If we really want to find out how to damn near perfectly manage any medical problem as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, we should be studying how doctors manage the medical problems of the cash-paying doctors they see in their own practice.
Read part one here.
My visit with Dr. Grubman was fairly simple. We discussed allergy shots and how they could possibly help significantly with my dust allergy. Since ...
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As physicians, we all strive to practice good medicine. Good medicine means evidence based medicine in the patient’s best interests. In the ideal world this will make patients happy and satisfied. If you are getting the best treatment for your condition you should be happy, right?
In the real world, though, keeping patients or their families’ happy and practicing good medicine might not be possible at the same time. This is ...
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A recent comment raised a minor controversy about the strategy of minimizing tests. I actually do not think that the disagreement is that great, but I feel like exploring the issue. This is the sentence that triggered the comment, courtesy of primary care physician Rob Lamberts:
Order as few tests as possible. No test should be ordered for informational purposes only; the question, “What will I do with these results?” should always ...
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An excerpt from On the Mend: Revolutionizing Healthcare to Save Lives and Transform the Industry.
by John Toussaint, MD, and Roger Gerard, PhD
Admitting Error
In a lean environment, doctors and nurses must allow mistakes to be visible in order to perform root-cause analysis and fix the process. But showing mistakes hits most medical providers in a vulnerable place—right in the collective fear of lawsuits and a highly conditioned need to be ...
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by Lisa Chu, MD
As trained caring professionals, often we think of self-care as “selfish” or something that we do after we’ve taken care of our other “duties”, “responsibilities” and “obligations”.
Just for a moment, I invite you to think of self-care in a different way. I invite you to consider that your knowledge and practice of self-care is essential in creating a healing relationship with your patients, and creating a healing ...
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by Charles R. D’Agostino, MD
It strikes fear in the hearts of doctors across the country; it is not the deadly Ebola virus or a new strain of cancer, but its malignancy is equally apparent.
It is the dreaded “PA”, which is insurance-speak for “prior authorization” and it seems that no matter which way we turn it appears, standing between our patients and the care they need.
To their credit, PAs are truly ...
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A video excerpt from The Vanishing Oath, a film directed by Ryan Flesher, MD.
With medical students graduating, on average, with almost $160,000 of debt, it's a major reason why they're choosing more lucrative specialty practice, which can offer salaries multiple times more than those of primary care fields.
In this clip from The Vanishing Oath, medical economist Amitabh Chandra, Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School ...
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A friend recently asked me in great frustration after her visit to her doctor why doctors “always run late.”
Why do doctors make their patients “dance around” the office, getting moved around to different spots in the clinic, but still having to wait and wait at each location? Instead of explaining what really goes on at the doctor’s office, I ended up emailing her a couple of links to some of ...
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by Chrysalis
I read a post that disturbed me the other day. It was discussing the value of primary care physicians (PCPs). I was stunned by some of the comments. Surprised that people’s perceptions of what a PCP does would be viewed in such a poor light.
Well, I do value the primary care physician and I’ll tell you why. I am just simply going to state some of ...
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by David Chong, MD
As the world watched the greatest athletes gather to compete in Vancouver, I was on a plane to Haiti. Just getting on the plane was quite a feat.
After I received an urgent e-mail for volunteer doctors from the University of Miami’s Project Medishare field hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during an overnight shift at New York's Presbyterian hospital, I began to send frantic requests for coverage for ...
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"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
Dear lawmakers: This is what it’s like to be a doctor today
Matthew Moeller, MD | PhysicianA gun owner responds to Sandy Hook
Edwin Leap, MD | PhysicianIs Chris Christie too obese to run for president?
Jeffrey Parks, MD | PhysicianPrimary care doctors may no longer be needed
Doug Olson, MD | PhysicianWalgreens moves into primary care, and it’s our own damn fault
Kevin Pho, MD | Kevin's TakeIf I’m wrong about guns, can you please explain why?
Claire McCarthy, MD | Physician