Writer’s block is terrifying with an approaching deadline, which began to concern me as the deadline for this post approached. Perhaps only in 2020 could a writer be given the gift of two completely unrelated events on the same day: the announcement of Saturday..
Recent Posts
Farr’s Law, COVID-19 and Inconvenient Truth
Our hometown of Music City is known for what the inestimable Harlan Howard referred to as “three chords and the truth.” Unfortunately, the truth is that no one knows enough about a pandemic that has ravaged the planet for months. At best, the world has “a tiger by..
Farr’s Law, Y’all
UPDATED: Farr's Law Applied to COVID-19 Data through August 16
Either Erwin Schrödinger or Arthur Schopenhauer said the following:
Applying Farr's Law to Covid-19 in the United States
In 1840, William Farr submitted a letter to the Registrar-General regarding his observations on the causes of death in England and Wales in the year 1838. In his 28-page abstract, Mr. Farr had occasion to observe certain characteristics of the virulent smallpox..
The British Are Coming!
Part I: A Look at the Post-Election Healthcare System
In 2005, Humana engaged me to develop a business plan to enter the population health business in the United Kingdom. As I sat in the Virgin Health office on the sixth floor of a house on Half Moon Street in..
Consumers Are "Frozen" With Fear ... and Waiting to be Rescued
In Frozen 2, Elsa follows a mysterious voice on a journey that leads her to being frozen on the mythical glacier of Ahtohallan. Fortunately, the Earth Spirits come to Elsa's rescue by creating a flood that allows Elsa to thaw out and return to save her kingdom...
Ol’ Blue Eyes and the CNN Virus
Ol' Blue Eyes famously sang, "it's up to you, New York." If Frank is right, heaven help us, because based on relentless media reports, New York is a harbinger for the entire country. But clinically speaking, the NY Metro area is an N of 1 trial. A clinical trial..
United Health Group, John Lennon and Black Swans
Imagine the unimaginable: what if United bought HCA? The world is in the midst of what John Lennon would say are “strange days indeed, most peculiar, Mama.” In less than 30 days, the U.S. healthcare system has endured what Nassim Nicholas Taleb refers to as a “Black..
Healthcare’s “Too Big To Fail” Moment
Every health system executive remembers how the Federal government effectively determined the fate of large banks in the 2008-2009 recession. While certain firms like AIG were deemed “too big to fail”, others like Lehman Brothers were doomed to immediate demise. A..
