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297 articles · Since 2007

Articles, page 10

Op-ed: Why the doctor won’t see you now

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The following op-ed was published on August 20th, 2009 in CNN.com. When President Obama recently cited the number of Americans without health insurance, he declared that, "We are not a nation that accepts nearly 46 million uninsured men, women, and…

The following op-ed was published on August 20th, 2009 in CNN.com.

When President Obama recently cited the number of Americans without health insurance, he declared that, “We are not a nation that accepts nearly 46 million uninsured men, women, and children.”

Uninsured patients often delay preventive care, waiting to seek medical attention only when their conditions worsen. This leads to more intensive treatment, often in the emergency department or hospital where …

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Op-ed: Why the doctor won’t see you now

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

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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…

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

Op-ed: Doctors are forced into running a business

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A version of this op-ed was published on June 18th, 2009 in The New York Times' Room for Debate blog. In his recent address to the American Medical Association, President Obama noted that our health care system "rewards the quantity…

A version of this op-ed was published on June 18th, 2009 in The New York Times’ Room for Debate blog.

In his recent address to the American Medical Association, President Obama noted that our health care system “rewards the quantity of care rather than the quality of care.” This perverse incentive leads to unnecessary and potentially harmful medicine, while also being a major contributor to spiraling health care costs.

Doctors …

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Op-ed: Doctors are forced into running a business

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Op-ed: Not all screening tests lead to early, better treatment

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The following op-ed was published on April 23rd, 2009 in the USA Today. As a primary care doctor, it's heartening to hear President Obama call for "the largest investment ever in preventive care." That means more people, for one, will…

The following op-ed was published on April 23rd, 2009 in the USA Today.

As a primary care doctor, it’s heartening to hear President Obama call for “the largest investment ever in preventive care.” That means more people, for one, will be undergoing tests to screen for various forms of cancer. But this might be one of those cases where what sounds like common sense is actually more …

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Op-ed: Not all screening tests lead to early, better treatment

Op-ed: Unbiased research for doctors is good medicine

The following op-ed was published on March 26th, 2009 in the USA Today. As a primary care doctor, I am frequently faced with decisions where the choice is not always clear. Do the latest, more expensive drugs work better than…

The following op-ed was published on March 26th, 2009 in the USA Today.

As a primary care doctor, I am frequently faced with decisions where the choice is not always clear. Do the latest, more expensive drugs work better than the less costly, older medications? Will ordering an MRI help me treat a patient’s lower back pain? Often, the answer to these questions is, “I’m not sure.”

Because …

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Op-ed: Unbiased research for doctors is good medicine

Op-ed: Pads, pens, prescriptions

The following op-ed was published on February 26, 2009 in the USA Today. Have you ever noticed the pens, coffee mugs and prescription pads at your doctor's office? Chances are, they were prominently adorned with the brand name of the…

The following op-ed was published on February 26, 2009 in the USA Today.

Have you ever noticed the pens, coffee mugs and prescription pads at your doctor’s office? Chances are, they were prominently adorned with the brand name of the prescription drug its company is touting.

The pharmaceutical industry has been giving these types of small gifts to doctors for years, in hopes of raising physician awareness of …

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Op-ed: Pads, pens, prescriptions

Op-ed: More coverage requires more doctors

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The following op-ed was published on February 25th, 2009 in The New York Times' Room for Debate blog. With the number of the uninsured having risen to 48 million Americans, clearly the need for reform is dire. But President Obama…

The following op-ed was published on February 25th, 2009 in The New York Times’ Room for Debate blog.

With the number of the uninsured having risen to 48 million Americans, clearly the need for reform is dire. But President Obama made no mention of who exactly will take care of these patients, even if they get insurance under a successful health reform initiative.

As a primary care physician in southern New …

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Op-ed: More coverage requires more doctors

Op-ed: Medicare’s mistake

The following op-ed was published on January 14th, 2009 in the USA Today. Every patient's worst nightmare is going to the hospital for a procedure only to have a surgical instrument left in his body, the wrong limb or organ…

The following op-ed was published on January 14th, 2009 in the USA Today.

Every patient’s worst nightmare is going to the hospital for a procedure only to have a surgical instrument left in his body, the wrong limb or organ operated on or, worse, dying from a medical mistake. These types of mistakes should never happen.

