Do patients really need their complete lab and radiology reports?

Conditions and Diseases
August 21, 2009

Most prefer the bottom line, sparing them the raw data.

Primary care physician Rob Lamberts asks that exact question, and reprints sample reports of lab tests and an echocardiogram, demonstrating the wealth of information they contain.

So, borrowing this image from Dr. Rob, I’m not sure how useful something like this would be to patients (sorry for the small type, but you get the idea):

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Do patients really need their complete lab and radiology reports?

A doctor in Cuba becomes a nurse in the United States

Physician
August 20, 2009

When physicians in other countries come to the United States, they often become nurses or lab technicians, rather than re-taking rigorous board exams to remain doctors.

One example includes doctors from Cuba. According to this story in The New York Times, “6,000 medical professionals, many of them physicians, have left Cuba in the last six years.” Cuban doctors, who often earn $25 per month, find it significantly more …

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A doctor in Cuba becomes a nurse in the United States

The consequences of doing everything in end-of-life-care

Physician
August 19, 2009

Fear-mongering about health care reform killing grandma really burns me: I have delivered “everything”, I know what “everything” looks like. I know its dark side. I also know that these deliberate and self-serving lies will ultimately hurt not only grandma, but the rest of us too. Here is what I mean.

When I was in practice I cared for critically ill patients. I loved the ICU for its complex physiology and …

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The consequences of doing everything in end-of-life-care

Is it fair to compare American health care with systems in Europe or Canada?

Health Policy
August 18, 2009

by Ralph Silverman, MD, FACS, FASCRS

I am tired of the comparisons people make between health care in the United States and other countries. For instance, there are those who think that we should have universal health care because some European countries and Canada do.

It is true that those countries do have universal health care, but is it a fair comparison?

Who does Canada rely on to defend its borders? When the …

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Is it fair to compare American health care with systems in Europe or Canada?

How to fix the primary care shortage

Physician
August 17, 2009

The primary care physician (PCP) shortage has attracted a lot of attention recently, and for good reason. Individual Americans are concerned that they will not have timely access to needed medical care, and policy makers are concerned that our specialist-heavy medical system is failing, giving us expensive but disjointed, poor quality care. Many experts rightly think that a robust primary care system would give us better health care for …

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How to fix the primary care shortage

Robert Ricketson and the surgical screwdriver medical malpractice case: The medical records revisited

Physician
August 11, 2009

Robert Ricketson is a spine surgeon who was involved in a high profile 2003 medical malpractice case in Hawaii where a surgical screwdriver was implanted into a patient’s back. This is his account of the ordeal.

by Robert Ricketson

I am writing today out of frustration and anger, as I am frankly quite tired of passively going along as my name appears year after year in malicious “medical blogs” and …

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Robert Ricketson and the surgical screwdriver medical malpractice case: The medical records revisited

Op-ed: Wikipedia isn’t really the patient’s friend

Patient
August 8, 2009

The following op-ed was published on July 15th, 2009 in the USA Today.

“I researched my condition on Wikipedia.” That’s what more doctors, myself included, are hearing from patients every day.

Wikipedia is the Web’s most popular online encyclopedia. Its more than 13 million articles cover almost every topic imaginable. It is among the most visited sites primarily because its articles routinely show up near the top of search engine results, like …

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Op-ed: Wikipedia isn’t really the patient’s friend

ACP: Putting effectiveness into the health care equation: Rational or rationing?

Health Policy
July 30, 2009

The following is part of a series of original guest columns by the American College of Physicians.

by Steven Weinberger, MD, FACP

“Effectiveness” has become a buzzword these days in discussions about healthcare reform. It is often accompanied by different preceding modifiers, such as “cost” or “comparative,” each conjuring up different images in the minds of physicians, patients, insurers, and the pharmaceutical industry. Some say that cost effectiveness and comparative …

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ACP: Putting effectiveness into the health care equation: Rational or rationing?

AMA working for reform that benefits patients and physicians

Health Policy
July 26, 2009

The following is part of a series of original guest columns by the American Medical Association.

by J. James Rohack, MD

Physicians know first-hand the frustrations of caring for patients in our broken system and also the joys of patient care that get us out of bed before the sun rises. The AMA is committed to getting health reform this year – so that the joys can again outnumber the …

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AMA working for reform that benefits patients and physicians

Will the lack of primary care doctors make universal coverage useless?

Physician
July 23, 2009

It appears that one source of agreement among health reformers is that there isn’t enough primary care doctors.

