KevinMD.com

I’m paying my patients cash to quit smoking

Physician

October 16, 2012

I am starting a prize-linked smoking cessation program for my medical practice. Like most family docs, I constantly remind my smokers about the risks of tobacco and my ability to help them quit when ready. And like most physicians I probably have a false belief that pestering “enough” will spur action. As an unofficial student of economics and official student of public health (MPH), I should know better.

Sure, I have …

To the patients who resent greedy doctors

BirdStrike, MD

Physician

October 16, 2012

shutterstock_133129220

Good, it’s about time that these greedy doctors get smacked down for being the financial rapists that they are. Medicine in this country is the biggest, most destructive SCAM going on today. Doctors think they are entitled to RIDICULOUS amounts of money for simple routine procedures.
– Johnathan Blaze

It is generally agreed upon that the more one values a good or service, the …

This generation of doctors has permanently lost their physician brains

Brian J. Secemsky, MD

Physician

October 16, 2012

Since the earliest days of medical school, I learned fast to bring my computer wherever I went. Not only did my laptop function as my personal entertainment center through the dullest parts of lectures, but it also proved to be a source of instantaneous and infinite medical knowledge via the click of a mouse. Four years later and here I am, one hand on the shoulder of patients whilst listening …

Digital medicine: Patients are stuck in the precarious middle

John Schumann, MD

Health Technology

October 15, 2012

The use of computers in everyday medical practice has finally reached the tipping point.

The HITECH Act, part of the 2009 federal stimulus bill, has been the final kick in the pants that U.S. health care has long needed to make the conversion to digital. The act states that, by employing electronic health records (EHRs) in a fashion known as meaningful use, doctors are individually eligible for …

Plan your return home after a long hospital stay

Andrew Griffith

Patient

October 15, 2012

Just as preparing for a lengthy hospital stay requires planning, so does returning to home after the hospital. While your condition and strength will shape the best approach for you, my experience following my stem cell transplants may be helpful should you find yourself in this situation.

Before you leave get the information you need. Most hospitals are pretty good in providing written information sheets on follow-up care, related instructions, and …

Doctors need to be part of the digital revolution

Margaret Polaneczky, MD

Physician

October 15, 2012

There’s a big discussion going on in the health tech community about a controversial keynote speech given by Vinod Khosla at the Health Innovation Summit (HIS), in which he stated that 80% of what doctors do could be replaced by machines.

If you’re a doc like me who has no idea who the heck Vinod Khosla is (he’s a venture capitalist and co-founder of Sun Microsystems), why he’d be a keynote speaker at a …

What to expect during your first mammogram

Therese B. Bevers, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 14, 2012

Getting your first mammogram can be stressful. After all, it’s your first one, so you don’t know exactly what to expect.

Rest assured: even women getting their second or third mammogram may have concerns.

But by learning how to prepare for and what to expect from this important cancer screening exam, you can eliminate some of the guesswork. And, that can make your experience less nerve-wracking.

Here’s what you should know.

Mammograms save lives

Don’t …

What is the best disease from which to die?

Alex Lickerman, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 14, 2012

We can’t, of course, plan the way we’re going to die (with the obvious exception of suicide). We can, however, live in such a way that reduces the likelihood of our dying from certain diseases. Which is why it’s now almost universally accepted that we should exercise regularly, not smoke, drink only in moderation (if at all), avoid too much fat in our diet (and now probably too much carbohydrate), …

The Surgeon places hands on belly and the diagnosis is clear

Jeffrey Parks, MD

Physician

October 14, 2012

The call comes in at 9pm or so. The patient sounds sick as all hell. The Surgeon listens to the random assortment of numbers and vitals the nurse provides and clicks off his cell. He finishes reading a boring Berenstain Bear story to his daughter and tucks her into bed. He looks at the clock and runs some mental numbers. By the time he arrives at Hospital, close to ten. See the …

Reduce health waste through deregulation and free market principles

WhiteCoat, MD

Health Policy

October 14, 2012

Emergency Physicians Monthly has an important debate between ACEP President David Seaberg and EP Monthly founder Mark Plaster about the “Choosing Wisely” program.

