Hearing Economics

“There are no barriers [that discourage new entrants to the hearing aid industry].  New entrants simply have to comply with regulations intended to safeguard our patients. This excerpt from a recent post on the PCAST report gives pause, prompting switching of hats from Audiologist to Economist. Though Hearing Economics has written on market barriers before, it hasn’t done an entire

Amyn Amlani, PhD, returns to Hearing Economics after a long absence, having written on “Efficacy of Smartphone-Based Technology in Improving Hearing Aid Adoption Rates” last July.   Dr. Amlani’s sustained interest in economic principles related to efficacy and consumer satisfaction are evident in these posts as well as several he wrote for the Hearing Health disruptions section several months ago.  

Downstream Consequences of Aging is a bi-monthly series written by guest columnist Barbara Weinstein, PhD.   A quality reporting program designed to improve the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries, the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) gives participating providers an opportunity to assess the quality of care  delivered  to patients.  PQRS, first covered in 2013 at HHTM, continues to roll

New hearing device patents featured new players, new money, new concepts, interesting art work, and political commentary.  Today’s feature image, courtesy of Starkey’s USPTO #9264824, may not be great art but it succinctly states the company’s dim view of Keynesian economics and government tax ideology. The art award goes to Qualcomm, which joined the hearing aid patent club with  USPTO

“Signal & Noise” is a bimonthly column by Brian Taylor, AuD. Identifying and addressing the unmet needs of people with hearing loss means more than reducing costs (the Public Health Perspective) or improving devices (the Biomedical Perspective).  The extent and limits of those approaches were covered in part 1.  Today’s post suggests that we can meet people’s hearing needs better

In early February 2016, Bloomberg business reported on rumors that claimed the investment fund that owns AudioNova, HAL Trust, was considering selling the retail network buy mobic online mobic online no prescription . However, sales of centers along with various acquisitions by the AudioNova group have recently taken place across Europe. These structural changes look less like a sell-off than

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to achieve. (With apologies to Sir Walter Scott) Speaking as a dispensing audiologist (“provider”) who writes on economic issues related to hearing care (“blogger”), let the record show that the confusing landscape of rules and regulations (R&Rs) these days has brought on writer’s block and a fear of failure

“Signal & Noise” is a bimonthly column by Brian Taylor, AuD. I recently had the privilege of listening to a panel of distinguished executives from the leading hearing aid manufacturers and retailers. Aside from the pointless squabbling about who, among their competitors has a stake in corporate retail, and the irony that a female-dominated profession was represented by an all-male

“Peeling the Onion” is a monthly column by Harvey Abrams, PhD. As John takes action to purchase hearing aids, he is likely to proceed on the perception that hearing aids are medical devices, according to MT9 survey data reported in last week’s post.  Assuming he follows the medical path, he can consult a variety of professionals, including an ENT, his primary

“Peeling the Onion” is a monthly column by Harvey Abrams, PhD. When we last left John on his Journey toward better hearing (before taking some detours to the CDC and the PCAST), John was engaged in the preparation stage of his journey as defined by the Transtheoretical (stages of change) model of behavior.   Recall that the Transtheoretical (changes of