Is the public plan option supported by doctors?

Health Policy
September 18, 2009

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

A solid majority of physicians favor creating a new public insurance option that would operate alongside existing private plans, according to a survey published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

medpage-today About 63% of doctors, across a smattering of specialties and in various geographic regions, support a public insurance option. That …

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Is the public plan option supported by doctors?

Data entry in EMRs, and why doctors are slow to adopt information technology

Health Technology
September 17, 2009

The Obama healthcare plan hinges on savings achieved through the implementation of electronic medical records (EMRs) and pays doctors $44,000 over 5 years for hardware and software to embrace this evolving technology. Let us not forget however, that garbage in produces garbage out, for instance, information not suitable for medical decision making.

In reality, data entry is daunting and by far the most expensive aspect of converting to electronic records. Huge …

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Data entry in EMRs, and why doctors are slow to adopt information technology

The Patients’ Bill of Responsibilities

Patient
September 17, 2009

by Susan H

1. I acknowledge and believe that I will die someday. Everyone I love will also die. That inevitable outcome will be factored into all my personal health care decisions.

2. I acknowledge that just because a paid professional might be found to assert that he would have performed differently under similar circumstances, doesn’t mean a doctor or nurse committed malpractice. Judges who are overturned on appeal ought to …

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The Patients’ Bill of Responsibilities

Analysis of the Max Baucus health care reform plan

Health Policy
September 17, 2009

by Peggy Peck, Executive Editor, MedPage Today

In an important step toward moving healthcare reform legislation through Congress, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) introduced his much-awaited bill today after months of working to gain bipartisan support.

medpage-today The chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee released a summary of legislation that would not create a public insurance option and would cost $856 …

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Analysis of the Max Baucus health care reform plan

A personal health record and using the PHR on a mobile smartphone

Health Technology
September 16, 2009

by Jeff Brandt

There is much confusion about Personal Health Record (PHR) in the market today.

PHRs are divided into three groups; Mobile SmartPhone (mPHR), Cloud Apps, and other devices such as USB and Smartcards. Each type of PHR serves a different purpose and provides a useful and needed service. I will speak to the strengths and weaknesses of each of them.

Web Apps/Cloud PHR

These are browser based systems that need to be …

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A personal health record and using the PHR on a mobile smartphone

Citizens, not lobbyists, must reform health care in the United States

Health Policy
September 16, 2009

by Gary R. Gibson, MD, FACP

We can deliver better health care to every U.S. citizen at less than one-half of 2.1 trillion dollars per year with constructive reform, a system wherein people receiving and providing care would feel greater satisfaction and dignity. Through courage and perseverance, we must identify and minimize waste, eliminate corruption and modernize our system. In a competitive world economy, we must reform health care …

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Citizens, not lobbyists, must reform health care in the United States

How long are you contagious after being infected with H1N1 influenza?

Conditions and Diseases
September 16, 2009

by Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today

People infected with the H1N1 pandemic flu strain continue to shed virus after the point where current recommendations say they can go back to work or school, two studies here suggested.

medpage-today The question, experts said, is whether those people are still contagious and whether a longer stay-at-home period would prevent enough additional …

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How long are you contagious after being infected with H1N1 influenza?

Cutting health care costs means reducing utilization

Health Policy
September 15, 2009

by Mark Coyne

The core of the health care debate revolves around the perceived spiraling cost of health care in America. There are many quotes in the media, and from politicians, that health care costs are increasing by more than 10 percent a year, and consistently increasing by more than wage growth – which is unsustainable in the long term. The basic point being made is correct, the overall …

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Cutting health care costs means reducing utilization

Why price transparency won’t affect health care costs

Health Policy
September 15, 2009

by Kumud B. Jindal, MD, MPH

Many patients and self-appointed health care experts view medical services as commodities, and openly express frustration with seemingly opaque pricing for a visit to the doctor’s office. “Doctors should publish their fees so we know what we’re paying!” The idea that this matters significantly with regard to health care costs is a terrible myth, one that deserves much closer scrutiny.

The health insurance industry and …

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Why price transparency won’t affect health care costs

Don’t wait for the H1N1 vaccine before you get your flu shot

Conditions and Diseases
September 15, 2009

by Cole Petrochko, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Don’t wait for the pandemic H1N1 vaccine to become available before getting an inoculation for seasonal flu, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases warned.

medpage-today Putting off routine flu shots in hopes of one-stop-shopping would defeat the primary line of defense against a proven threat, according to a panel representing some of the nation’s …

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Don’t wait for the H1N1 vaccine before you get your flu shot

Dean Ornish injects himself in the health reform debate

Health Policy
September 14, 2009

It looks like The Huffington Post’s honorary Medical Editor, Dr. Dean Ornish, walked into the same trap that Whole Foods CEO John Mackey did.

