Deciphering the Healthcare Debate

Editors Desk

When TuftScope was first published in 2001 seven years had passed since the last failed effort (1994 Clinton Plan) to reform the American healthcare system. Now 15 years later healthcare reform is once more on the agenda. Newspapers, pundits, healthcare providers, academic journals and a host of other organizations with competing interests and perspectives have produced a veritable torrent of information since January 2009. Even the most astute reader can find themselves lost in the myriad of sources and updates coming from Washington every day. This is why, in part, TuftScope has chosen to take a more active role in the dissemination of healthcare information and analysis at this time. Yet providing information regarding healthcare reform represents a serious challenge for the journal and its staff.

The policy of the Editorial Board has consistently been to provide a balanced perspective on the issues of health, ethics, and policy. For the print publication editors can devote weeks to the analysis and peer-review of any given paper. The TuftScope Online Log by its very nature prevents such extensive review at risk of falling behind on topics. What the print publication gains from careful study is lost in timeliness. Often a paper written during the previous year and published a year later will have been superseded by current events or research. These are the inherent issues that any journal must contend with. The potential for misrepresentation and bias is heightened by rapid publication of material.

While we seek to implement a careful review of all postings, the material on the TuftScope Online Log is developed from each author’s unique perspective. Nevertheless, we remain committed to presenting informative, reasonable, and careful news, reviews and commentary. We hope that our readers will enjoy our blog’s content as the nation prepares for another round of reform.