As a marketer it’s important to be able to take a step back and look at the marketing environment from a patients perspective. Over the last couple of weeks, for example, consumers have read:
by Aldebra Schroll, MDI was enjoying lunch at a local café when I overheard one staffer say to another that she was facing her twenty fifth birthday soon. She went on to say, 25 is the last "real" birthday, after that "you're just getting old". I had to laugh, since I'm well past that age and holding up. Sure, there are some wrinkles and gray ...
by Mark HendricksonOne sport that really bothers me is Major League Baseball. Why? It seems as though the hard-headed people calling the shots, and games for that matter, would rather keep their pride than make the right call.Instant replay is no secret. It isn’t a new, untested technology—its been around since the mid 50’s and every professional sports league uses it with game-changing results, except the ...
Here are the top posts from this past week, based on the number of times they were viewed.1. Why a patient waited 80 hours in the ER for placement. The psychiatrists wouldn’t take him since they “wouldn’t feel comfortable” with his orthopedic injuries. And so he remained the in the ER.2. The hysterical patient during a busy ER shift. You go back in that room with a different ...
When a health system asked me to facilitate a Board discussion on physician alignment and integration on November 12, 2010, I was already committed to giving a keynote on the future of health care for the American Institute of CPAs in Las Vegas on November 11. Although I usually fly Delta or USAir where I have priority frequent flyer status, the only way I could get to the Board meeting ...
This semester is coming to an end and we are almost halfway done with first year. I say semester, but technically we use the block system. What’s the block system? Here, it refers to dividing the academic school year into single subject blocks. Instead of taking concurrent, year-long courses, we spend several weeks on one course. For instance, we started off with 5 weeks of only biochemistry, then 8 weeks ...
The OR was hushed on Friday.Normally, it is a loud, busy place. The staff and surgeons are almost like a big family; we chat with each other and banter cheerfully with patients to help get their minds off the imminent ordeal of surgery. Chaplains pray with patients and families. Sometimes there are disagreements, as in any workplace. But everyone cares about everyone else.Because of that caring, it was hushed. Instead ...
We recently discussed the plight of young medical faculty. It appears that their plight is even worse than we imagined.Recently, an abstract was presented at the Annual Conference on Research in Medical Education at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges, in a session entitled, "Your Career is More than Your Specialty."The authors described a large survey, of over 5000 faculty at 26 US ...
MedPage Today News Editor Joyce Frieden and Washington Correspondent Emily Walker sat down with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to talk about fixing the sustainable growth rate, implementing the Affordable Care Act, rebooting the electronic health record initiative, and -- of course -- they talked about money.The video is embedded below:classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="356" height="294" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0">
My old Canadian friend toxicologist Cliff Walberg was right when he famously said, "there is absolutely no limit to how revolting things can be."Remember that. It comes in handy, in addition to strong swear words, when stuff happens.Case in point: I believe that every American deserves the right to choose to have a death with dignity and as pain-free as medical science and practice can provide.To achieve that, patients and ...
Dr. Erdoc happened to look up when the internist walked into the emergency department.“Oh no,” he murmured under his breath. The consulting psychiatrist was sitting next to him, typing a note. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.“I hoped it wouldn’t be him. Unlike his colleagues, Dr. Internist seems to have a deep loathing for us emergency docs,” Dr. Erdoc explained as he stood up. Dr. Internist was frowning ...
"We have a patient on a ventilator here who is stable enough to transfer to your ICU, if that's OK with you."This call, coming from the transfer coordinator, is emblematic of an insurance generated "medical care" coverage issue. I am salaried under the patient's insurance carrier so the insurer wants this patient back under its wing as soon as possible.The community hospital has been keeping Stella Norris (not her real ...
Like most everyone else, I took a break from my evening chores the past few nights, and watched Jeopardy!IBM's super-computer, Watson, was taking on Jeopardy! phenoms Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. [SPOILER] The computer won handily.After watching, I began to study for my upcoming board re-certification exam.But, then, I wondered. Why?
In the New York Times, applications for Watson are ...
I just finished another inpatient service stretch at our community hospital with some great cases and lots of good medicine. While attending rounds may have changed a lot in the last 40 years as highlighted in a recent Annals of Internal Medicine article, some things have not changed – the focus on medical student presentations during attending rounds.Students spend hours through their call nights preparing for the visit ...
by Danielle Ofri, MD, PhDEvery illness is unique, and every person faces illness in his or her own way.Anna Deveare Smith, in her one-woman Broadway show "Let Me Down Easy," slips into the persona of twenty individuals who have faced an aspect of illness or death. In ninety minutes, Deveare Smith takes the audience on an existential scavenger hunt, allowing us to observe, and occasionally ...
