec 2009 02:56:52 +0000

Thanks a bunch. We\\\'re trying...currently we are in the process of expanding so bear with us as we site build and skimp on further articles. New stuff will be up in January 2010

Asia Healthcare Blog : How China is Shaping North Carolina's Future: A Shotgun Romance

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:05:05 +0000

My common sense instincts have me agreeing with Stuart...just ask the IBM staffers losing their jobs...

Asia Healthcare Blog : CNN says healthcare in India = Good, healthcare in China = Bad. Just another reason why CNN's ratin

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:01:33 +0000

Samuel - after reading your thesis, I actually can\\\'t wait for you to put up a report about the rural cooperative schemes that goes deeper than what I can only touch on

Asia Healthcare Blog : CNN says healthcare in India = Good, healthcare in China = Bad. Just another reason why CNN's ratin

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:32:46 +0000

agree with everything but the part about stem cell treatments which I am still deeply skeptical about

Asia Healthcare Blog : How China is Shaping North Carolina's Future: A Shotgun Romance

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:35:36 +0000

@Aimee, Regarding the question about political implications: There are, of course, possible sales ramifications if US based consumers learn of Lenovo's mismanagement of American workers. But, if it is the case that Lenovo's business strategy is China based, then its understanding of consumers could be as well. A less than thorough understanding of American consumers would make it quite probable that the company is not even thinking about the possible sales ramifications of a North Carolina move.

Asia Healthcare Blog : China Healthcare Reform; More Sun, Less Bear with a Flashlight

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:03:03 +0000

You are very right. I apologize for that - I put this post up very quickly as a response to another article. Great photo!