"How many staffers should we have per doctor?" That's a question I'm asked at almost every seminar I present. Of course, like many good consultants, I almost invariably respond "it depends."
One of the factors that needs to be considered is what jobs we're talking about -- clinical or front office. It's staffing in the clinical area that will do most to enhance a physician's productivity, so that's what we'll focus ...
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"You know, what Mr. HD really needs is for his mom or somebody to chain herself to him …" [the ICU team laughs] … "But seriously, he needs to be watched over, he needs to be talked to. He needs someone to give him his medications, someone to take him to his appointments, someone to take care of him. With that somebody he can live for years to come. Without ...
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Physicians used to take care of patients at their homes.
Through the 1960s, patients would make a phone call and the doctor would arrive at the doorstep, black bag in hand, eager to serve. This changed in the mid to late-1960s as doctors developed group practices and as medical care expanded to include technology-based studies and specialty referrals, and thus became more hospital-centered. Prior to World War II, 40 percent of ...
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Almost every Sunday night, I walk to this one restaurant in my neighborhood for some comfort food (we’re creatures of habit aren’t we?).
I pass a church on my way where an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting is held almost every night. As I walk through the crowd of smokers, I look at them and they look at me. They don’t know that I know they’re recovering addicts. And they put a smile ...
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There is a critical gap in the supply of primary care physicians in the U.S., and it should come as no surprise that our existing primary care delivery and payment models are at the heart of the issue.
The traditional primary care model -- medical care provided by a physician and a small support staff, often without benefit of health information technology (HIT) -- was developed at a time when the ...
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Boston Medical Center has provided care to the underserved and Medicaid population in Boston for almost 150 years. And what's happening to the venerable institution is gut-wrenching to read. I trained at Boston Medical Center (BMC), completing my internal medicine residency there in 2002. A recent write-up in Boston Magazine highlights the financial trouble the hospital is going through:
Boston Medical Center is almost broke, perilously close to what its ...
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Before he tells you how to get a straight answers from physicians, Doctor D is going to stall for time by explaining why doctors give vague answers.
Why would a good doctor give useless answers?
1. There is an answer, but your doctor doesn’t know it. Don’t be hard on doc for this one. There is no MD in the world that knows the entire breadth of medical knowledge. Some docs pretend ...
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One thing I have learned by being active in the obstetrics and birthing blogosphere is that there are a whole lot of people out there that think that most cesarean deliveries are unnecessary. While most of them will admit that some cesareans are medically required, its pretty rare that the ones that have had a cesarean looks at their cesarean that way.
A popular term bandied about is “Unnecesarean”, a catchy ...
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I like Dr. Rob, the one with the distractible mind. And although I thoroughly agree with the stance he takes in his recent post against cholesterol screening in kids, I must take issue with his opening statement:
I have a unique vantage point when it comes to the issue universal cholesterol screening in children, when compared to most pediatricians. My unique view stems from the fact that ...
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Doctors, both generalists and specialists, have constraints on their time. New practices and new approaches need to happen in order to maximize everyone's time. In addition to bringing your co-payment, you should "invest" in the visit and do your part, so that by the time the visit has ended, a successful plan of care is developed. Here are some helpful tips to make the most of your medical appointments.
"A comprehensive and extremely useful roadmap for doctors."
-Eric Topol, MD, author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine
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Past 6 Months
What I’ve learned from saving physicians from suicide
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Matthew Moeller, MD | PhysicianIf I’m wrong about guns, can you please explain why?
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Jeffrey Parks, MD | PhysicianPrimary care doctors may no longer be needed
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Kevin Pho, MD | Kevin's Take