Choosing Wisely is being pushed by the ABIM Foundation as a way to get specialty societies to label certain tests as “unnecessary” or of questionable benefit.

I side with Dr. Seaberg in this argument.

I disagree with the concept some people advance …

Take your flu vaccine as soon as it is available

Steven Reznick, MD

Conditions and Diseases

October 13, 2012

As school bells ring out announcing a new school year and pigskins fly through the air announcing the arrival of a new football season, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) begins its annual influenza vaccine campaign. “Flu” or influenza is a viral illness associated with fever, severe muscle aches, general malaise and respiratory symptoms. Most healthy children and adults can run a fever for 5 – 7 days …

Does Linzess have a role in IBS with constipation?

Edward Pullen, MD

Medications

October 13, 2012

Linzess is a new drug that received FDA approval by Forest Laboratories for use in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with constipation and in chronic idiopathic constipation. It got my attention because of its biochemistry.

Learning about the mechanism of action of new drugs like Linzess reminds me how much more is understood about the molecular biological level of physiologic function of the human body than when I was in med school. Linzess …

Do drugs aid and abet genius or does genius lead to drugs?

George Lundberg, MD

Physician

October 13, 2012

Who is your favorite addict? I guess we have to talk about addiction as a preface to that question.

Everybody I know takes psychoactive drugs, except maybe some Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, and the like.

All drugs are habit-forming, but only a subset of psychoactive drugs can produce psychological and physical dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms when taken away, the usual definition of addiction.

Most people who become addicted to one drug often …

Population health initiatives by the pharmaceutical industry

David B. Nash, MD, MBA

Medications

October 13, 2012

I have been beating the population health drum for more than 20 years, and I think the rest of the band is finally catching on to the rhythm.

From healthcare reform efforts at the very top of the heap to the healthcare industry to large and small communities, there is a heightened awareness that the physical and mental health of our diverse population is linked to our continued health and success …

Compounding pharmacies need stricter FDA oversight

David Pittman

Medications

October 13, 2012

The current fungal meningitis outbreak has put a spotlight on compounding pharmacies, and regulators and stakeholders say Congress needs to clarify exactly who should regulate these entities.

The practice of compounding, which has been around for decades, was intended to give pharmacies the ability to produce a product under a doctor’s orders when a particular drug wasn’t available. …

Don’t ever believe EHR uptake is slow only because it costs too much

Rosemarie Nelson

Health Technology

October 13, 2012

The latest numbers from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics affirm that a majority of small practices do not have an EHR. Why is that?

One big reason is because small practices don’t have the management or technical infrastructure available to prepare for and handle the biggest challenges facing medical practices today.

What are those challenges and what’s that got to do with EHR implementation? According to the Medical …

Why Marissa Mayer deserves our respect

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD

Physician

October 12, 2012

I recently saw a number of tweets from parents and fellow pediatricians on Twitter criticizing Marissa Mayer for announcing that she’d return to work within 1-2 weeks of the delivery of her first child.

First off, I’ll start with my assumptions:

I’m authoring this post in the belief that Ms Mayer has access to quality health care–that is, she has the ear of a board-certified obstetrician, a board-certified pediatrician, and access to a …

Read more…

Why Marissa Mayer deserves our respect

What Republicans and Democrats can agree on about Medicare

Bob Doherty

Health Policy

October 12, 2012

Republicans and Democrats don’t agree on much about Medicare, except for getting rid of the fee-for-service system for paying doctors.

“If reducing the growth of Medicare spending to sustainable rates and moving away from fee-for-service are ‘ending Medicare as we know it,’ then both parties have embraced that goal, writes former OMB Budget Director Alice Rivlin in a Daily Beast commentary.

“Paying providers on a fee-for-service basis offers incentives to …