Hearing Economics

Last year’s top Hearing Economics post  listed some US patents granted in the hearing industry. The list may have stimulated readership, so another cherry-picked list of recent patents will show up in next week’s post and will be updated every few months.  In the meantime, today’s post looks at the exciting afterlife of patents in biotechnology.  Patent Wars   Not

This multi-part series begins here: Back to the Future, Part I: Are we retailers?    This series checks in on predictions made by Lars Kolind in the late 1990s, published in the final chapter{{1}}[[1]]Jerger JJ, Skafte MD, Kolind L. The future of audiology practice management.  Chapter 21. In Hosford-Dunn H, Roeser R, & Valente, M. (2000). Audiology: Practice Management (1st Ed). NY:

Today’s post comes from Guest Editor Ryan Kalef, an Audiologist practicing in the Greater Vancouver area of BC (see his bio at the end of this post). It describes the economic conundrum of providing services in scarcely populated areas in Canada and Government policy innovations put in place in one province, but not another.   The post should interest  many readers, not

“The secret of success is to get up early, work late and strike oil.” John D Rockefeller Recent posts at Hearing Economics have put forth the position that independent hearing healthcare providers — Audiologists and dispensers — are like wheat farmers, in the sense that they are toiling away in fields, under the hot sun, hoping their harvest is not

Hearing Economics went out on a testimonial limb two weeks ago by describing one Audiologist’s positive interactions with a local Costco dispensing operation.  The Audiologist was me and I braced myself for an onslaught of insults and vituperation from colleagues.  Remarkably, that has not happened (yet) and I’ve canceled my reservation for the witness protection program.  Readers’ comments were measured and

Innovation also means finding  ways to adapt.  Editor’s Caveat:  This is the 3rd in a series that reveals cost cutting measures in tiny, independent practices under duress.  In my case,  our 1.5-person, part-time practice is in a locale hit hard by rapid changes in hearing healthcare.  We think about reducing marginal costs all the time and the more we think, the

Am I suggesting that everyone go work for Costco? No, but I think those who do probably deserve more respect than they get.  David Kirkwood The hearing impaired should be offered the widest possible selection of instrumentation and dispensing models.  One size does not fit everyone.   K. Ray Katz  Costco has rapidly emerged as the second largest US retailer of

Shhhh.  This is a test.  Last week’s post described high-level healthcare fraud by its defining characteristics and discussed Audiologists’ healthcare fraud exposure at the end.  Readership was not high compared to the Zombie post that preceded it. Two hypotheses are put forth to explain observed differences in Audiologists’ reading preferences: H1:   Audiologists are way too into zombies for their own

 Hearing Economics is juggling several series right now, including one on regulation of professional practices and another on professional theft and fraud.  They’re running in parallel as a reminder that theft is not only immoral and unethical, it’s powerfully destructive.  Innovative, over-the-top frauds can influence Government policy and spending at least as much as powerful special interest groups.   Big

Zombies are a value stock. They are wordless and oozing and brain dead, but they’re an ever-expanding market with no glass ceiling. Zombies are a target-rich environment, literally and figuratively.{{1}}[[1]] Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead[[1]] No doubt about it, zombies are a target market for a number of goods and services, but one that Audiologists have thus far failed to exploit in