Insurance Medicine

RGA’s Dr. Daniel Zimmerman answers questions on sepsis development and mortality trends.

A recent UK report estimated that, in the absence of any progress in combating antimicrobial resistance, there would be a staggering 10,000,000 deaths globally in 2050, compared to 700,000 today. To provide some perspective for this number, antimicrobial resistance would cause more deaths than cancer. The economic cost would be US$100 trillion. The implications for the insurance industry are potentially very damaging.

It has been demonstrated that the development of microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus, especially diabetic retinopathy, can be delayed by establishing more strict glycemic control. As a result, methods of monitoring glycemic control by measuring the amount of glucose attached to various proteins in the blood have been developed.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) was created more than 50 years ago to foster global collaboration on cancer control. Today more effective therapies mean mortality rates no longer reflect incidence rates; there are now more cancer survivors partly due to advances that enable early diagnosis.

Breast cancer in women is a real public health issue. All doctors, whatever their specialty, are confronted to some extent with patients with this type of tumor. It is the second most common type of cancer in the world. Breast cancer is responsible for more than 520,000 deaths each year, and is the fifth most frequent cause of death in the world.

https://www.scor.com/images/stories/pdf/library/scor-inform/Final_SCOR_i...

It’s not so surprising that solid objects made from printed plastic or titanium, such as replacement hip joints or dental implants, can be made by 3D printers. More remarkable is that new human tissue might be printed from bio-ink comprising of droplets of living cells, stem cells and other biomaterials to replace or support an existing biological structure - a process known as regenerative medicine.

http://www.genre.com/knowledge/blog/how-3d-printing-is-changing-medical-...

Insurers should be concerned when challenged to use the clinical definition of a heart attack. There is more to a diagnosis than the definition. Navigating the conflict between clinical medicine and a contract wording is complex but can be solved.

http://de.genre.com/knowledge/publications/rm16-4-en.html

Many people incorrectly believe smoking this way is less harmful than using cigarettes, especially with non-tobacco products for use in hookah pipes often marketed as a “healthier” alternative to flavoured tobaccos. But this method of smoking itself poses significant health risk.

http://www.genre.com/knowledge/blog/why-hookah-pipes-arent-a-healthier-w...

Patients with diabetes are much more likely to die after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) than patients without diabetes, according to a study published online June 15 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

http://www.physiciansbriefing.com/Article.asp?AID=712287

Radiosurgery is a well-established and non-invasive mode of treating brain tumours and other lesions, especially in patients for whom open-brain surgery might not be a practical option. Claims professionals can benefit from a greater understanding of the role and efficacy of radiosurgery, particularly when used for conditions with complex neurological causes and in cases that might formerly have been deemed untreatable.

http://www.rgare.com/knowledgecenter/Documents/Health%20Brief%20-%20Radi...