Why would anyone want to become a physician?Good question, given the current atmosphere of doom and gloom amongst my colleagues and peers.Like most folks, when one has worked at the same job for 10, 20, 30, and even 40 years, the human spirit does need replenishment. Many pubic servants (and that is what we are), police, fire department personnel, correction officers have some things very much in common. Stress. ...
Gary Levin, MD
Health reform’s prejudice against specialist physicians
Have you noticed the recent trend against specialty physicians? Policy experts have determined that primary care needs incentives to attract medical students away from those "highly lucrative" specialties such as plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery, interventional cardiology, and neurosurgery.Our federal government believes in equal opportunity -- if you wish to become a family doctor. There are incentives sponsored ...
Withholding liver transplants for Medicaid recipients in Arizona
Governor Brewer’s decision to withhold liver transplants for Medicaid recipients in Arizona should serve as a loud warning to the electorate regarding governmental intrusions into health care financing and health care operations.The decision was ill advised on the basis of multiple factors. The survival rates differ from one facility to another.What is the liver transplant survival rate and what information needs to be considered when looking at such numbers?For example, ...
How public health and MPHs are influencing medicine
Way back in the mid 20th century when I graduated from George Washington University with an MD degree I imagined that I had arrived.I remember my classmates selecting different specialties and eventually going off to clinical training. I could not imagine doing anything other than clinical work, and perhaps dabbling in some clinical research. Some of my friends were studying ‘epidemiology’ and a new field ‘public health’. At that time, ...
Why patients in Grand Junction, Colorado have better health outcomes
The New England Journal of Medicine analyzed Medicare statistics from the beloved Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care study revealing a wide disparity in the number of coronary bypass procedures in Golden Colorado compared to other areas.The report reveals a 60% reduction in the number of procedures as compared to Miami, Florida. The Dartmouth Atlas Study has been used to justify changes in payment systems by Medicare. The ...
