With the announcement that the FDA granted 510(k) approval for the AliveCor EKG case for the iPhone 4/4S, the device became available to "licensed U.S. medical professionals and prescribed patients to record, display, store, and transfer single-channel electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythms."
While this sounds nice, how, exactly, does one become a prescribed patient? Once a doctor prescribes such a device, what are his ...
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It’s been three years since the Patient Protection and Accountable Care Act (PPACA) became law. There have been widely divergent opinions published by journalists on the impact of the law for Americans: from a rose-colored account from the New York Times, to a not-so-peachy account published at Reason.com. Few doctors have ventured into this discussion.
The need for health care cost reform
I should start by saying that I am biased. I grew ...
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"What's the most important finding on this chest x-ray?"
There he was, standing before 5 ICU residents, each peering at a chest film on displayed on the over-sized computer screen.
"Um, the pleural effusion?" whimpered a third-year resident.
"No!" barked the attending.
The others, standing dumbfounded in front of the computer display, searching for another finding but finding none, stood silently.
"Come on, folks! Look!"
And try as they may, no one saw it.
"The name, folks, ...
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A phone conference had been arranged. They wanted to talk to me about a denial for payment on a portion of a patient's pre-authorized procedure after the fact. Its participants: the regional medical director of a large insurance company, his female assistant administrator, and me.
He cordially introduced himself as a pediatrician by trade from a large well-known (and highly respected) academic institution with impeccable credentials responsible for our region of the United States. ...
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My perspective on scientific publications has been greatly affected by my experience with this blog and social media in particular. The ability to serve as author, reviewer, advertiser and marketer can be easily achieved in this space thanks to the power of self-publishing. But with this new platform comes new responsibilities and for those of us who chose to work with people daily, perhaps none is as great as maintaining ...
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A collision is coming.
Scratch that.
The collision is here.
I'm not quite sure how to describe this, but I'll try.
Every day, I look at a computer screen for health care delivery with an increasing number of menu options. I tried counting these menu options once and after scrolling through them, I never reached all of them after counting up to 275 items.
Yes, there are ...
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The electronic medical record (EMR)'s promised contribution to health care cost savings got a second look recently, and the results were poor at best. But what I found interesting was the "second look" was from the same organization that did the first look: the corporately-funded, non-profit think-tank called the RAND Corporation. From their second and more recent report:
A team of RAND Corporation researchers projected in 2005 that rapid ...
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"Doctor, could we have a copy of your most recent CV."
"Sure," I said, realizing it hadn't been updated recently.
It is interesting how I approach my academic pursuits now. It used to be that it was "publish or perish" in the world of academic medicine. Of course, even now the only "publishing" that counts to the academic world is that of conventional peer-reviewed journals with high impact factors (or grant applications that ...
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The implementation of the electronic medical record (EMR) in American medicine gained a powerful foothold in medical care with the passage of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) in 2009. With the passage of this act came the promise of improved efficiencies, safety and ultimately reduced cost delivery for health care. Also, some $18 billion dollars in financial incentives were offered to physicians ...
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Medical journals aren't what they used to be. Just ten short years ago, medical journals were places to report scientific study, interesting cases or clinical updates and reviews. They were, for the most part, about science and discovery.
Now, there is a dramatic shift of scientific content in our journals to politics and policy.
No where is this more evident than the much-heralded and widely read New England Journal of ...
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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 | PhysicianIf I’m wrong about guns, can you please explain why?
Claire McCarthy, 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 Take