Mackey got a lot of flack when he wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on health care reform, one in which he emphasized the need for personal responsibility for our health.

Ornish, in an effort to inject himself into the current debate, blogged, Don’t Tread on …

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Dean Ornish injects himself in the health reform debate

What does Tiger Woods have to do with medical futility and end-of-life care?

Conditions and Diseases
September 14, 2009

by Michael Kirsch, MD

Consider this hypothetical vignette. Tiger Woods accepts my challenge to play 18 holes. Obviously, the gallery would be packed with golf enthusiasts who would cancel job interviews, vacations and even worship services in order to witness this historic competition. Spectators would be permitted to place bets at even money. Perhaps, my mother would bet on me, but no other sane person would. They would properly conclude that …

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What does Tiger Woods have to do with medical futility and end-of-life care?

How comfortable are compression stockings for post-surgical thromboprophylaxis?

Patient
September 14, 2009

by Crystal Phend, MedPage Today

“Every 10 years a doctor should be the patient,” said my doctor, squeezing me into pair of compression stockings that would make a sausage casing seem spacious by comparison.

medpage-today “Seems like a good idea,” I thought, as I lay there on the table feeling optimistic about the opportunity for first-hand experience.

It was my first minor …

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How comfortable are compression stockings for post-surgical thromboprophylaxis?

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Violence in the emergency department and how to promote ER safety

Physician
September 12, 2009

by Patricia B. Allen, MBA, RN

What would you differently tomorrow if you had a violent episode in your emergency department today?

Violence in the ED is a growing and alarming phenomenon. A recent survey conducted by the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) revealed that 25 percent of the RN respondents report experiencing physical violence more than 20 times in the past three years and 20 percent of the respondents revealed encountering …

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Violence in the emergency department and how to promote ER safety

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

Health Policy
September 12, 2009

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

Advice for President Obama’s health care reform plan

Health Policy
September 11, 2009

Prior to President Obama’s address to Congress on health reform, I asked myself, “What would I tell the President?”

First and foremost: go for it. All of it. Health care in America is too important, both economically and morally, to be left adrift in its current state. Its focus is wrong. It costs too much. And not everyone who needs it is able to have it.

Two rules that have served me …

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Advice for President Obama’s health care reform plan

Why health care savings accounts should play a larger role in reform

Health Policy
September 11, 2009

by Charles W. Patterson, MD

Health care reform has long been one of my main interests and currently, it seems to be everyone else’s. The President said he thought a single-payer system would be best, but submitted a proposal he thought could be passed. The outcome is in doubt.

Actually, the single-payer system is the second best possible solution. The government would hold the money but would remain vulnerable to political manipulation, …

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Why health care savings accounts should play a larger role in reform

An analysis of Barack Obama’s health care reform speech to Congress

Health Policy
September 11, 2009

by Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

In Wednesday’s address to Congress and the nation, President Barack Obama made a number of statements about healthcare reform, some involving issues that would directly affect medical practice. MedPage Today examined five of Obama’s statements to add context to the sound bytes.

medpage-today The Statement:

“I don’t believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet, …

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An analysis of Barack Obama’s health care reform speech to Congress

AMA: How to prepare for seasonal and H1N1 influenza

Conditions and Diseases
September 10, 2009

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

by Nancy H. Nielsen, MD

This year’s flu season promises to be different than in years past. With the potential of both seasonal and H1N1 influenza circulating this year, it is more critical than ever that health care professionals proactively talk to their patients about influenza.

Many patients will be confused about who needs the H1N1 …

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AMA: How to prepare for seasonal and H1N1 influenza

A patient dies after doctors fail to communicate in the operating room

Physician
September 10, 2009

by Jerry I. Meyers, Esq.

Communication is essential between health care providers but sometimes communication fails because of the arrogance or carelessness of the persons involved in the needed medical communication.

Several years ago, a female client about to enjoy an important anniversary was admitted to a University affiliated hospital for the purpose of having a colostomy wound debrided.

This was to be a one-day inpatient hospital procedure and was associated with little …

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A patient dies after doctors fail to communicate in the operating room

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