Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Where does your candidate stand on health care?

This is a neat little tool for comparing the presidential candidates' positions on health care. Choose up to four, and get a side-by-side comparison:

Health08.org

One caveat: looks like the information was compiled from the candidates' websites, speeches, debates, etc. (sources are listed) rather than from questionnaires submitted to the candidates, so one cannot rule out bias on the part of the information-gatherer.

Monday, October 01, 2007

Why we have EMTALA

Foreign woman rejected 7 times by hospitals in western Japan after childbirth
The incident happened in August 2006, but was reported in Japan on Thursday in the wake of the case of a 38-year-old woman who suffered a miscarriage last month after ten hospitals refused to admit her and her ambulance collided with another car.

The cases have raised concerns about shortcomings in emergency care for pregnant women, an growing worry as Japan grapples with declining birthrates - among the lowest in the world - and a burgeoning elderly population.

...

Last year, a pregnant woman in western Japan died after being refused admission by about 20 hospitals that said they were full.