HEALTH DISPARITIES BLOG

May 04, 2009

links for 2009-05-04

• Joblessness Spurs Shift in Japan's Views on Poverty
  Concerned about their own job security, many Japanese are seeing the homeless not as troubled individuals seeking handouts, but as victims of a failing economy and a government system that offered no safety nets.
• Some hospitals asking
 for co-pays upfront
  Kettering Medical Center and other Kettering Health Network hospitals this year began to consistently request co-pays from patients, including those in their emergency departments.
• Disparity in drug prices in Pennsylvania
  Calls to local pharmacies suggest it's not uncommon for chain stores to charge significantly more for prescriptions for those without insurance. And smaller drug stores - such as the apothecary and other local pharmacies in the Hanover area - charge significantly less.
• The new BMJ online archive
  Every BMJ article published since the journal’s first issue in October 1840 is now available online from bmj.com. Introduction video available at http://www.bmj.com/video/stories.dtl