I was puzzled by a Health Affairs article showing the public finds arguments against treatment guidelines a lot more compelling than arguments in favor. But after reading the technical appendix, which contains the full text of the survey, I think the problem is that the researchers framed the question poorly. In particular, the researchers portrayed guidelines as unrealistically rigid.In A National Survey Reveals Public Skepticism About Research-Based Treatment ...
A bill given emergency status by Texas Governor Rick Perry is the largest invasion of the patient-physician relationship that I am aware of. Proposed by Senator Dan Patrick (R-Houston) and supported by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the bill as originally written would require physicians to perform a ultrasound and explain the physical characteristics of the fetus to anyone contemplating an abortion.Physicians would be required to inform women about alternatives to ...
While DrRich is a conservative American, and has made plain the difficulties he has with the Progressive program in general and with Progressive healthcare reform in particular, at times he is forced to admit that, on occasion, the Progressive way of looking at the world has certain merits. And as DrRich contemplates a question that has been bothering him lately, a question that no doubt plagues many American ...
There are plenty of reasons why medical students aren't choosing primary care as careers.Lack of role models. Perception of professional dissatisfaction. High burnout rate among generalist doctors. Long, uncontrollable hours.But what about salary? Until now, the wage disparity between primary care doctors and specialists has only been an assumed reason; the evidence was largely circumstantial. After all, ...
As part of the routine scut of the overnight call team, I was sent up to the floor to preop an add-on for the next day’s OR schedule.The Preoperative Anesthesia Assessment form has tidy little boxes for cardiac, pulmonary, renal, hematologic and an assortment of other complaints, and spaces for height, weight, allergies and personal or family history of untoward reactions to anesthesia. I put a single slash through the ...
According to a recent study from the Archives of Internal Medicine, primary care physicians are referring more patients to specialists than ever...
One of the reasons there is such a movement against vaccines is the democratization of information, perpetuated by search engines like Google....
In a widely circulated CNN article, many radiologists have been found to cheat on their board exams: "Doctors around the country taking an...
Are doctors really going broke? According to this piece from CNN Money, some are: "Doctors list shrinking insurance reimbursements, changing regulations, rising...
As physicians, we are often called upon to be advocates for our patients. Sometimes they have no other person to turn to....
Mike was a runner, outdoors-man, and fitness nut. This was not so much as for health reasons as for "feeling good", but...
William Osler famously said (among other things): “Listen to the patient. He is telling you the diagnosis.” I was doing my obstetrical...
The little boy, who looked to be about two, darted away in a fit of giggles. His young mother, who seemed thoroughly...
For health care professionals, patient engagement is the holy grail of health care. It is the key to patient adherence – a...
This is a response to Deb Discenza's article requesting a one page informational sheet informing a patient about hospice or palliative care. This would...
So, Megen at Not Nurse Ratched wrote post recently about therapeutic presence. The following passage really caught my attention: "Question is: are...
People often ask me how I became a hospice volunteer. For the record, nobody is more surprised than I am. You know...
A social media movement is happening before our eyes with action starting to take shape. The #occupyhealthcare movement has begun within to...
The triple aim of health care, as defined by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is: improving the experience of care, bettering...
The storyline is familiar. An organization is challenged to achieve better results without spending more money. An executive is committed to obtaining...
Why are cancer organizations waiting until it starts to rain before they suggest buying an umbrella? “Join my Medicare Advantage plan and...
Many clinical decisions in older persons are dependent on life expectancy. For example, as life expectancy declines, cancer screening is likely to...
“To Err Is Human” is the title of the now famous book from the Institute of Medicine on patient safety published about...
Professor Gunter Dueck, is a calm and eloquent german mathematician who’s also the CTO of IBM Germany. He studied mathematics and philosophy...
Robotics has the potential to revolutionize the delivery of healthcare. It can help extend the delivery of information, expertise and clinical care...
As a physician, technology cannot replace you, but it can make you more efficient and effective. This was the message from Richard...
Looking ahead to the next several months, I’ve found myself frequently wondering how many physicians will make this their year to take...
The physician’s decision to first dive into social media can be stress-inducing. Issues of time management, maintaining professionalism, and determining a return...
The impact of social media on medicine could arguably be compared to the impact of the industrial revolution on the human condition....