So when Medicare recently instituted a plan to deny hospital payments for …

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Op-ed: Medicare’s mistake

Op-ed: Ease ER overload

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The following op-ed was published on December 3rd, 2008 in the USA Today. Emblematic of soaring health care costs, which are projected to reach $3 trillion by 2011,is the nationwide crisis of emergency department overcrowding. More than $18 billion is…

The following op-ed was published on December 3rd, 2008 in the USA Today.

Emblematic of soaring health care costs, which are projected to reach $3 trillion by 2011,is the nationwide crisis of emergency department overcrowding. More than $18 billion is wasted annually on unnecessary visits to the ER,with volume rising by 32% and wait times almost doubling to one hour during the past decade. Relieving this strain …

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Op-ed: Ease ER overload

Op-ed: Why doctors still balk at electronic medical records

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The following op-ed was published on October 1st, 2008 in the USA Today. Despite the fact that we can complete our taxes and perform complex financial transactions digitally over the Internet, medical records have faced an impasse preventing a transition…

The following op-ed was published on October 1st, 2008 in the USA Today.

Despite the fact that we can complete our taxes and perform complex financial transactions digitally over the Internet, medical records have faced an impasse preventing a transition to the digital age. Patient charts are still paper-based in most doctors’ offices across the country.

President Bush’s goal was for every American to have an electronic medical …

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Op-ed: Why doctors still balk at electronic medical records

Op-ed: Wasted medical dollars

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The following op-ed was published on April 23rd, 2008 in the USA Today. A recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers concluded that more than half the dollars in our $2.2 trillion health care system are wasted. Medical errors, inefficient use of information…

The following op-ed was published on April 23rd, 2008 in the USA Today.

A recent analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers concluded that more than half the dollars in our $2.2 trillion health care system are wasted.

Medical errors, inefficient use of information technology and poorly managed chronic diseases were all cited as factors. Dwarfing these reasons is a phenomenon in which doctors order tests to avoid the threat of a …

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Op-ed: Wasted medical dollars

Op-ed: Doctors’ pay cuts save little in health costs

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The following op-ed was published on August 22nd, 2008 in the USA Today. "Why should I care if doctors get a pay cut?" my patient recently asked me. Therein lies the delicate dilemma physicians face today. While the common perception…

The following op-ed was published on August 22nd, 2008 in the USA Today.

“Why should I care if doctors get a pay cut?” my patient recently asked me.

Therein lies the delicate dilemma physicians face today. While the common perception is that the medical profession is well-compensated, there are serious implications in targeting physician pay to control medical spending.

Congress recently passed a bill protecting doctors from a 10.6% …

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Op-ed: Doctors’ pay cuts save little in health costs

Op-ed: What we have in health care today is a failure to communicate

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The following op-ed was published on May 4th, 2008 in the Nashua Telegraph. Communication in medicine grows worse by the day. What should be a pillar of quality health care is instead a resounding failure. Patients are rushed through office…

The following op-ed was published on May 4th, 2008 in the Nashua Telegraph.

Communication in medicine grows worse by the day. What should be a pillar of quality health care is instead a resounding failure.

Patients are rushed through office visits and often leave without having their questions answered. Labyrinthine barriers have to be overcome before speaking with a physician. Reaching a medical provider via the …

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Op-ed: What we have in health care today is a failure to communicate

Op-ed: Shortage of primary care threatens health care system

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The following op-ed was published on March 13th, 2008 in the USA Today. Crippling health care bills, long emergency room waits and the inability to find a primary care physician just scratch the surface of the problems that patients face…

The following op-ed was published on March 13th, 2008 in the USA Today.

Crippling health care bills, long emergency room waits and the inability to find a primary care physician just scratch the surface of the problems that patients face daily.

Surveys suggest that health care is a top domestic priority in the presidential election, and there is no lack of ideas on how to fix our system. …

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Op-ed: Shortage of primary care threatens health care system

Op-ed: Cut Medicare payments for doctors, you’ll have fewer doctors

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The following op-ed was published on August 6th, 2007 in the New Hampshire Union Leader. Medicare is planning to cut physician payment rates by 10 percent in 2008. These reductions will continue annually, and it is predicted that the total…

The following op-ed was published on August 6th, 2007 in the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Medicare is planning to cut physician payment rates by 10 percent in 2008. These reductions will continue annually, and it is predicted that the total cuts will be about 40 percent by 2016.

The topic of physician compensation generally elicits little public sympathy. After all, the average primary care physician salary in 2006 …

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Op-ed: Cut Medicare payments for doctors, you’ll have fewer doctors

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