The New York Times wrote a front-page piece on this issue last month, which I had commented on.  Now, an article in the Washington Post re-iterates the same theme:

As the debate on overhauling the nation’s health-care system exploded into partisan squabbling this week, virtually everyone still agreed on one point: There are …

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Will the lack of primary care doctors make universal coverage useless?

Should doctors support Congress’ health reform efforts?

Health Policy
July 20, 2009

The American Medical Association recently gave unqualified support to the House health reform bill, H.R. 3200, and that is drawing the ire of some of their supporters.

To be sure, H.R. 3200 is the most left-leaning of the proposals, and there is clear ideological opposition to the so-called “public plan,” which expands the government’s role in our health care system. It’s a tremendously sensitive topic, with some expressing their outrage …

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Should doctors support Congress’ health reform efforts?

Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First, medical bloggers at Washington, DC

Health Policy
July 20, 2009

Well, that was fun.

kevinmd This past Friday, I participated in Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First, an event put together by Better Health’s Dr. Val Jones. It was an impeccably organized gathering, and provided medical bloggers a valuable opportunity to discuss health care reform. Great timing too, given the fact that two major reform bills were introduced earlier …

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Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First, medical bloggers at Washington, DC

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Improve primary care access before guaranteeing universal health coverage, my address at the National Press Club

Health Policy
July 17, 2009

The following are my prepared remarks at Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First, held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on July 17th, 2009.

President Obama recently declared that, “We are not a nation that accepts nearly 46 million uninsured men, women, and children.” And indeed, finding a way to provide universal health coverage to every American is one of the focal points in today’s health care debate. …

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Improve primary care access before guaranteeing universal health coverage, my address at the National Press Club

How soon should patients receive their test results?

Conditions and Diseases
July 9, 2009

And should you assume that no news is good news?

The answer is no. According to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 7 percent of abnormal test results from primary care offices were never reported to the patient. And in a large, unnamed, academic medical center, that number ballooned to 23 percent.

That’s almost a quarter of abnormal test results from that center that patients were never …

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How soon should patients receive their test results?

ACR: Reducing medical imaging costs requires a short term investment

Health Policy
July 9, 2009

The following is a guest post from the American College of Radiology.

by James H. Thrall, M.D.

Health care reform cannot be approached with a “one size fits all” cost-cutting mentality. Reducing costs in the long term often requires an investment in the short term — particularly, in regard to medical imaging.

Medical imaging saves lives. Imaging also saves dollars through earlier disease diagnosis, less invasive medical procedures, shorter hospital stays, and …

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ACR: Reducing medical imaging costs requires a short term investment

5 top medical comments, July 5th, 2009

Health Policy
July 5, 2009

Here are some of the more interesting comments readers have left recently.

1. Rogue Medic on how Oprah should be handling medical issues:
If she is going to give medical advice, and she is giving medical advice, and she is going to focus on giving advice contrary to the guidelines of reputable medical organizations, maybe some of her viewers need to start suing her for the bad medical advice.

I am guessing …

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5 top medical comments, July 5th, 2009

The AMA and Sermo break up, and how it’s getting ugly

Social Media in Medicine
July 3, 2009

When the online physician discussion site, Sermo, and the American Medical Association joined forces in 2007, it was heralded as a promising partnership for both entities.

In fact, as Sermo’s CEO Daniel Palestrant said back then, “As a company, we had to take a very rational perspective on that by saying we’re a small software company, not an advocacy organization. Who is the best entity to turn voice into action? …

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The AMA and Sermo break up, and how it’s getting ugly

Vicodin and Percocet banned and taken off the market, or is a black box warning more likely?

Medications
June 30, 2009

The FDA has declared war on acetaminophen, with Vicodin and Percocet being collateral damage.  You can bet Dr. Gregory House is sweatin’ pretty hard over this news.

In the last few days, acetaminophen, otherwise known as the brand name Tylenol, has been squarely in the FDA advisory panel’s crosshairs. In general, it’s a very safe medication, but there is …

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Vicodin and Percocet banned and taken off the market, or is a black box warning more likely?

Reader take: Moral hazard, and whether patients should consider cost in their health care decisions

Patient
June 30, 2009

The following is a reader take by an anonymous medical student.

One of the ideas that comes up in the search for explanations of high healthcare costs is the so-called “Moral Hazard”—the idea that insured patients are more likely to agree to unnecessary procedures because they don’t pay for them directly. Not everyone thinks it is real—does a patient have the medical knowledge to make an informed decision? …

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Reader take: Moral hazard, and whether patients should consider cost in their health care decisions

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