Long wait times in emergency departments have led to a resurgence of urgent care centers.
The LA Times has a piece on the phenomenon, and notes that many of these facilities have opened up in suburbs, where patients with insurance tend to live.
By skimming off the profitable and straight-forward cases, emergency departments have generally taken a disparaging view of their urgent care brethren. Sandra Schneider, vice president ...
April 2009
All Stories
Ten top medical blog posts, April 2009
Here are the top posts from this past month, based on the number of times they were viewed.
1. How do I prevent and treat swine flu, and, is a pandemic imminent?
2. The Craigslist Killer is a Boston University medical student
3. Is the nursing shortage overblown?
4. Most hospitalists are good, but some, like these ones, aren't
5.
Why doctors skip medical interpreters, and how that damages physician-patient communication
Physicians are often pressed for time, both in the hospital and the clinic.
And for those who don't speak English, that represents a huge problem. Not only are many cash-strapped hospitals cutting back on interpreter services, those that have them aren't always being utilized.
As surgeon Pauline Chen notes, "Patients who speak English poorly or not at all face longer hospital stays, an increased risk of ...
Rob Lamberts on the KevinMD Live Q&A: Wednesday, April 29th at 10:30pm Eastern
The theme of my next Live Q&A will be health IT and electronic medical records.
Primary care physician Rob Lamberts will be taking your questions. Blogging at the acclaimed Musings of a Distractible Mind, Dr. Lamberts is one of the minority of doctors who has successfully implemented and integrated electronic health records into his daily practice. He has both written insightful blog entries and published numerous articles ...
Rahul Parikh: Anti-vaccine ads, and how false advertising harms children
The following is a reader take by Rahul Parikh.
Where is the line between true and false advertising? And should we be more careful when the claims an ad makes has potential health consequences for children and communities?
Let's ask newspapers that question about big adverts they've printed from Generation Rescue, an autism advocacy group, the one headed up by Jenny McCarthy, who regularly ...
Prescription medication pay for performance, and the rationale behind it
Are drug companies putting money where their mouths are?
In a new trend, the pharmaceutical industry is offering what the NY Times calls, "money-back guarantees," essentially paying for treatments if their drug fails.
For instance, the makers of the osteoporosis drug Actonel will pay "$30,000 for a hip fracture . . and $6,000 for a wrist fracture," if a patient taking their drug suffers those conditions.
Medicare now requires physician essays for hospice care, as if pre-authorizations weren’t bad enough
Medicare is considering throwing more bureaucracy our way.
As MedPage Today reports, because Medicare was "concerned about a rising number of hospice patients who survive longer than six months," they are now requiring physicians to write a narrative to "describe the clinical evidence supporting a life expectancy of six months or less."
Even worse, this comes on top of a 1.1 percent cut in reimbursements to hospice ...
Patients still trust their doctors, and how that can influence health reform
I've always maintained that patients will make or break health reform plans.
And with no shortage of advocacy groups wanting a seat at the health reform table, the one that connects best with the public will have the most influence.
Doctors, despite being under continual criticism from progressive and health policy circles, still have the confidence of most patients.
According to a recent poll, despite acknowledging ...
Accepting drug perks, or hiding the fact that you did. What’s worse?
There's a movement afloat where medical students would cover up the names of drugs on promotional gifts with duct tape.
But, as medical student Adina Cappell notes, does that really solve anything?
"The problem is, by covering up the name of the pharmaceutical company," she writes, "the future doctor does his patients and colleagues a disservice . . . By accepting perks, but refusing to give up ...
Reader take: Patients should be allowed to access their entire medical record
The following is a reader take, in response to a post on whether patients should own their medical records, by an anonymous nurse.
Dear Dr. Pho,
I wish to respond to your position on patient access to their medical records both as a patient and a nurse.
If a doctor or other health professional believes their documentation would be inappropriate or too sensitive for ...
Will banning drug company sponsorship harm patients?
Often times, when something is banned, unintended consequences ensue.
And when it comes to industry sponsorship, including free drug samples and pharmaceutical sponsorship of CME, it's no exception.
In a recent piece, it's no secret that I've thought that doctors continue to be influenced by industry sponsorship. To combat this, there are various forces that advocate banning drug company sponsorship of continuing medical education courses, eliminating ...
Retired physicians are going back to work, but are there jobs waiting for them?
The recession and stock market downturn are forcing previously retired doctors to go back to work.
But, after being away from medicine for so long, some are finding that hospitals and clinics aren't willing to take them back with open arms.
Malpractice coverage will be higher for these physicians, and indeed, a cited gastroenterologist commented that "he couldn't get liability coverage because he hadn't done an endoscopy ...
How the primary care doctor shortage threatens Obama’s health reform plan
Top story in The New York Times.
Excellent.
There's hope that maybe, just maybe, we're getting through to the decision makers in Washington.
The article itself is old news to regular readers of this blog, and regurgitates many of the arguments impeding health reform, as well as the problems in solving them.
"Obama administration officials, alarmed at doctor shortages, are looking for ways to increase ...
Poll: Should salt intake be regulated by the government?
New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg recently introduced an initiative to pressure the food industry to cut salt intake by half over the next decade.
Combined with the city's ban on trans-fats and move to post calorie counts in restaurants, this is part of an emerging trend where the government is taking decisive steps to control what we eat. But, in the case of salt - to what end?
KevinMD Live Q&A: Sunday, April 26th at 10:30pm Eastern
Here's your chance to ask me questions about the past week's events, such as the swine flu outbreak, my USA Today op-ed on cancer screening, the Craigslist Killer, or anything else that crosses your mind.
Just click the window below on Sunday, April 26th at 10:30pm Eastern. I'm looking forward to answering your questions.
