Read more...
Read more...
Stockholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors for an act of kindness.
Now, the health care connection. As a result of the billions of ...
Read more...
Malpractice lawsuits are a necessary evil in our society. At times, they are frivolous, often resulting from a patient’s or family’s anger at a result that was not what they had hoped. Some are actually designed just to try to get a financial settlement. When doctors are sued for malpractice, it is a searing process, isolating and painful. I have known several excellent doctors who have given up established practices ...
Read more...
An excerpt from Goal Play!: Leadership Lessons from the Soccer Field.
I recently had lunch with one of my soccer alumnae, now aged 28. Tovah said to me, “Do you remember that play I made in the tournament we went to in Connecticut? I mean when I mistakenly headed the ball into our own goal and caused us to lose the game.”
“Well, I was devastated and was sitting on the ...
Read more...
A quality-driven MD colleague writes with frustration about two problems in his academic medical center. I often hear similar comments from nurses and doctors, and so I present the examples for your consideration.
This hospital has a poor record with regard to hand hygiene (in the 30% range), and my colleague suggested at an infection control meeting suggested that the rates be publicly posted in the hospital to provide an impetus for ...
Read more...
Back in 2009, Dr. Amy Ship gave a moving acceptance speech when she received the annual Compassionate Caregiver Award from the Schwartz Center.
The most memorable tag line from the speech was, "There is no billing code for compassion." This resonated with so many of us -- patients and providers -- in part because it set forth the proposition that compassionate care should be an inherent aspect ...
Read more...
One aspect of religious dogma that has entered the medical world is that fee-for-service pricing of medical services is bad and should be replaced by a capitated, or global, arrangement that establishes an annual budget for care for different risk groups of patients.
Like other religious beliefs, this is often offered without rigorous analytic support. Some insurance companies are particularly pleased ...
Read more...
Proton beam therapy is an effective modality for killing certain types of cancer cells. New England and the Northeast are fortunate to have a proton beam machine at Massachusetts General Hospital, where it has been in use for some time effectively treating patients. This is a valuable resource, serving the entire region and beyond.
But what happens when everyone wants one? Well, we see the medical arms race at work again.
These ...
Read more...
The talk around the country among health insurance companies is that their insurance business is dying.
What is happening? First, the consolidations in other industries, resulting in large, multistate corporations, already mean that many companies self insure their employees. Even many local firms have large enough work forces that they can be self-contained risk pools. (One source I found says that in 2008, 89 percent of workers employed in ...
Read more...
Is the move towards accountable care organizations (ACOs) and capitated (aka, global) payments likely to reduce health care costs and insurance premiums, or will it do the opposite?
Being an economist, my answer will be, "On the one hand ... On the other hand ..."
On the one hand, ACOs offer the potential for a better integration of care across the spectrum of primary care, hospitalization, skilled nursing, rehabilitation, and hospice. If ...
Read more...
"A comprehensive and extremely useful roadmap for doctors."
-Eric Topol, MD, author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine
Learn More...
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 | PhysicianIf I’m wrong about guns, can you please explain why?
Claire McCarthy, MD | PhysicianWalgreens moves into primary care, and it’s our own damn fault
Kevin Pho, MD | Kevin's Take