Mitchell Brooks, MD

The creative destruction of the American family physician

Physician

February 11, 2013

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Medical knowledge, technology and rapid clinical advances in related scientific fields are expanding in an almost exponential manner. It is thus impossible for any individual or any medical specialty to absorb and implement these strides. Consequentially we physicians and other caregivers not only tend to specialize in medicine today, we are essentially ordained to subspecialize as a result of this knowledge explosion.

The …

Healthcare consolidation may bend the cost curve the wrong way

Mitchell Brooks, MD

Policy

March 16, 2012

Last year, Ann Mathews wrote a brilliant piece in the Wall Street Journal about the future of medical care in the United States. It is an extremely informative study and provides the reader with a very fine 50,000-foot view of the current condition of its subject.

What she did not mention, or truly highlight, is the threatening trend that is taking place with ever increasing rapidity, of hospital conglomerates, both …

Tort reform and integrated systems in health reform

Mitchell Brooks, MD

Policy

October 17, 2011

Here are my next two principles of affordable healthcare reform.

First, healthcare reform cannot occur without tort reform. Anything less is akin to a drunk leaning up against a lamppost for support but insisting it is for illumination.

It is well known that fear of malpractice suits accounts for defensive medicine; e.g., performing tests and procedures and making unnecessary referrals to assure staying out of the court room. We are all …

Large American pharmaceutical companies cannot have it both ways

Mitchell Brooks, MD

Meds

September 16, 2011

Large American pharmaceutical companies must decide which end of the drug development / delivery to patent pipeline they wish the American taxpayer to subsidize. They cannot have it both ways.

First, let me say that there has been a free-for all demonization of the drug companies or the more pernicious appellation Big Pharma. Large pharmaceutical companies provide jobs, support community services and charities. They provide the drugs and treatments that …

Improving efficiency and requiring Congress to live under our healthcare rules

Mitchell Brooks, MD

Policy

September 3, 2011

Here are my next two principles of affordable healthcare reform.

First, medicine must be practiced in a manner and in a place that is consistent with economic efficiencies, evidence based outcomes and the needs of the specific community that it serves.

In healthcare delivery, quantitative must be balanced by qualitative. Specific community needs and the culture of that particular community must have equal and in certain cases, greater value than the …

Top 10 musts for your hospital visit

Mitchell Brooks, MD

Patient

August 25, 2011

Whether you are going to the hospital for an outpatient procedure or whether you will be admitted to the hospital for medical illness or surgical procedure, there are certain things you must know and certain things you must do in order to ensure that your reasonable expectations will be met.

You must become informed about the terms and limits of your health insurance policy. See if the fees you are being …
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Top 10 musts for your hospital visit

How basic healthcare can be provided to the truly needy

Mitchell Brooks, MD

Policy

August 19, 2011

It is in this arena that the public treasury has been most abused by government ineptitude, institutional inertia and Congressional negligence. The waste and fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid system is scandalous and is now the target of well-organized international crime. Estimations of the extent of this waste and fraud run as high as $150 billion.

The United States Government has done nothing to effectively stop it. Excuses run …

Rationing is a logical outcome, and any changes must be incremental

Mitchell Brooks, MD

Policy

August 5, 2011

This post continues my Ten Principles of Affordable Healthcare Reform.

Health care changes should be made in small increments, easily understood by the People.

Any changes that are made should be made in small increments and they should be cost effective and easily accepted by the public. It is clear at this juncture that we cannot afford the breadth and the scope of “reform” that is being currently proposed; to …

We need a single payment system instead of single payer

Mitchell Brooks, MD

Policy

July 30, 2011

One of the great myths of healthcare is that there is an actual “system” in the United States. If such a system exists, I have yet to become familiarized with it. What we have are mountains of paper that slavishly tie the patient, doctor, hospital and insurance carrier alike to a system of coding interpreted by individuals with no sense of what the codes mean or the labor and …

Why healthcare is a responsibility, not a right

Mitchell Brooks, MD

Policy

July 26, 2011

There is no “right” answer to the healthcare reform issue. There are facts, opinions, myths, politics and reality, all in no particular order of magnitude. Unfortunately, thus far and likely in the future, the reform will be political and thus costly and painful and will not address the core issues involved in fixing the inherent systemic problems.

There have been many things written with regard to this topic and I …

Mitchell Brooks, MD

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